Blow Us All Away

Chapter Five

Pippa, Jasmine, Renée and I get Chinese takeout and sit on the floor of Pippa's apartment to eat it. We finish and Pippa looks at the clock.

"Oh my gosh, it's already three!" She exclaims.

"We should get to the theater," Renée says.

We all get up and get ready to go. I go into the bathroom to change into something nicer and meet the rest of them back by the door.

"Ready?" Jasmine asks. I nod.

We all leave our bags from shopping and split up to go to the theater. I ride with Jasmine, and Renée and Pippa ride in their own cars so they can get back to their apartments.

Pippa arrives at the theater first, then Jasmine and I. We have to wait nearly five minutes for Renée.

"I got stuck at a red light that you guys got past!" She fumes. "I totally would have beat you."

"We were racing?" Jasmine asks.

"Obviously," Pippa says, smiling.

We go into the theater and they head down to the rehearsal studio to warm up and practice. I sit backstage and pull out my phone. It's one of the oldest iPhones, but it works for me. Thankfully I got it before all the foster care business, or I never would have gotten one.

I open color switch and begin to play, so absorbed in the game that I don't notice Jonathan sneaking up behind me.

"BOO!" He yells. I shriek and fall sideways off the chair I was sitting on. Jonathan starts laughing.

I get back up on my chair and scowl at him. He laughs harder.

"I totally scared you," he says.

"Yeah, you did," I say, still kind of out of breath. Jonathan is still laughing.

"Wait," I start, "Aren't you supposed to be in rehearsal?"

"We're on break," he says.

"Well then... where is everyone else?"

Suddenly a bunch of people jump out from the shadows, yelling, "BOO!"

"Oh my gosh!" I panic, my heartbeat accelerating, "Are you guys trying to kill me?"

They all start laughing Lin walks up, "You actually didn't see that coming?" He says.

"No!" I exclaim.

He smiles. "I have a surprise."

"Is it going to give me a heart attack again?" I reply, genuinely afraid.

"Maybe..." Lin says. Everyone laughs. "I talked to your foster parents and the state, and I now have the legal writes to foster you!"

I squeak, "Oh my God, seriously?"

"Seriously," Lin says, grinning widely at me.

I start jumping up and down. Thayne laughs at me.

"So I was thinking we could go shopping for your room tomorrow, but for now we have a show to perform!' Lin says. "You can watch from backstage tonight. Do you need food or anything? I could get something from the fridge, or go pick something up..."

"Lin, I'm fine," I say. "You guys just get ready for the show."

"Okay," he says. They begin to set things strategically backstage, staging them so they can be found at a moments notice. Costumes are put on, hair and makeup done, and finally the theater begins to fill.

"Good luck," I tell everyone. I stand in a place where I won't block any of the props, and the lights dim in the theater. Jonathan does the introduction, then the show begins.

Lin stands behind me. "I can't believe I'm backstage on the set of Hamilton during the show," I say, and Lin smiles at me.

"That's my cue," he says, and walks out to sing.

Once again I laugh a lot and have to restrain myself from singing along. When the cast comes back for intermission, I high five everyone. They each drink about three water bottles, do costume changes, and return to the backstage area. I bounce around, still not believing that I am here.

"That was so awesome!" I whisper excitedly from backstage. I can almost see the people in the first row.

"We know," Jonathan says. I laugh.

The lights dim again and the ensemble and Daveed go out for What'd I Miss. I listen in awe to the rest of the musical. I start crying at Say no to This and don't stop for the rest of the musical. The cast sings the final number and the crowd goes wild. Everyone bows and files off the stage.

"How?" I ask. "How can you make me cry the first time when I knew what would happen, then make me cry again when I can't even see what's going on?"

Lin smiles as he takes off his mic. "We're good at what we do."

"Duh!" I exclaim. Lin chuckles.

They all get out of their costumes and meet backstage, chugging more water bottles.

"So," Lin says, "Who's taking Hazel home tonight?"

"I could," Pippa says.

"Great," Lin replies.

"Girls sleepover!" Pippa shouts.

"Just remember," Lin adds, "We do have a show tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Jasmine says.

"Should we meet you at your apartment?" Renée asks.

"Yeah," Pippa says. I follow her back out to her car and hop in. We drive away from my new home and I wonder what I did to deserve this.

A/N

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is late, I have to practice my clarinet sometime over the summer:) Also I have never actually written on a schedule before, so we'll see how it works. Make sure you comment and vote, thanks for reading this!

Mitch