Bonnie patted her bag and offered a reassuring smile to show she had it, prompting Yvonne to finally leave.
Once she was gone, the design studio fell completely silent.
Bonnie carefully dismantled the model and placed the pieces into her locker. By the time she finished, she realized the sky outside had darkened ominously, and the wind had picked up. Their department building was an older structure, not very tall, surrounded by decades-old sycamore trees.
Battered by the wind, the leaves thrashed endlessly against the rain and the windowpanes.
The gusts made the old windows rattle with an unsettling noise.
The stifling heat of the past few days had finally been extinguished by the storm.
Bonnie made sure all the windows were tightly shut so the rain wouldn't seep in and ruin the books and blueprints of the students sitting nearby.
Having a moment of leisure, she rested her chin on her hand and watched the rain for a while.
The downpour showed no signs of letting up. Bonnie pulled her umbrella from her tote bag. On her way downstairs, she noticed the building had practically emptied out, and the piano in the lobby was silent.
It seemed no one had managed to summon the "sunshine" girl; instead, the rain was only coming down harder.
Bonnie stared at the piano for a moment, the back of the person playing it earlier flashing through her mind.
It had felt incredibly familiar.
After a brief hesitation, she walked over and sat down. Her fingers felt a bit stiff as they touched the keys. She had only learned to play as a child to have an extra talent.
Shirley had never intended to groom her for an arts career, so after a few years of lessons, she had quit. Bonnie hadn't had the time to practice anyway, and the piano sitting in their living room had eventually been sold by her mother to another teacher at the school.
Bonnie flexed her fingers to warm up and began playing the same melody.

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