The empty shell of the room still held the smell of old paper in wooden desks.

Pale square marks on the wall showed exactly where Paul had hung his framed degrees.

I had taken the glass frames down the day before and left them stacked in the basement.

“It’s going to take three coats to cover this ugly beige,” Sarah said.

I rubbed my left collarbone.

The dull ache from carrying the solid wood was settling deep into my joints.

“Lily wants the walls completely blue,” I said.