Chapter 39

“There’s nothing we can do. The player’s circuits are completely fried,” a technician was explaining as Juniper arrived backstage. “It’ll take hours to fix.”
“Hours?” a staff member next to him paced anxiously. “We can’t make the judges wait that long!”
They were all important figures in the district; they couldn’t afford to offend them.
“Director Damaso, how about this?” someone else interjected casually. “It’s just a private school, not that important. She can either dance without music or get off the stage. The rest of the acts are all live instrumental performances anyway, so they don’t need the player.”
Damaso checked the program. Aurora High, was it? He’d heard their enrollment was so poor the school was set to close next year. Whether they performed or not was inconsequential. The following schools, however, were all top high schools. They couldn’t be slighted.
“Alright, then just have her—” The director thought the suggestion was reasonable and was about to give the order.
“Who says she has no music?”
A clear, icy voice cut in from behind them.
The director and the other staff members all turned around. They saw a girl in an Aurora High uniform and a baseball cap, one hand in her pocket, her gaze sharp and cold. Even from a distance, and without seeing her full face, they could feel the powerful presence she commanded.
Huh? Aurora High had a student with such an impressive aura?
“What do you mean by that, young lady?” Damaso asked, confused.
The technician also stared at her, a flicker of panic in his eyes. Don’t tell me she can actually fix it?
“All the instruments on stage are usable, right?” Juniper asked as she took off her school jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her sweatshirt.
“Yes, they are,” Damaso nodded, still bewildered. The drum kit, piano, violins, cellos, electric guitars… the cultural center was fully equipped to accommodate student performances.
“Good.” Juniper tossed her jacket aside and, to the astonishment of everyone present, walked directly toward the collection of instruments.
What was going on? Damaso and the other officials were all dumbfounded. Was this girl actually planning to play the music for ‘Dawn’ live? They knew just how complex that piece was. Even Lunar herself probably couldn’t perform it live from memory…
Queenie had been waiting on stage for several minutes, not for music, but for a rising tide of complaints from the audience. Most were telling her to leave. Some were even accusing Aurora High of deliberately causing trouble.
The pressure was immense. She bit her lip, hot tears welling in her eyes.
Just then-
“Follow your own rhythm. I’ll match you.”
Queenie whipped her head around and saw Juniper sitting at the piano, her expression calm as she watched her.
“Juniper!”
The pale yellow light fell on her, making her shine like a small sun that instantly thawed Queenie’s frozen heart. Her eyes immediately reddened, tears threatening to fall. But she knew the most important thing was to finish the performance. She took a deep breath, relaxed her body, and got into position.
“What’s that girl in the corner doing?” The audience had noticed Juniper, their heads full of questions. “Is she going to play live?”
“The track for ‘Dawn’ uses over a dozen different instruments. If she can play all that by herself, I’ll cut off my own head and let her use it as a soccer ball!”
“Aurora High is such a joke. A new embarrassment every year, without fail.”
Yolanda’s face was a mask of indifference, but she felt a laugh bubbling up. She knew Juniper couldn’t play any instruments. She spent all her time with her grandfather in the mountains-a country bumpkin, a total hick. She had probably never even touched a piano before.
Play the music for ‘Dawn’? Hilarious!
The judges had also fallen silent, watching the two girls on stage with curiosity.