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group tiptoed to a door that seemed to lead to the auditorium. It was locked.
    â€œTough security,” Karina commented, snapping her gum loudly.
    Pablo, the short twin, studied the lock. He glanced at his brother, who nodded in understanding. Alexis stared wide-eyed at Nikki when she realized that they were going to pick the lock. Who are these guys? Alexis wondered, glancing around the lobby. Pedro passed Pablo a set of silver keys and a small screwdriver. Pablo inserted a key and pounded it in with the back of the screwdriver. Alexis jumped at the sound. Thankfully, the music inside concealed the click of the door unlocking. Alexis held her breath. She thought about backing out. We’ve already gone this far , she thought as she led the group into the darkened auditorium.
    The group huddled by the door, camouflaged by the darkness. Bright floodlights illuminated the professional concert stage. Alexis’s heart swelled. She dreamed of one day singing in a fancy auditorium like this. Onstage, a group of musicians dressed in their school uniforms stood at attention listening to the music director. It was a twenty-piece ensemble with six violins, one guitarrón , five trumpet players, a harpist, four guitarists, and three students holding small guitars called vihuelas . Alexis gasped at the sheer size of the entire group. This was way more people than had been a part of the university show.
    Suddenly, the sound of violins filled the auditorium. Then a sweet melody from the trumpets joined the violins. Alexis felt consumed by the music. She glanced at her teammates and noticed the look of rapture in their eyes. They really like it! Alexis thought happily. Alexis’s heart skipped when a familiar voice rose to join the melody. It was Christian! She didn’t recognize the song, but she could tell that it was fun and flirty by the way he moved across the stage. When the song ended, Alexis heard her group sigh. She smiled. They were hooked.
    Then her cell phone rang. She’d downloaded a mariachi ringtone onto her phone just last week. Now that crazy song was filling up the whole room — and drawing unwanted attention to their presence. The musicians onstage all turned in her direction. The music director shouted:
    â€œWho’s over there?”
    Alexis’s heart leapt into her throat. The phone was still ringing and she couldn’t get it to stop.
    â€œSpies! I knew we’d get spies,” the director cried, throwing his music sheets in the air. “Will someone get the lights and hunt those people down?”
    Someone grabbed Alexis’s hand and pulled her out of the darkened hall. It was Justin. They all hurried out of the building, down the stairs, and across the lawn, not looking back. Alexis’s pulse was racing. They could not get caught, she thought. The group would be banned from ever performing and she could kiss all her dreams good-bye. Luckily, no one seemed to have followed them out into the parking lot.
    Her phone rang again. Alexis looked at the number. It was Santiago. She was going to kill him.
    â€œYo, Alexis, where you at?” Santiago asked casually. “Castillo’s been looking for you. He’s pretty ticked off. He thinks you ditched mariachi practice.”
    Alexis gasped. In her rush to show the group a real mariachi performance, she had totally forgotten about AP Castillo. “Tell Castillo I’m sorry. I took the group on a field trip.”
    â€œField trip? And you didn’t invite me?” Santiago said, sounding hurt. “Hey, listen to this,” Santiago said, putting down the phone. She glanced at the group catching their breath around her. They were giving her curious looks. Before she could say anything, garbled wheezing tones came out from the other end of the phone. It was painful to hear. It sounded like a dying mule crying out in pain. There was a pause and then Santiago came back on the phone. “So … what do you