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Raymond and I looked at each other. He shrugged in disbelief. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I left to the lobby. There I saw Mark talking to another comic. “Hey,” I said. “Was Robbie supposed to get stage time today?” “Oh. He texted me today asking if he could get a spot, so I just squeezed him in.” That was it. A simple text was all it took. I didn’t know whether to be angry or impressed of how ballsy Robbie was. “Well,” I said. “Do you know if there will be any more open spots?” Mark shrugged. “I’ll have to see. You have a spot right?” “Yeah, next month.” I tried to hide any scorn in my voice. “Okay then. I’ll try.” And that was the end of the conversation. I heard music blaring from the show room. The headliner must have been merciful and finished early. Raymond came out into the lobby carrying a thick stack of tickets in his hand. He was nervously laughing in disbelief at what he witnessed. “How was the rest of his set?” I asked. “Dude, I don’t even know what to say. He started doing poetry.” “I wonder what happened to him.” “I’m pretty sure he’s just crazy.” A few groggy eyed audience members came shuffling out of the auditorium. We stood next to each other, handing out tickets. The crowd seemed tired and mostly confused. I heard murmurs about that “crazy guy” and “psycho.” I overheard someone ask, “Did that guy have a nervous breakdown or something?” “Well,” I began. “At least we can say we’re funnier than him.” “Yeah. But he gets to be the headliner,” Raymond said in a matter of fact tone. “Do you think that will happen to us?” I asked. “I hope not. Maybe it will happen to you,” Raymond joked. “Can’t wait.” We both laughed, but a nervous feeling crept up from my stomach. I felt myself deflate, and the crowd was now nothing but a blur. I was handing tickets to an amorphous blob of faces and hair and low cut dresses. I bit my lower lip. The last few audience members completely ignored us, and before we knew it the lobby was empty. Raymond and I followed after them and walked out to the front of the Improv. The crowd 61