Tuesday night was a contentious night in J Hall, because it was the night that Sheridan practiced her violin.

It's not that Sheridan was bad. She was rather good. It was that Sheridan was a perfectionist, which meant that she would play the same part over, and over, and over.

And over.

Sheridan started right after dinner. The heckling usually started about an hour after that.

The song that Sheridan was playing was long, and slow, and sad. Portentous. That was a word Rafferty had heard Sheridan use.

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After one long twisting note, Blaspheme piped up from her room.

"Fawkes, I have an apple. If you play that bridge one more time, I'm jamming it right up DeCarlo's honey hole!"

"What?" Cody screeched from down the hall. "Why me?"

"'Cause it'll be the nicest, tightest fit!" Blaspheme shouted back, laughing hysterically.

Sheridan said nothing, and started playing again.

Rafferty would like to have put on one of her records, and drowned out the whole show, but she thought it might be rude, and could end up being a thing. Gus said there used to be something called headphones, which Rafferty thought sounded like the most amazing invention. The ability to escape with her music, even in a crowded room, was something close to heaven.

But that was all Before. Rafferty thought that if the people from Before lived in a world with things like headphones, they really should have fought harder to keep it.

The music continued. During another lull, Blaspheme took a loud, theatrical bite of her apple.

"There, now it has ridges. This is gonna feel great, Decarlo!" Blaspheme declared.

"You stay away from me!" shouted Cody. "I'll mess you up!"

Rafferty couldn't help but laugh.

Sheridan never said a word.

It was just another Tuesday night in J Hall.