I carried the box inside the office lobby and set it on the glass reception desk.

The office was quiet, the only sound the low whir of the server fans.

I flipped through the pages of my seventh-grade journal.

I had drawn a crude diagram of a solar-powered water heater, complete with little suns wearing sunglasses.

The door to the lobby clicked and swung open.

I looked up, expecting the security guard.

Instead, Derek walked in.

His tie was loosened, and his charcoal gray suit jacket was slung over his shoulder.

He looked exhausted, dark circles shadowing his eyes.

“Sarah?” he said, stopping when he saw me. “What are you doing here so late?”

“Dad was here,” I said.

Derek walked over to the desk, his eyes immediately falling on the open cardboard box.

“Are those…” he started, his voice trailing off.

“My old science journals,” I said. “He saved them from the trash.”

Derek picked up one of the notebooks, his thumb running over the plastic spiral.

“I remember this one,” he said, a faint smile touching his lips. “You made me stand in the yard holding a magnifying glass for three hours.”