Penelope smiled and realized they were genuinely inviting her, so she softened her tone. "Well, I can give it a try. But I don't need to go to the audition room. I'll send you an audio of me singing a song I've done before. If you think it's okay, I'll join your group."

"That works," the boy nodded eagerly.

"Let's connect on Instagram," the girl suggested, taking out her phone.

Penelope took out her phone, too. She asked somewhat awkwardly, "By the way, I don't know your names yet."

"I'm Max Brown."

"I'm Abby Black."

"Got it," Penelope sent the audio she had saved on her phone to Abby. She...