Every day when I walked past the talent roster, I saw another new act, until there were almost twenty acts signed up. This up from four when the roster first appeared. Some of the Chelseas from choir decided they would sing an a cappella song, and one of the computer Joshes revealed that he could play the accordion. There were a flute player and a stand-up comedian, three jugglers, one combo Hula Hoop routine/magic act, and some pet tricks. “No competition,” Gigi said. “We’re going to sweep.” I wasn’t so sure anymore. Especially when I witnessed the second thing that went wrong. We were setting up inside the Art Deco auditorium—it had been a supper club when the school was a hotel, so it had a round stage and tapestry chairs and booths along the walls. I was looking around to see how the tiles and the carpet were going to affect the acoustics when I saw my mother walking in. That was bad enough but she had brought Ed the Guitar Guy. I couldn’t remember how to breathe. Viv saw my expression.
