Mari was starting to get frustrated with Sunny.
The Recital was getting closer and he still couldn't get past that one note.
And that wasn't the only reason, either.
For someone who begged to be a part of the recital, Sunny's heart really wasn't in it.
Sometimes, she found him studying the wrong set of music sheets.
Other times, he kept trying to weasel out of practice early.
The only time he ever really focused was when Aubrey came by to watch.
But it wasn't often enough to offset the issues.
Quite frankly, the elder sister was this close to kicking Sunny out of the Recital.
And then she woke up one night, only to find Sunny absent from his bed.
Absent from the house, when she checked. Same for his coat and his violin case.
That was the last straw for Mari.
It didn't matter that tomorrow was the weekend; she was going to find Sunny and sideline his butt so hard.
She didn't bother waking her parents before slipping out into the night.
It was pretty cold out, but she brought her coat with her.
She checked the Park first, but no one was there.
Same for the shopping plaza.
Couldn't be at the Rodriguez household; she would've heard Kel if that was the case.
Only other place she could think of was Basil's house.
But as she approached the street, she faintly heard some music.
Violin music, coming from the other side of the crossroads.
Mari slowly approached the source, using the trees as cover.
Turns out that the violin player was none other than Sunny.
And he was.... playing in front of Aubrey's house?

It was a smooth, romantic piece too-- a clear step up from the effort she usually saw from him.
Mari then noticed Aubrey poking out from the second story window, hands propping up her cheeks.
But she's never seen Aubrey's eyes this soft, nor her smile this big.
Was this the reason behind Sunny's behavior?
Did he half-ass their practice so he could serenade Aubrey?
Mari wouldn't lie; she was still a bit ticked that he'd purposefully fumble the Recital.
But she found it much, much harder to stay mad at him.
Not when he was being this romantic.
Sunny's piece soon ended, and Aubrey gushed over his performance.
She gave him a big, distant kiss, and Sunny almost keeled over in shyness.
It took everything Mari had to not coo at the sight.
Then she motioned for him to climb up to her window.
Oh god, he's not actually going to try scaling the wall, is he?
But no, he went for a nearby ladder.
Mari sighed in relief as Sunny safely ascended towards Aubrey's outstretched hands.
He let her pull him into her room, and Aubrey closed the window.
Mari waited a few seconds before slowly starting to walk back from the trees.
Once she cleared the crossroads, however, she started cooing and giggling.
Despite the inconvenience it brought her, she couldn't be prouder of Sunny right now.
Her little brother knew what was important in life.
Maybe the Recital didn't need to be perfect after all.
Mari soon passed by the Rodriguez house, glancing at the window to the brothers' room with a smirk.
Now that she thought about it, Sunny's performance gave her a wonderful idea....

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Pub: 20 Mar 2022 05:52 UTC
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