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The guy with the bass guitar finishes his solo, and the crowd goes ith applause A table of who I assues hold up white cards with nuets even more excited

She slides over in the booth "Knock yourself out" She pats the seat next to her, and I figure she’s inviting me to sit next to her, not punch lass closer to her "I’ve been in denial since the night of the festival," she says "Thinking I have so Tobin about his sister made all of this suddenly feel very real Too real" The tip of her finger curls over the lip of the glass into the ahtest idea what to do"

I want to tell her to give in I want to tell her to stop fighting her destiny I want to tell her to agree to co to find the answers in the bottolass"

"Yeah, but et for a while," she says, holding the glass She sighs and looks up at the girl on the stage "That was supposed to be me, you know?"

"How so?"

"It’s funny," she says, "that I’ to save irl onstage goes to the ood as Daphne

"My plan was to be here for this very coe "All-American Teen Talent Competition I was headed to the preliminary auditions for this competition the day Joe showed up in Ellis and toldto live with hi to kill it at the auditions and hs a little to herself "I told Jonathan that I’d settle for second place, but that wasn’t true I knew I’d end up here So to seeticket out of Ellis Fields Away froh "I didn’t know that the final coh That’s just kind of … weird"

I nod

"I guess it wouldn’t have mattered They would have just sent you to Ellis Fields instead of Olympus Hills I’d still be in this one to hell" She smirks like she finds it all pretty funny Fro so openly, I’d think she’s already had more to drink than a couple of sips

"You know?" she says, seelass instead of ood and drunk My life is probably over anyway" She picks up the glass, like she’s going to down it in one gulp "Botto ot a better idea for a distraction" I set the glass on the tray of a passing server "Co?" she asks, but she doesn’t protest being propelled from the club out into the casino

"You’ll see First, we need soe"

I tell her to wait outside the club entrance and I make my way nonchalantly to an unoccupied slot iant, tentlike dress uses the machine next to mine Then I pull a quarter from my pocket and put it into the slot machine I pull the lever and place my hand on top of the ertips The wooes nuts as the entire row of slota winner "Jackpot!" she shouts "Jackpot!" All eyes are on her as I pull a slip of paper fro machine

Five thousand dollars Not bad for my first attempt at the slots

"What was that?" Daphne asks as I lead her back inside the club

"I told you Leverage"