A couple seconds of awkward silence, then a light flicked off above the audience.
"Back in five!"
"Jesus, five minute commercial breaks," Russ muttered. "They're milking this for everything they can."
"Was that okay?" Hailey asked, while innumerable conversations broke out in the crowd. Everyone stayed stock-still in their seats though. She wasn't sure if she could move. "I felt like I did okay."
"You were perfect. Just keep it up, you'll be great." Russ stood up, stretching out. "Next segment's gonna have the other guest. You ready for that?"
"It's the only reason I'm here."
Russ raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
Hailey shrugged. "Do I have time to go use the bathroom?"
"Sure. We agreed to equal time for the two of you, so he gets the exclusive for a bit. You won't be on screen, even if you're here."
"Okay." Hailey stood up. "Thanks, by the way."
"For what?"
"Making this easy."
"That's my job."
"He's not here, is he?" she asked tentatively.
"...I have no idea, actually. That's between his people and the studio. He's on in five though, so I'm assuming he is." Russ shrugged. "He's the most paranoid guest we've ever had, I can tell you that."
Hailey nodded, thanked him again, and left the stage in a hurry. Someone pointed her to the bathrooms, which Hailey found mercifully empty. She relieved herself, cleaned up and took another deep breath. The pressure, which had vanished entirely out on the stage, returned tenfold now that she was alone.
She stared herself down in the mirror. You're doing just fine. All you have to do is be yourself. You're showing them that humans have nothing to be scared of. Just be yourself. She repeated the mantra over and over, but it didn't help.
"Hailey..."
A crackling sound. The countertop crunched under Hailey's hands. She twisted around.
"...Beverly?"
Her soft gray eyes were fixed on the cracks that had splintered out from Hailey's grip. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, totally." Hailey brushed her hair out of her face and put on her usual smile. "Where have you been? We haven't talked in forever."
"I've been... I've been traveling."
"That sounds fun." Hailey leaned back against the counter, trying to act casual. "Anywhere nice?"
"...Not really." Beverly bit her lip, then nodded at the counter. With another crackling sound, almost like the ripple of snapping wood, the countertop melded back together into a single piece—brand new. "I saw you on TV."
"Yeah, about that..." Hailey glanced at the door. "I'm supposed to go back on in a couple minutes."
"It's okay. We're uhh... well we're kinda in a... a bubble, I guess?"
"A bubble?"
"We can talk as long as we want."
"You can do that?"
"Yeah... I learned it from watching... someone else. And I just take it a lot further." Beverly's gaze fell to the ground. "I can do a lot of things now."
Hailey's first instinct was to ask her to teach it, but she knew Beverly never would—if the spell was even possible for Hailey to cast. Despite being leaps and bounds above normal awakened, there was still a tier above her, one Hailey was itching to climb. "What did you want to talk about?"
"I don't know. I just thought... well, you looked like you needed a break. Maybe get away."
Hailey shook her head. "It's just jitters. I felt totally fine out there."
"Hailey..." Beverly glanced at the countertop again.
"Seriously. Everything's great." Except we're still being hunted, and the FBI is making things way harder than they need to be, and I didn't tell Rupert any of this was gonna happen, and Hugo still hates me, and I feel awful about ignoring Natalie, and my mom's gonna get even more grief over this, and I still have no idea what's going to happen when Cinza's books get published tomorrow, and I still haven't got a clue how to help Jessica—
"If you're sure." Beverly pressed her hands to her temples.
"Are you okay?" asked Hailey hesitantly.
"Yeah... just tired."
"There's still a lot of readings?"
"I didn't... I didn't realize how many pieces there were," she murmured. "It's too much."
Hailey put a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."
Beverly shook her head. "...You can't know that. But... thank you."
"What are friends for?"
She smiled. "I gotta go, before I get too tired. Good luck."
"You too."
Hailey's hand fell through the suddenly open air as Beverly vanished with a tiny gust of wind. Actual teleportation. I wish I could pull that off... The muffled noise of the studio outside resurfaced and filled her ears. The band was playing filler music during the commercial break for the audience. Like she'd implied, no time had passed for Hailey during their conversation, somehow.
Hailey washed her face in the sink, trying to get back into focus. She adjusted her hair slightly, then wandered back out onto the set. The sound guy was waiting for her, and quickly double-checked her microphone setup to make sure nothing was off. She didn't notice. She was anticipating—along with the crowd, the stage manager, Russ at his desk, and everyone in the world watching—the arrival of the other special guest of the night.
The whole reason she'd agreed to this little show and dance.
I'm gonna remind him who he's dealing with.