I tried not worrying, but remembered the schedule. There was a forty-five-minute timeframe where the broadcasters ran pre-recorded material to give the jury time to deliberate andthe performers and hosts a break. Betty should have been back by now.
We waited in the green room, sitting on the floor because it was packed and there were no chairs. Clarice stole champagne and insisted she fill our glasses.
“I shouldn’t drink. We still have to go back out there,” I said.
“Say ‘skol’ like a good little Viking and ignore that,” Alicia handed me a glass. “Babes, you fucking slayed. You earned a bit of celebration.”
“I dunno,” I said.
“We can at least celebrate being alive, right?” Clarice asked.
We continued to drink. Every minute, I scanned the room, hoping to see Betty. A few times, I bothered the staff. I knew I should lay low and ignore her. It looked bad to care about where the hosts were, but I couldn’t help myself.Why wasn’t she here?
“We should have been called back by now. I’m going to be totally shit-faced by the time we go back out there. I’m cutting myself off after this. No more until I find Betty.”
“Would you calm down? They probably have her sequestered,” Alicia said. “Don’t panic.”
Another 20 minutes passed. Without phones, we grew beyond restless. We were now forty minutes past call time.
“I’m going to try to get answers about why we’re still waiting.”
As the room’s veteran, I didn’t have the patience for this, nor did I have the stamina to keep up with the young people capable of drinking heavily and remaining functional tomorrow. I strode outside, looking for anyone but the PA who wanted to throttle me, but as I entered the hall, all I heard was someone in tears.
I followed the sound of the voice until I found Aliacrumpled on the floor in the same doorway where Betty and I had been hours before.
“Alia, what’s wrong?” I asked.
She looked up, makeup running, “It’s over. I’m done.”
“What?” I asked. “Can I sit?”
“Why do you want to?” She sobbed.
“Because I’m worried about you.”
I sat, trying to suss out what she meant.
“They disqualified me,” she sniffled. “Because… they say our delegation broke the rules.”
“What?” I was shocked, but also relieved.
It wasn’t because Sweden was out of the way. It was because they wouldn’t be able to intervene as easily in the finals. The band was safer. Despite that, I worried for Alia. Ofcourseshe was crushed!
“I don’t care about that much. Perhaps, that is selfish. I’m angry that I did nothing wrong, though. And that your drummer could have died.”
My blood ran cold as I steadied myself. It felt good to have a confirmation that I wasn’t crazy, but now I realized how close we came to Max ending everything for Barry and us. I looked down the hall, wishing to see Betty. I wanted to tell her she saved the day. I listened to Alia’s next sentence and was pulled right back into the present.
“Max told Jason to get someone to mess with the lights,” Alia sniffled. “They say he interfered with your headset, too. I swear I didn’t know. I never would have?—”
“I know you wouldn’t. But he doesn’t give you a choice.”
“It’s always his way. And now that it’s out…” her voice trailed.
“I know what you mean,” I said. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“He will lose his mind.”
“If he comes for you, he’s going to have to come for all of us,” I said. “Me, Barry, Alicia, and Clarice. And Clarice is likea black belt in something, so she’s not to be fucked with. I’m five foot nothing, but she’s not.”
