There was a rat??!? HERE!! She was about to squeal at the sight of it but instead she jumped. She hadn't expected something to scurry so closely to her feet. At least it was just a rat and not a cockroach.... Gosh. If it had been a cockroach she would have squealed surely and that wouldn't have been a great sight on those viewing screens in the stands. She'd look pretty silly doing that which was something Irene wanted to avoid. She needed to be taken somewhat seriously and not be dismissed for loving to be silly.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed down on the second key again which sounded strange. Muffled... like perhaps something was blocking it. Crouching down, she tried to get a better look at this key momentarily before walking to the lid and lifting up the dust-lined case. Maybe something was sticking to the hammer and blocking the noise? Perhaps. Irene scanned the inside lid of the piano as she reached to touch the second key again to see the strings and hammers interact.

Hmm....