We were led to a room not far from the studio where things were being shot. The room had various seats, a horizontal green band running along the walls, and several televisions. There were some others gathered. At a glance, matching to the kids who were on the television, it was the kid actors’ parents.

“We’ll be starting shortly,” the staff member in the cheap suit told us. “If you have to use the facilities, please let staff know so we can find you quickly if we need to get you on set.”

“Somehow this seems familiar,” Ashley said.

“If you need anything to eat or drink, there’s a fridge over there with a clipboard on top. Write down what you took on the clipboard so we know what to replace. Thank you, and we look forward to having you on the show!”

Bubbles and cheer. The adults in the room were trying to block out the sound of our interruption and follow the final segment on the show.

It would’ve been easy to be grumpy or dismissive. Instead, I put a smile on my face. “Thank you very much. Listen, do you have any tips?”

“Tips?”

I pulled the hood of my costume back. The others were finding seats, except for Swansong, who stood at empty space between Lookout and I. “You watch these shows. I’d bet a box of pastries the staff watches, you talk with each other, and you complain about how every guest does it wrong. I’m nervous and this would help.”

“It would be bad manners for me to say.”

“I’m not asking you anything about employers, only about the guests.”

“Just as I wouldn’t tell anyone anything about you, now that you’re a guest in my care, I can’t speak about past or current guests.”

“Okay,” I said. “I can respect that.”

“We’re broadcasting on television and radio both. Be clear in how you speak, because a share of our followers are going to follow by audio only.”

“Good point. I didn’t have to deal with that the last time I was on a show.”

“It’s a different time. The panel segment that starts halfway through is where things get bad, if they get bad. That’s your segment, by the way. Keep an eye on H.K.”

“Hamza Kouri?” I asked.

“You know the show!”

I didn’t know the show. I’d done research to try and figure out what we were getting into. “Some.”