I was so distracted by worrying about that that I almost walked right past the microphone. It was only when I heard Sara hiss, “Harper,” that I stopped, disoriented. There was the squeal of feedback as I grabbed the mike stand with unsteady hands.

From behind the podium, Sara winced, but she kept that bright smile on her face as she chirped out, “Harper, your question from the judges tonight is: If there was one thing in your life you could change, what would it be?”

I swallowed, my eyes still on David’s. In the audience, I could hear the rattle of programs and someone unwrapping a hard candy. The lights were still too bright, and I was suddenly afraid that I might actually be sweating.

But my voice was calm and sure as I answered, “Nothing.”

When I didn’t elaborate, Sara gave a nervous laugh. “Not a single thing?”

David was watching me, sitting up straighter in his seat. The auditorium was full of people, but in that moment, I felt like we were the only people there. “No. I wouldn’t change anything. Not one bit of it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, not everything in my life has been... easy. There’s a lot that’s been harder than I ever thought it would be, and there may have been times I’ve wished things were different. But that doesn’t mean I’d ever want to change it. No matter what.”

My words echoed through the room, but they were only for David, and when he smiled, I smiled back, feeling almost light-headed with relief. Until I’d said the words, I hadn’t realized they were true, but now that I knew, now that I was sure, there was nothing I wanted more than to climb down off this stage and go find David and make things right between us.

But then Sara gave another one of those laughs and said, “Well, all right, then, Harper. Thank you for your answer.”

Dismissed, I made my way back to the line of girls, taking my spot beside Bee. She glanced down at me, and something strange passed over her face for a minute. Pursing her lips slightly, she studied my face before turning to the front again.

The talent portion was next, and as the girls all raced off to the dressing room, I hung back in the wings. Could I just leave? Maybe I could tell Sara I’d gotten sick. The last thing she’d want was one of the girls puking all over her stage, so I was sure she’d let me go.

I wanted to go out in the audience and find David, grab him, and get the heck out of here.

But then Bee stopped beside me, taking my elbow. “Harper? Come on, we need to get changed.”