CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN – CONSTANT BICKERING

The basement was a maze of discarded furniture, moldy cardboard boxes, and unidentifiable junk. Cobwebs hung from the low ceiling, and a thin film of dust covered everything. In one corner, a pile of damp newspapers attracted a swarm of tiny flies. "Oh my god," Molly whispered, her eyes wide with dismay. Ian kicked at a broken chair. "This is hopeless. We can't work here. It'll take weeks just to clear this stuff out, let alone turn it into a functional studio." Jasmine felt her heart sink, but she refused to give up. "We can do this," she insisted. "We'll tackle it bit by bit. Marty, can you and Ian start moving some of this furniture? Kendra and Molly, let's see if we can find some cleaning supplies upstairs. I'll start making a list of what we need." As they began the arduous task of clearing the basement, tensions quickly flared. Marty, ever the perfectionist, grew increasingly frustrated with Ian's haphazard approach to organizing. "No, no, no!" Marty exclaimed, grabbing a st