Five minutes. Maya's heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. She stood up, smoothed down her dress, checked her appearance one last time in the mirror.
The woman looking back at her was almost unrecognizable from the exhausted waitress who'd stood in the Grand View estate's breakroom just 3 months ago. This woman looked confident, professional, like she belonged on a concert stage.
"Fake it till you make it," Maya whispered to her reflection.
She walked through the backstage corridors, her heels clicking on the polished floor. She could hear James giving some kind of introduction to the audience, explaining her story, building anticipation.
Then he was introducing her, and the applause began, and there was no more time for doubt.
Maya stepped onto the stage, and the lights were blinding. She couldn't see individual faces in the audience, just a sea of darkness beyond the stage lights. The applause swelled as she walked to the piano, and she made herself smile, made herself look gracious and grateful instead of terrified.