'I wasn't supposed to have to. Tognetti was supposed to be on before me.' 'Then what were all those lessons for?' She was about to reply when the stage door swung open. Applause echoed through the halls of the conservatorium. A man with an earpiece and a lanyard leaned through the gap. 'You'll be on in two minutes, Miss Burnett.' Ash tried to look confident and aloof. 'Thank you.' The man disappeared and the stage door swung shut, muffling the claps and whistles of the audience. Ash put the phone back to her ear. 'What am I going to do?' she hissed. Benjamin sounded amused. 'My guess is, you're going to go out on stage and play the drums.' 'But I don't know how!' 'Then do what you do best,' Benjamin said. 'Fake it.' 'Thanks. You've been really helpful.' 'Any time.' Ash looked up at the TV, which displayed footage from inside the auditorium. Her drum kit had been set up by the backstage crew. The master of ceremonies was speaking from behind a podium. Ash guessed he was introducing her.
