After school, I get to the auditorium early for rehearsal and fall asleep in the back corner. Using my backpack as a pillow, I curl up as inconspicuously as possible on the floor. It isn’t comfortable—I’m pretty sure my graphing calculator is making a permanent indentation in my cheek—but at this point it doesn’t even matter.

Someone shakes me awake before my phone alarm goes off. I open my eyes and stare blearily up at Ed, who squats beside me. “This is sad, dude,” he says.

I sit up, rubbing my face sleepily. “Mm. Yeah. Needed sleep.”

He glances around, then slips a small vial into my hand. “Here. On the house.”

My face screws up in confusion.

“You should take, like . . .” He considers me, scratching his beard scruff. “Half of it, I think.”

Oh. It’s an energy potion. Obviously. Wake up, Shay. I try to push the vial back into his hands, but he shakes his head.

“I know you’re not into it, but keep it just in case,” he says, standing. “Also, get some real sleep. It’s not even tech week. You can’t be exhausted yet.”

Oh god, tech week. For the week before we open, we’ll be rehearsing the show with all the technical elements every night until eleven. The thought makes me want to cry. “Right,” I say vaguely, wondering if I’ll make it to opening night. Ed shoves his hands into the pockets of his basketball shorts and walks away, leaving me to consider the illegal substance he’s given me.

Even though all the practical parts of my brain say I should throw it out, a small part of me wants to try a little of the potion. I stare at the vial, twisting it back and forth between my fingers so the brown liquid swishes around inside. I’ve always wondered about energy potions. From an apothecary’s perspective, I mean. Besides, this dance rehearsal is going to be a disaster if I keep feeling as tired as I do now. My phone alarm blares, interrupting my train of thought, and I scramble to turn it off.

What am I doing? I can’t believe I’m considering this. I’m not one of those rich kids swigging illegal energy potions in the library after partying in Miami all weekend. I can do this on my own. I’ll just keep the potion so I can analyze its magic for fun later.