Margot and I made our way out of the wings and into the auditorium seats, where we’d left our late-night sustenance, Red Vines and root beer. I chewed on a Red Vine, my eyes glued to the front. In the middle of the fastest, most impressive tap sequence, Diya stopped and waved her hands at Ms. Langford. The pit orchestra came to a gradual, awkward stop as Ms. Langford made her way to the stage.

I couldn’t tell what Diya was saying, but she kept gesticulating to Ms. Langford and shaking her head emphatically. This number was the one she hoped would get the casting people’s attention, so everything needed to be flawless leading up to her surprise dance. Jude and Ethan stood off to the side, looking completely drained. Ms. Langford finally remembered they were there and dismissed them while she and Diya continued to discuss.

Ethan and Jude jumped off the stage, staggered down the aisle, and collapsed onto the floor next to where Margot and I were sitting. “That was the worst morning ever,” Jude said, his voice muffled because he was lying facedown.

“It’s Robobitch’s fault, like everything is in the entire universe.” Ethan rolled onto his back and flung an arm over his eyes.

“Yeah, what’s she robobitching about?” Margot took a gulp of root beer, squinting at the stage, where Ms. Langford still hadn’t convinced Diya to move on.

“Who knows,” Ethan said. “I stopped listening to her years ago.”

I knew it was late and that they had been onstage for a lot longer than I had today, which would make anyone cranky. But I couldn’t stomach the Robobitch thing anymore. “Maybe you guys shouldn’t call her that,” I said quietly.

Compared to my Negative Correlation of Dicks Speech and my encounter with Kira, that was pretty weak. But at least it was something.

“But it fits her so well,” Margot said, plucking another Red Vine out of the bag, not realizing I was serious. Jude lifted his head off the floor to look at me. The carpet had made a red mark in the middle of his forehead, which looked adorable. It made me want to laugh and forget about the whole thing, but I couldn’t.

“It doesn’t, though. You guys are always bad-mouthing Diya, and I know she’s not the most fun person to be around during rehearsals, but that doesn’t mean she’s a robot or a bitch or a weird combination of both.”

They were all staring at me now.

“Okay,” Margot said slowly, watching me closely, searching for clues. “I saw you talking to her a few times, but I didn’t know if… I mean, are you and Diya… friends now?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s not the point.”

“What is the point?” Margot asked.