This is what happened: Impeccable Timing 1 at 01:07

I was woken up by a soft kick at my feet.


"Let's go," said Z.


"Showtime," I said. I sat up on the percussion studio hallway - it was five minutes to four. I walked out after Zach, down the hall to where A and J were waiting outside the Salon doors.


Okay. Pre-concert check. Shirt, check. Pants, check. Shoes, check. All set.


We lounged around patiently, staying quiet in case the double set of doors weren't soundproof enough. The small elevator arrived with a ding, and two elderly ladies came out. I shifted to the right to give them a straight path to the door; one of them smiled at us before she went in.


A few minutes pass. "How do we know when we're supposed to go in?"


Oh. Hm. We never went over that with the coordinators when we set up an hour ago. This entrance was also the farthest from the stage - perhaps we should wait at the rear entrance?


We joked about completely missing the performance because we never walked on stage - perhaps they announced us and are waiting awkwardly in there right now! Haha.


A ten second pause of silence. The anxiety quietly poked at me, so I suggested we go to the rear entrance just in case. I pried the door open quietly - 


The second door was open, and I could hear a woman's amplified speech echoing. "...have just performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C...." Hey, we performed at the Kennedy center last month.


The sound guy looked at us and said, "Good, you're on."


"...I will read their names. Well, their first names. A, J, Z, and Yi." Applause.


I never stopped walking since I opened the first door, and walked directly on stage to my vibraphone. I smiled, looked at Z to make sure he was watching as I bowed, then picked up my mallets. Showtime.