Once we arrive at the school, Mom sweeps into the auditorium with me and Dad trailing along behind her. There’s something odd about coming to the auditorium for a performance instead of a rehearsal. The energy in the space feels completely different. Teachers, family members, and a few reporters mill around the lobby. There are student ushers working the event, and they hand us programs as we approach the main doors. On my way inside, I catch sight of a man who looks exactly like Mr. B but old and grumpy. I avert my eyes quickly and move on, because this day is stressful enough already without being noticed by Mr. B’s malevolent dad.

As my parents pick their seats, Lex appears beside me in the aisle. “It’s all set,” she says in my ear. She passes me two empty potion vials, which I tuck away in the bag I’ve brought with me. “Ana and I managed to get them all up before anybody else got here.”

“Great,” I whisper back.

After Mom and Dad sit, I head backstage, which is total chaos since the jazz band and dance team are performing as well. There are dancers and musicians and theater kids warming up and doing their preshow rituals. When I enter the dressing room, Brittany completely avoids my gaze, as she has all week. I sit on the floor next to Ana and try to keep my nerves from showing on my face. Ana pulls out her phone, taps away for a few seconds, and then gestures subtly at my phone in my lap. I flip it over and read the text she’s sent me.

ANA: on a scale from 1–10, how much are you freaking out right now?

SHAY: 100000000

ANA: thought so. I know you’ve got this though.

I nod, trying to internalize the message, and place my hand on the floor in between us. Slyly, she places her hand next to mine so our pinkies touch. We stay like that for a while, just sitting in silence while the chaos of the dressing room swirls around us.

Mr. B calls the whole cast out to huddle in the backstage hallway, evicting several sax players who had colonized the area. He gives us a pep talk, which isn’t as much peppy as it is scarily on edge.