After scanning the clipboard in his hands, he looked up. "You're not on the list."
"Really? That's so odd. Because we're VIP, like VVIP because we're blood relations of the violinist, Aurora Kent."
"She's on tour with the band," Viola put in.
He gave her an unimpressed stare.
"We're the Kent Cousins," I tried again. "Maybe you've heard of us?"
"No," he said.
"Ah, okay."
"Do you have your backstage passes?"
"Well no, but?—"
"If you don't have your passes, and you're not on the list, you can't go beyond this point."
Tolliver stepped forward. "Hey, man. Maybe you could just let us in? They really want to make sure their cousin's okay."
No response.
"Yeah, hi, Darryl," Lottie said, reading his name tag and sending him a bright smile. "I'm Charlotte."
For the first time, his stoic expression changed, lips twitching into something resembling a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's my daughter's name."
"Awesome! I love our name."
"Me too."
"We drove all the way from North Carolina just to see Aurora. Family means a lot to us—as I'm sure it does to you."
He nodded. "It does."
Lottie's smile grew. "Then can we please go inside? We'll be so fast, and we won't bother anyone, I promise."
"I wish you could, Charlotte. But no can do."
"But—"
"No passes, no names on the list," he repeated, "no entry beyond this point."
She nodded then stepped back. "Thanks anyway."
Circling up with the others a few feet away, I put my hands on my hips. "Well, that got us nowhere."
"I texted Sam," Scarlett said.
"And?" I asked hopefully.
"He tried to call Hayden, but he's not picking up. Probably getting ready for the show. Passes were supposed to be with our tickets, but I guess someone dropped the ball."
"This sucks. Who knew sneaking backstage would be so difficult?"
That got me some dirty looks, but I held up my hands.
"For once, I'm not being sarcastic," I said. "People always do it in the movies. It can't be that hard, right?"
