Michiko's Symphony
Crack.
The professor's hand shot up at once, halting her playing with a sharp rap of his small baton against the desk. The atmosphere in the practice room froze instantly, as if all the oxygen had been sucked straight up into the room's high ceiling. Several students in the back row held their breath, staring at Michi's back with a mixture of disbelief. Michiko Arunika Suryokusumo had, until now, always been the symbol of absolute obedience—the revolving trophy who followed every rigid rule of tempo and standardized dynamics without ever uttering a single word of objection.