Set in the present day, Marlowe is an American graduate student studying music composition. She learns of her acceptance to a summer festival in Vienna, but upon examining the details with her studio teacher Dr. Bietz, she begins to question the director’s motives when she is being charged thousands of dollars to secure her spot in the festivals. She laments her situation in song, and decides to pay for one of the festivals anyway, thinking that she needs to take the opportunity, as it will look good on her resume. After traveling overseas and hearing her composition be performed poorly, she returns to Dr. Bietz’s office the following semester, wondering why she went to all these lengths to get her music performed when she could have just asked her friends instead. She receives an email from the director apologizing for the disappointment, only to realize there is an invoice attached to the email, granting her admission to next year’s festival with a slight discount.