Stacey found herself back at the piano. Ken had been protecting her from getting knocked over by the crowd.
"Let's play something one last time. What about that song about friendship Flail wrote?" she told Ken. "Where's your guitar? Where's Flail? Isn't this his song? Didn't someone tell me we were going to sing this song tonight?"
Stacey played the introduction of a fuzzy tune she vaguely remembered Flail writing.
"Wait," Ken told her, going over to the band to talk to them and then speaking to one of the members of the production team. He gestured to Vera, Zanity and Chastity, beckoning them over and explaining to them what was going on.
The voices and noise on the stage faded and then people began to notice Stacey at the piano. Chastity slipped onto the seat beside her and Stacey gave her the lower half of the piano.
Ken borrowed a guitar from the band, while the other girls got microphones. By the time Ken and the stage crew had gotten this impromptu performance organized, the trainees had shuffled to one side so that the cameras had a clear view of Stacey and her friends.
Flail introduced the song in a nervous voice and then looked at Ken. Ken looked at Stacey.
"Stacey," Ken said in a calm voice, "you direct. You start us off and tell us which sections go where."
Stacey nodded, looking at the yellow cup in her hand.
"Later," she told Chastity, "just keep playing and follow me."
With a deep breath, Stacey used the cup on the piano to clap and play out a syncopated rhythm. She glanced over at the drummer of the band and nodded at him. The drummer picked up the rhythm and Stacey beamed at him.
"Let me start it off and then you take over," she whispered to Chastity. Chastity leaned back and shuffled over to give Stacey space.
Stacey started off the introduction with a glissando and a bang, playing the introduction of the song.
"You take over," Stacey told Chastity, sliding out of the way when Chastity slipped her fingers into place. "Ken," Stacey glanced over her shoulder and called.
Ken came in with the guitar and Stacey played a riff using the high pitched piano notes. She looked at Flail and raised an arm to point at him to start.
Flail rapped memorable things that had happened while the trainees had been living together. Stacey waved an arm at Vera and Zanity with a smile and nod.
Vera and Zanity gave Flail vocal backup, singing lines to emphasize them.
"No more of Trent's purple socks to stink up Jeff's pillow," they sang in harmony, while Flail continued. "Martin's farts won't be missed in the dining hall."
Stacey signalled for the chorus and for a pause in the beat by making a cutting motion with both hands. Ken sang in an altered voice as low as he could into the empty space.
"Cos that's what friends are for."
Then they jumped into the chorus.
"Time is flying by like water down a stream,
And we must grasp the moment
Before it passes by.
Friends forever - we still are a team,
Today our friendships reign supreme.
Don't let this time be lost with a sigh.
Those that I did not cherish
Were slowly left behind.
Why oh why can't I make the time rewind?
I don't want to regret this moment,
I don't want to forget this moment,
I treasure this time right now with you."
"Respect!" they all punched the air with a fist.
"Girls!" Stacey called. "Take it away!"
Vera and Zanity sang the next section, singing the memorable moments among the girls. Chastity joined them while Stacey took over the piano, melding the jingles of the sponsors into the background music of the song.
After singing the chorus again, Stacey signalled to the band to quieten and slow down. She used the piano bass notes to indicate the change in rhythm, and then made the music ripple.
"Lest we forget," Stacey sighed into her microphone, and she half turned her body to nod at Ken.
Ken's section remembered small things about all the trainees who had died during the battle in Whistledown. Stacey accompanied him in harmony on the piano.
The chorus was sung in a quiet manner that lingered when the last note was pulled for an extra bar. Stacey made eye contact with everyone in the band and then sang the key modulation into a key one tone up. She cut the air with a hand to signal a skipped beat, using an exaggerated breath to signal a return to the song's faster tempo.
"Drum solo," Stacey pointed and the band drummer played a brief solo. She waved a hand, "Band altogether."
They played the introduction together once more, while Stacey wound a fist as if to pump up the sound in order to indicate an increase in power.
"Chorus. Everyone join in," Stacey called.
Chastity slipped back into place beside her, taking over the bass notes once more, while Stacey played duet with her.
Moist eyes burst into tears once more and multiple voices cracked. The trainees, mentors, production crew and audience were all caught up in the song, slinging arms over each other's shoulders and swaying while they sang.
"Why oh why can't I make the time rewind?
I don't want to regret this moment,
I don't want to forget this moment,
I treasure this time right now with you."
When the song finished, the stage devolved into a mess. Stacey saw Ken thanking the band and stage crew. Flail followed behind him, while the girls hugged. People sat and bawled in each other's arms, while others shouted to each other to speak, creating a huge din.
"Where's Stacey?" Ken shouted to Flail and the girls, looking around.
"She was here a moment ago," Chastity whirled around in surprise. "I only turned around for a second."
"Did anyone see Stacey leave?" Ken asked the other band and stage crew, but they all shook their heads. "I promised to keep an eye on her while we were on the stage. Where'd she go?"