One cool example of figurative language in the passage is a simile: "her stomach dropped like a free-falling elevator." This basically means that Melanie felt really nervous, and her stomach sank quickly, kind of like how an elevator drops suddenly if the cable breaks. The author uses this simile to help us understand just how anxious Melanie is feeling.
Another example is also a simile: "like the straw in her pink lemonade." This means that Melanie gently bent the microphone towards her mouth, similar to how a straw sits in a glass of pink lemonade. The author uses this simile to paint a clear picture in our minds and show us how careful and delicate Melanie is when she’s using the microphone.