young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 14

Kasey arrived back at the apartment. It looked like Carleigh had already gone to bed, which made sense. She'd done a show that night. Kasey dialed Wendy and Paul.

"Hi, Kasey!" Wendy exclaimed. "I have good news. We're adopting a little girl. Her name's Alaina, and she's nine years old."

"That's... great!" Kasey replied, a little surprised. She didn't think it would happen this quickly. It wasn't that she didn't have a problem with it, but it was still strange to think about.

"She's from Paris, and we're going to get to meet her in two weeks," Wendy said. "She's a beautiful little girl."

"That's wonderful."

"So, how was your show tonight?" Wendy asked.

"Oh, I saw Tangled instead. A friend got me a ticket," Kasey said. "It was fantastic. The actors are so good, and the sets are just amazing."

"What friend?"

"Oh, just a guy that I met a couple weeks ago," Kasey said, already regretting telling Wendy. She knew she would freak out.

"Oh, a guy! Kasey, that's so amazing! Paul! Kasey met a guy!" Wendy squealed instantly. "What's he like? Is he hot? What does he do for a living? How did you meet?"

"Wendy, calm down, it's not that big of a deal. We're just friends," Kasey said, rolling her eyes. "His name's Jace, and he's an actor, and we met outside one of the theatres. And he's hot, I suppose."

"Saying a guy is hot means that you're probably not just friends, Kasey," Wendy chided. "Are you sure you aren't dating? You don't need to be afraid of telling me."

"We're not dating," Kasey reassured her.

"That's disappointing."

"You haven't even met him!"

"I know, but you need a guy in your life. You can't just sit at home alone and eat pretzels all day. You have to meet people. Fall in love. That's the real life," Wendy said.

"I don't eat pretzels all day," Kasey protested. "And I don't live alone. I share a loft with Carleigh, remember? You met her. She's super chill."

"Yes, but Carleigh's a girl," Wendy said. "She's your friend. I meant with someone who's more than a friend."

"So how did you find Alaina?" Kasey asked, changing the subject.

"Well, we contacted the adoption agency and they said that they had a beautiful little girl just waiting to be adopted. They said that she had been in the foster system for a while and needed a home. I wanted a girl, and it only took a few days to convince Paul," Wendy said.

Kasey knew what it was like to be in the foster system. After her family had died, she had gone through at least four homes before Wendy and Paul fostered her. Luckily, they kept her, instead of sending her on like everybody else had.

"Are you guys back in England now?" she asked.

"We arrived a few days ago," Wendy said. "Well, I have to go. Paul is summoning me to make him some food, and I'm starving."

"Alright. I'll talk to you later," Kasey said. "Love you both."

"Love you too, Kasey," Wendy said.

Kasey hung up and then changed into her flannel pajama pants and her sweatshirt. She flopped down on her bed and checked her phone.

Pippa: kaaasseeeeyyyy

Kasey: what

Pippa: i'm bored and i can't go to sleep

Kasey: that's not my problem is it?

Pippa: tell me about tangled

Kasey: well, they're all amazing, and the music is goals and the dancing is fantastic and just ahhhh

Pippa: maybe we should make it a field trip to go see it on one of our days off. i've wanted to see that for a while.

Kasey: that would be so much fun! just not any time soon. i still have to gain everyone's trust back.

Pippa: i still love you lots, kasey

Kasey: thanks, Pippa, it means a lot

Kasey rolled over and turned out her lamp. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

~~~~~~

The next show was the strangest show Kasey had ever been in. At first, it went extremely well. But then, the stage manager called everyone to the stage ten minutes before the opening of act two.

"We've received threats for this theatre, and there is significant danger in proceeding. Some extremists are here now and they claim to have weapons," the stage manager said. Kasey's heart dropped. Threats? Weapons? Broadway was supposed to be a safe place for everyone. Why would anyone want to hurt people in a Broadway show? "At the same time, we cannot alert the audience of the danger inside the theatre. It is your choice to continue or not to continue. Either way is dangerous."

The entire cast exchanged glances. "What danger is there?" Lin asked finally.

"There are possible guns," the stage manager said after a pause. "I will not ask any cast member to proceed if they are not comfortable. This is an extremely risky situation."

"Is the audience in any danger?"

"The extremists are on the upper level of the mezzanine. They have the capabilities of firing onto the stage and into the audience. If it were anywhere else, there would be slightly less concern. They have access to the entire theatre audience, except those below them," the stage manager explained.

"What were the exact threats?"

"It was involving race and those involved in this show, but we have no idea if they will decide to fire into the audience."

"We should continue," Lin said finally. "This show is about overcoming those obstacles. If we stop the show, we're letting them win."

"But at what cost?" Renee asked quietly. "The lives of those in this show?"

"I'm prepared to take the risk," Lin told her. "I don't know who else is, but I am asking you all not to give into the fear that those extremists are instilling in you. It's letting them win, and we all know that love is love. It does not matter what our skin color is, where our families are from, or what country we were born in." Lin surveyed the entire cast. "This is Hamilton. We're telling a story about a revolution. Now we are the revolution."

"I agree," Daveed said. "The reason we made this show was to oppose stereotypes. Why give in now?"

"Any of you who do not want to participate may leave," Lin said at last. "I will see if the swings can stand in for those of you who wish to go home."

"No one is going home," Thayne spoke up. "We're all part of this show. Deserting it in a time like this would mean that we don't care about this show. It's not going to happen."

The announcement clicked on. "Two minutes to curtain."

"Let's do this," Lin said. The cast members shared hugs all around. Kasey embraced Carleigh tightly.

Who knew what would happen? No threats had ever happened like this in Broadway history. They were in new, unfamiliar, dangerous territory. But it was their duty to put the show on, for the fans and for the world. Kasey knew that if something bad happened, they would become inspirations to the rest of the people out there. It would show everyone not to bow down to those who wanted to ruin their lives. Kasey had joined Hamilton to inspire, and this was her chance.