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for us this morning,
because getting here at eight a.m. was early enough.

    "Ready?" Sandy claps her hands together. "They're about
to wrap up next door. Then we go to commercial break and
you guys will be on for your interview. You'll have five minutes with Allie and Harry, then we'll whisk you back to this
room for the performance. Any questions?" She herds us out
the door. When no one says anything, she adds, "Relax and
have fun."
    Huh? Isn't this the lady who was running in and out of
the green room crushing breath mints?
    We wait outside Studio A. I see a producer behind
Allie and Harry holding up one finger, and another one
holding a card that says Wrap Up.
    The door swings open and Gina guides us to our seatsfour black bar stools on the other side of the set. Allie and
Harry rush over and introduce themselves, while someone
escorts Lewis out the door.
    Zach offers his hand. "Thanks for having us on the
show."
    "Hey, I've got two teenage girls at home that begged
me to get you guys on." Harry makes the rounds and
shakes all of our hands.
    "We won't disappoint." Zach smiles.
    Easy for him to say-he loves the camera almost as
much as he loves hot girls.
    I call to Gina. "Toss me a mirror, please." I need to
make sure there's no last-minute mystery crap on my face.

    "You all look great," she says to the group, but she's
looking straight at me. I give her a quick nod.
    "Okay, places everyone," someone yells, and then continues with a countdown.
    Three fingers go up, then two, then one, and the studio light is aglow.
    Let the five minutes begin.
    Allie takes the lead. "We're honored to have the fabulous members of boy band Blank Stare on the show today."
    She introduces us by name. The camera closes in on us
one by one, and we each offer a small smile.
    Don't ask me about Indigo. I grit my teeth. I know it's
inevitable, but I hope they run out of time.
    "So first off..." Harry leans in. "How did you all meet?"
    Okay, a question I can handle. Four minutes and twenty
seconds left.
    "Mercy High in Abel, Mass," Zach says.
    And if we were there now, I'd only be fifteen minutes
away from Forest Hill High, where Indigo goes to school.
    "And how did you come up with the name Blank Stare?"
Allie crosses her legs. Her gray skirt is short. Hey, she's wearing gray! Does that make her dismal and boring? I say not
with a pair of legs like those.
    We all start laughing. This one should take a good minute. Zach tries to speak through his laughter, but can't get
anything audible out so Tommy, the most composed, takes
over. I catch a glimpse of Gina in the corner. I know she's
dying inside.

    "Let's just say it's the look you get from a girl when ...
um ... she sees your di ..."
    "Member," Zach pipes in.
    "Yeah." Tommy nods. "Kind of like a deer in the headlights."
    Allie raises her eyebrows and blushes. "I think this is
what we refer to as guy speak."
    "Right," Conjunction assures her.
    Gina shakes her head. Even though the meaning of
Blank Stare comes up all the time, I still don't think she's
gotten used to it.
    "Moving right along," Allie says. "How long have you
all been performing?"
    All of us had been playing at least four years when we
met as freshmen in high school, with me having played the
longest. I'd begged my parents to let me take guitar lessons
since the first grade. It took until third grade for them to
realize that I was serious. I loved the guitar so much that I
used to sleep with it. That, I don't share with Allie.
    We run through a few more get-to-know-the-band type
questions. Zach makes sure to tell her that we're scheduled
to go on tour in November after we finish our new album,
and to check our website for the deets. First stop, Boston,
of course. I look over at Gina. She has a big smile. I know
she's proud of Zach for getting a concert plug in.
    Fifty seconds before we go to commercial. I think I'm
safe until Harry says, "And now for the big question."
    My hearts