Bonnie's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Bonnie climbed down from the stage in the overgrown lot and brushed dirt from her dress. She needed to practice more if she wanted to be famous. Her voice was good, but something was missing. She walked back toward the old theater, humming as she went. Maybe Mr. Whispers would show up again and listen. Inside the theater, Bonnie noticed something she'd never seen before. Behind the stage, a door hung open. She walked through and found a room filled with dusty equipment. Microphones sat on shelves. Speakers leaned against the walls. Her heart raced. Real performers used equipment like this. But when she pressed a button on one of the speakers, nothing happened. She tried a switch on an amplifier. Still nothing. Then she spotted it in the corner—a rusty old generator with a dented metal shell and a pull cord hanging from its side. Bonnie grabbed the cord and yanked. The generator coughed and sputtered to life. The lights in the room flickered on. The speakers hummed with power. She plugged in a microphone and spoke into it. Her voice boomed through the room, bigger and stronger than she'd ever heard it. She laughed and spun in a circle. This was what she needed. With this equipment, she would sound like the stars she'd heard on old radios in shop windows. She would fill the theater with sound so powerful that people blocks away would stop and listen.