Chapter 3

3

"There are no two identical leaves in the world, and there should be no two identical melodies. What is stolen will always be found out. The surprise is delayed; I need to make some changes before posting. Please wait for me."

The comment section was a mess of sympathy and rage.

"What does this mean? Someone stole from Kenna?"

"Who is the piece of shit that dared to copy her? Tell me so I can ruin their life! [fire emoji] [fire emoji]"

"Stay strong, baby. People like that never win! What surprise did you have for us?"

"I bet it's a song. She was playing that beautiful melody yesterday. She's so talented!"

The comments were a sea of praise and comfort for her.

Kenna didn't reply to most of them. She only liked the comment about the song and the one calling out the thief. It was a clear signal.

The news spread through the conservatory like a wildfire.

Everyone followed her. In a music school, plagiarism is the ultimate sin. People were already sharpening their knives.

My roommate was cursing the anonymous thief in the dorm. But slowly, her voice got quieter. She looked at me with a hesitant expression.

"...Lia? Haven't you been writing a new song lately?"

I looked up. All my roommates were staring at me.

They all knew I was working on something. They had heard bits and pieces of it.

I just nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

She sent me a link. I clicked it. Someone was claiming they heard the melody from Kenna's video coming from a practice room. And I was the only one in that wing yesterday.

More comments started popping up. People were "witnessing" things.

"It has to be her, right? Why would a music major spend so much time near the dance studios?"

"I can't believe the school's little genius is a fraud. They should check her entrance exams. She's ruining the school's reputation."

"Maybe it's a coincidence? There are only so many notes."

"Yeah, right. She's probably too scared to post it now. Lia only does covers; she probably can't write for shit."

I scrolled through the hate. I was actually relieved I hadn't posted my song yet. If I had, it would be the "proof" they needed.

But I was curious. Kenna hadn't posted a song yet, and neither had I. How was she predicting my move?

Then, my phone buzzed with a notification.

One minute ago, Kenna posted again.

I clicked it. Kenna looked gorgeous on camera, smiling softly. "Hi everyone. I wanted to give you the surprise yesterday, but something happened..."

She bit her lip, looking heartbroken. "I think every creator goes through this. I didn't know how to handle it, but after thinking about it all night, I decided to face it! The one who should be ashamed is the thief, not the creator."

"So today, I'm sharing my new piece with you!"

Kenna sat at the piano. Her long, slender fingers hit the keys. The music flowed out.

As I listened, my face hardened. My heart started racing for a different reason.

Something was wrong.

How did she have the full, finished version of the song?

I scrambled to my bag and pulled out my laptop.

Since I got back, my bag had been right there. No one had touched it. How did she get my new track?