Midnight Science Shelf Weather Station Senegal

Silver monsoon rain slicks the metal shelf holding rows of brass hand lenses and plastic sample tube trays. Dark raindrops streak the glass, blurring the labels on cylindrical containers filled with soil and water. The bunkroom window reveals a flat horizon where a weather balloon tether hangs limp against the night sky. Salt spray coats the wooden frame, turning the grain gray and swollen. One notebook lies open, pages damp and curling at the edges, resting beside a stack of data sheets. The light reflects off the wet lenses, creating sharp, cold glints that cut through the dim, silvery haze of the storm. Rain beads on the plastic rim of a tray, waiting to slide down the sloped surface.