Julianna couldn’t tear herself away from the side of the stage. The performances at the Turn It Up competition were electric and so was the crowd. Packed auditorium, balcony full of cheering fans holding up neon handmade signs, emotionless judges, and lots of parents geeking out in official a cappella team T-shirts. What wasn’t there to like?

This was her first a cappella competition and she wanted to soak it all in, even the wackiness of the emcee. Rick D. thought he was a budding Ryan Seacrest. He smiled enough for all of them, flashing grins at every a cappella contestant he saw backstage, including Julianna.

“Ready to get out there?” he asked as he fixed the cuffs on the white shirt he wore under his suit jacket.

“Yes,” Julianna said and she meant it.

Stage fright was not getting the better of her today. She had a score to settle. She had managed to avoid the Tonal Teens and Amy all morning, but she knew they were there and she’d have to face them eventually. She’d talked to Naya about the Tonal Teens’ slight and Naya agreed Julianna had every right to be angry with Amy. But strangely, Julianna didn’t want to fight with Amy. She just wanted her out of her life. Maybe that’s why she had texted Amy the night before:

You and I both know what you did. Our friendship is done. Good luck at competition—your team will need it.

Amy hadn’t replied. She didn’t call either. Julianna didn’t need her to. Performing her original song in front of the Tonal Teens and wowing the judges would be revenge enough.

“How’s our competition?” Sydney asked, coming up beside her.

“Tough,” Julianna admitted. Each group she watched take the stage was better than the one before. Some would get a perfect score for stage presence while others had such intricate choreography they looked more like a cheerleading squad than an a cappella group. The vocals were too good to measure. Julianna watched the judges typing on their laptops for a reaction. They gave none.

“That’s okay, we’re ready.” Sydney sounded confident.

“The judges and the competition people are always watching,” Sydney had told them all earlier. “From the moment you hit that stage, you have to be ready to perform.”

“Don’t be over the top or fake,” Whitney had added. “Be yourself, but not yourself, if you’re going to freak out.”

“Confident, but not overly confident,” Sydney had added. “Do you guys know what we mean?”

Julianna didn’t. This was all new to her. Her palms were sweating, her stomach was churning, and she could hear her heartbeat over the roar of the crowd, which seemed to intensify by the minute. Somewhere out in the audience were her mom and her grandmother. Mr. Wickey and Headmistress Sato had come too, along with Lidia and her new boyfriend, Jack. The Kingfishers would be rooting for them as well. The Nightingales finally had a cheering section.

There was a loud roar from the crowd as the all-boy group Vocalosity came running offstage. They were the Kingfishers’ toughest competition. The Kingfishers had been one of the first groups to take the stage and had been done for an hour already. Julianna wished the Nightingales were finished. Why hadn’t they been scheduled before the crowd thickened? Before the Tonal Teens arrived? Was Amy going to be watching her? What would the Tonal Teens think of the Nightingales’ performance or Julianna’s song? It was hard not to work herself up into a frenzy.

“And now, straight from Miami, the FIVE-time-winning Tonal Teens!” Rick D. announced.

“Don’t look!” Gabby said as she and Viola walked over to watch behind the curtain.

“No, I want to see.” Julianna inched closer to the stage. The Tonal Teens came up through the aisles, high-fiving audience members and taking selfies on their way to the stage. Amy led the way in the same hot-pink, form-fitting dress that all the members had on, even if it didn’t look as great on them as it did on Amy. As she ran up the steps to the stage, she stumbled a second as she caught sight of Julianna.

Hi, Amy! Julianna thought with glee.

“Is that your former best friend and backstabber?” Micayla asked, coming over to watch too. “She looks petrified of you!”

“Good!” Viola declared. “She should be scared of the whole team.”

Amy quickly recovered and blew into her pitch pipe. The group started to sing. The melody was infectious, which irritated Julianna. She’d give anything to see the Nightingales beat the Tonal Teens.

Julianna felt an arm snake around her back. It was Viola’s. Pearl, Sydney, Whitney, Micayla, and the rest of the Nightingales put a hand on her shoulder or arm as well.

“This is the day the Tonal Teens’ domination crumbles,” Whitney declared. She could be scary when she wanted to be. “Just let them try to outsing us.”

“ ‘HandClap’ is good, but our original Ramirez number is going to blow them away,” said Micayla. She started to sing the lyrics and someone backstage shushed them.

Onstage, the Tonal Teens moved in and out of formation, mixing Kelly Clarkson songs Amy was obsessed with. She had all the solos.

“There is no way we’re going to beat them our first competition out of the gate,” Pearl said sadly.

“Hey! Glass half full, remember?” Sydney said. Some of the Kingfishers walked over.

“We’re going to give it our best shot. We’re only going to get better from here,” Whitney added.

“Or we’re going to be banished to bingo night at the retirement communities,” Gabby said. Everyone hit her.

“Maybe Salty Sam’s can add an a cappella cruise,” Donna suggested and everyone hit her too.

“It won’t come to either of those things,” Sydney said. “I predict we’re in the top five today.”

“Top two!” Whitney said.

“I’m going to make a prediction,” said Griffin. “If both Bradley groups make it to the Orange Grove Championship later this year …”

“When we make it to the Orange Grove Championship later this year,” Sydney corrected and he put his arm around her.

“When we make it to the Orange Grove Championship, the Nightingales are going to bury the Tonal Teens,” Griffin said.

“I’ll take that bet!” Sydney said. “The Nightingales are back and stronger than ever.” She put her hand out. Whitney slapped hers on top of Sydney’s and the other girls did the same. They looked at Julianna.

“Nightingales!” someone called backstage. “You’re on deck!”

“We’re ready!” Whitney yelled back. “Almost.” Whitney motioned to their circle of hands.

Six minutes and twenty-two seconds.

That’s how long Julianna would be standing under the hot stage lights in front of a live audience. Amy and the Tonal Teens still might walk away with a bigger trophy that afternoon, but they weren’t going to steal Julianna’s future. She belonged on that stage and she knew that now. Her music—whether it was meant for Beyoncé or the Nightingales—was her own and she would sing it loud for anyone who wanted to hear it. No one was going to tell her to throw away her shot.

Julianna finally put her hand in the circle. “I’m ready too.”

The girls looked at one another.

No matter what their score was that day, nothing was going to stop them from being Bradley Academy’s all-girl a cappella group. And if they kept working as a team, no curse would come close to darkening their practice room. They were going to claw their way back to the top of the a cappella heap. Amy and the Tonal Teens had better be ready.

The girls kept their eyes on each other and their hands stacked together, paying no regard to the Tonal Teens leaving the stage. Julianna knew one thing for certain:

She was a Nightingale and Nightingales soared.