𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦 | 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐱

𝟎𝟏 | 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞

Bonnie Jane Timberland was the youngest of the four children born to Robert and Gloria Timberland in Chicago, Illinois. After the departure of her father at the age of two, Bonnie and her siblings were raised single-handedly by their mother. From a very young age, Bonnie had been drawn to music and often found herself feeling closer to the singers on her records than her own family members.

Bonnie : It was no one's fault, really. Mom was always working and the age gaps between me and my siblings were just too large to work around.

Barbara : Being the eldest, I was used to the idea of having a new sibling. However, I did not expect that new sibling to crash my sweet sixteenth.

Brian : Yeah, mom went into labour on Barb's birthday.

Beverly : We always joked about Bonnie not wanting to share the spotlight, she wasn't born until three days after.

Barbara : According to mom, Bonnie was born feet-first.

Brian : Bonnie, quite literally, came into the world kicking and screaming.

Bonnie : What can I say? I was born standing up and talking back.

Barbara : Bonnie was always different from the rest of us.

Brian : Bonnie always had a way of getting what she wanted and it started from a young age.

Beverly : There was this one time when Bonnie would've been, I don't know, maybe ten years old.

Barbara : Brian, Bev and I had all moved out by then. I was starting a family, Brian was an officer and Bev was studying art in college.

Beverly : We had all come home for a family dinner.

Brian : I just remember walking in to absolute chaos.

Barbara : The house was covered head-to-toe in Bonnie.

Beverly : There were instruments everywhere. Like everywhere.

Brian : Pretty sure I tripped on a broken drumstick on the way in.

Barbara : Once we had all sat down, Bev made a joke about Bonnie being spoilt.

Beverly : Bonnie looked me dead in the eye.

Bonnie : I said "The house would be empty if it wasn't for me and these instruments."

Barbara : The room went quiet after that.

Brian : It wasn't what she said, it was what was implied by what she said. That none of us were there. That none of us cared.

Beverly : I never brought it up again.

Bonnie : I mean I was a spoilt, but at what cost?

Barbara : I suppose you could say Bonnie would've had quite a lonely childhood.

Beverly : Barb, Brian and I all had our own things going on at the time and Bonnie had her music, that was her thing.

Barbara : When Bonnie wasn't running her mouth or running away, she had an instrument in her hand.

Bonnie : [Shrugs] Idle hands make the devil's work, so I kept an instrument in mine.

Brian : That all changed the day Bonnie failed her history test in high school.

Beverly : Just before the Christmas holidays had started, mom got a call from the school saying Bonnie had failed her history exam.

Barbara : Our mother was pretty strict with us when it came to school and Bonnie was no exception to that.

Brian : Mom was obviously not happy with this, so she confiscated every instrument in sight.

Beverly : We had all come home for the holidays, Barb had even brought her husband, Damien.

Brian : That was the first and last time Damien had ever stayed over.

Barbara : Every single night at two or three in the morning, Bonnie held a concert downstairs. Right there, smack bang in the middle of the hall.

Beverly : Bare in mind that hall was open and everything that happened in there echoed into the upstairs rooms.

Brian : It became evident that Bonnie did not need instruments to create music.

Beverly : I remember the first night, she used pots as drums.

Barbara : One of the nights, she had wine glasses and spoons.

Brian : I remember shoes and masking tape were used at some point.

Barbara : Mom gave in after about five days.

Bonnie : What can I say? Payback is a bitch. So was that history teacher.

Beverly : Bonnie got a new amp for Christmas that year, believe it or not.

Barbara : I suppose that was one way of keeping her out of trouble.

Brian : [Shrugs] There's always one.

Bonnie : I mean, someone had to keep things interesting in that family.