Love On Broadway

Chapter 2: Emma

I ran into the woman's bathroom. I immediately saw Phillipa and Jasmine in a bathroom stall. Phillipa leaned over the toilet and was obviously hurling, I crinkled my face at the smell. Jasmine held Phillipa back and stuffed toilet paper in the lip of her dress, to keep the throw-up's contents off the expensive dress, definitely one-of-a-kind."

"Oh Emma, you're here. Mark told me you were coming. Where are the pills." She held out her hands frantically, I handed the bottle to her. I checked her watch, we had five minutes until the curtain came up.

"Phillipa, will you be okay for the second act?" I asked her. "If not I can go call...."

"No! No... I'm fine." She sat up and took the pills from Jasmine. "I just need some water."

"Here I brought this for you." Truthfully, it was my water, but I haven't opened it yet, and I didn't have time to go and another bottle.

Phillipa took the pills and she immediately looked better, color returned to her face. "How much time do we have left?" She asked, taking another sip of her water.

"The underside of five minutes, we need to go get you to back your dressing room to fix your makeup." I said.

"Emma, we need you at the lighting box." David Korins, the set designer for Hamilton said in my earpiece, that every crew member had to wear. Mine was able to connect to all lines, since I was head of my department, but the lower your position, the less lines you can connect to.

"Alright, I have to go, but are you sure your alright Phillipa?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine for now."

I left Jasmine and Phillipa and found the nearest door to the stage, I walked across the pitch-black stage, I knew where I was, so I wouldn't run into anything, I knew this stage like the back of my hand.

I walked over the spinning part of the stage and dodged a free lying chair. Why hasn't anyone put that away?  I walked down the steps the where the audience was seated, I walked up the aisle and said hello to all the people who were returning from the bathroom or from talking to friends and family. I went a back set of stairs to the lightning box, where the spotlight was and other people worked the speakers and studio sounds like gunshots, and glasses clinking. I saw David Korins and Andy Blankenbuehler, the choreographer for "Hamilton". It was mostly the three of us that worked together. I'm like the glue that keeps the three of us together. And our departments. And the whole play. It's a lot of pressure everyday. "What's up guys?" I asked, looking over everything in the room, nothing looked broken.

"I wanted to put in some new choreography for the last part of the last song..." Andy started.

"Uh huh, and?" I looked at David. "Does that bother you?"

"No? We wanted to know if it would work out with the set or if we needed to change it? You're the math expert."

I  looked at the both the them. "I don't know what you two would without me." I laughed and pulled a piece of paper my way and sat down. With a pencil I drew a rough sketch of the stage and set. "So what do you want to do?" I asked Andy.

Andy then started explaining how the last thirty seconds should go with Eliza is singing in Who Live, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story. "I just don't like them sitting around like that?" He explained.

"But remember," David started. "I don't want to change it too much, we don't have enough time to make big changes, we had that chance two weeks ago when the show opened." That was true. We only had a few hours in the day when the stage wasn't being used.

I though for a moment. "Can we work on the changes tonight after the second act, and tell everyone tomorrow?"

They though for a second. "Sure," Andy said first. "I have no plans tonight."

David put up his hand. "I can't I have family coming in tonight." He sighed. "I have to get back down to the stage, we both do." He said to me. "But I do trust you, just tell me in the morning what I need to tell my people to do." He left the booth.

I smiled. "Great." I turned to Andy, let's meet on the stage twenty minutes after the play, so we can let people leave." I looked at my watch. I had less than a minute.

"Shit, I gotta go, I'll you later." I blew him a friendly kiss and jumped down the stairs and jogged up the aisle. I felt people's stares burn into my back but I didn't turn around. I got the stage with fifteen seconds left. I stayed in the dark shadows and got to the passage with the outlets to the stage. Right as I got off the stage the music for Daveed's "What Did I Miss" started. I let out a breath, that was close. I sat down on a box I hope wasn't going to be used for a while. I slipped off one of my black heels and rubbed the arch of my foot. I needed to get soles for this heels. They're so uncomfortable. I put my shoe back on. As I stood up, I winced and my feet screamed in protest. I continued down the hallway to where the dressing rooms were. The hall way grew wider and more crowded. People were heading towards the stage. I kept fighting through the crowd. This place gets busier than Time Square on New Year's Eve.

I passed Phillipa, Renee and Jasmine. Jasmine was completely changed and looked great. Her second character was Maria Reynolds. She was wearing a bright red dress and her make-up was heavier. Phillipa looked better. More color was in her face, but that might just be the makeup, or the warm, low light in the hallway.

I met a big, dark pair of eyes across the space. It was Lin. I looked away and kept going through the crowd, trying to get to the end of the hallway. A hand enclosed around my wrist. I jumped and turned around. It was Lin. What a surprise.

"Hey," He said softly.

"Hi," I replied. He left go of my wrist. I crossed my arms in front of my chest like I was cold.

"Um...Look, I...." He started but I cut him off.

"You need to say anything, it's fine."

"No Emma, it's just, I would like it if you would let me take you out to dinner. As friends." He added quickly. He looked surprised by his own word. I smiled. He was, almost, sweet.

"I would love that." But I frowned. "But not tonight."

He looked disappointed. "Why?" Then he smiled. "Have a date?"

"Andy and I are going to on some choreography changes and I wouldn't want to keep you waiting."

"Choreography changes?" Lin asked. raising his eyebrows. "Not to be rude but I thought you were in the set department."

"I'm sort of in between." I laughed. People always thought that.

"Then you can tell me all about it tonight."

"But I can't."

"Sure you can. I'll wait for you and we'll leave right after. I really want to get to know you because I don't know, you might have to stand in for someone in the show or something." We both laughed. Like that was going to happen, everybody had understudies.

"Alright, then, we'll meet here after the play as soon as you can."

"Perfect." He nodded slowly and grinned.

I turned away and hesitantly walked down the hallway until I reached the last room. It was an unused dressing room I discovered during "In The Heights". Then when I came back it was left just as I left it. I had blankets and folding chairs scattered around. I had a poster of 'In The Heights' hung up on a wall. Just a few days ago. I hung up a poster of 'Hamilton' next to it. The two looked small on the empty wall, but my dream was to have this wall filled with posters from Broadway plays that I worked for. In a corner was a new box of Lays potato chips and a flat of bottled water. Then a electronic keyboard and a messy pile of sheet music for when I want to play or sing, I had all the songs from my favorite plays saved to my phone, so I can sing to them whenever I wanted to. This was my safe haven.

I crouch down and sat crossed legged on the floor. I took out the piece of paper of the stage and begun working, while faintly hearing the music from the play downstairs and hummed along.