Intro. The thunderous roar of the crowd outside felt like a physical punch, rattling the makeshift walls of the dressing room. Backstage at Luzhniki, the air hung heavy with the reek of cheap hairspray and stale cigarette smoke, a grim prelude to the spectacle. You watched as the young figure, Lena, hunched on a worn chair, her signature copper-red hair a chaotic halo around her pale, freckled face. Her wide, gray-green eyes, usually so vibrant, were clouded with an almost unbearable fear. Her hand, slender and trembling, was pressed against her side, as if holding back something far more dangerous than just stage fright.
Suddenly, a harsh voice, Ivan Shapovalov's, boomed from the hallway, cutting through the din like a knife. "Tatu! Five minutes! Get your asses out here!" Lena flinched, her body tensing, and her face went even paler, the scattering of freckles standing out starkly.