Jack left.
The door closed.
Mrs. Cole spoke first. "That child plays as if someone has already taken things from him and music is the only honest inventory he has left."
"Sentiment," Dr. Mori muttered, but he circled a number on his sheet that was not low.
Ms. Blake said, "He made the final because his preliminary recording was the only one that made me rewind. Twice."
Principal Harrison cleared his throat. "I nearly stopped him from warming up on the lobby piano. I thought he was... wandering."
Ms. Blake looked at him without unkindness and without absolution. "Wandering children do not usually carry final-round cards, Arthur."
Harrison flinched at his first name, then nodded. "No. They don't."