young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 25

Kasey went to the girl's bathroom to wipe off her makeup and then she gathered up her water bottle and her bag.

"Nice job, Kasey," Megan said, walking into the bathroom. "I'm sure everyone in the audience appreciated how horrible you sounded tonight. Congratulations on ruining everyone's experience of Angelica Schuyler. I didn't know one person could single-handedly screw up an entire show, and yet here we are."

Kasey just tiredly left the bathroom. She ran a comb quickly through her hair and tried not to let Megan's comments bother her. They had, though. It had hurt so much to hear those words come out of Megan's mouth, even though Kasey knew the other girl never had anything nice to say. But with how Kasey felt about her performance, she couldn't keep from agreeing with Megan.

Pippa walked past with her stuff. "Goodnight," she said softly.

"Night, Pippa," Kasey said. She went out the door. Carleigh was standing there on her phone. "I'm ready to go."

"Do you want to both go out at the same time?" Carleigh asked, putting her phone in her pocket.

"Yeah," Kasey said. Carleigh stopped before they got to the door and just hugged Kasey.

"You are fantastic, don't ever think otherwise, alright, Kasey? You're the sweetest and you are quite honestly my favorite person ever. I love you so much," Carleigh said.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Carleigh, I really am," Kasey mumbled.

"I completely understand, don't worry about it," Carleigh said instantly. "Let's go home. We can watch Grey's Anatomy and drink tea."

"Alright," Kasey laughed.

They opened the door and immediately the fans exploded. Kasey pulled out her sharpie and approached the nearest fans.

"You were amazing as Angelica!" a little girl exclaimed. "How can you talk so fast?"

"Lots of practice, and some coaching from my friends," Kasey told her as she signed the Playbill.

"I saw you in ensemble and I really wanted to see you as Angelica, and I'm so happy I did!" a teenager told Kasey. "I felt so bad when your mic cut out! Did you panic?"

"Thank you," Kasey said. "And a little. I dropped the American accent so many times, honestly."

"I noticed, but I thought it sounded really natural in the songs. I think it would be cool if they let you try the whole show as Angelica in a British accent. I don't understand why they force you to use your American accent," the girl said.

"It was a matter of matching with the ensemblists," Kasey informed her. "I didn't have a problem with it, and plus, it gives me an excuse to get better at faking accents."

"Well, you sound amazing either way."

Eventually Kasey and Carleigh saw all of the people at the stage door.

"See, they all loved you," Carleigh said, wrapping her arm around Kasey. Kasey smiled a little bit.

"It did make me better," she admitted. "They were all so nice."

They walked up the stairs to their loft and Carleigh unlocked the door, switching on the lights. Kasey let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"First Angelica show down," Kasey said.

"Maybe next time we can be Schuyler Sisters together," Carleigh said, clapping her hands together. "Me as Carliza and you as Angelica."

"I understudy Peggy/Maria, too, you know," Kasey reminded her friend.

"I know, but you're so innocent. I don't see you as Peggy/Maria," Carleigh replied. "I don't know, you're perfect for Angelica."

"If you're going for character, you'd be Angelica, and I'd be Eliza," Kasey corrected her. "You're the protective older sister, and I'm the younger one."

"I guess that's true," Carleigh laughed.

Kasey checked her phone. She'd gotten several messages.

Jace: how was your show?

Another, from Lin:

Lin: The Tony committee announced tonight that there is a new award category added for this year's awards, and that category is: Best Ensemble Cast. On another note, just a reminder that the Grammy nominations are being announced on December 7.

Kasey looked up from her phone briefly. "Did you know that there was a new category for the Tony's?" she asked Carleigh.

"No, I didn't," Carleigh said, frowning. "What is it?"

"Best ensemble," Kasey said.

"It's sad that they never had that category before. There are a lot of amazing casts that have fantastic ensembles. Especially shows like Wicked and Lion King," Carleigh commented.

"That's true," Kasey agreed. She sat down on the couch. "Did you want to watch Grey's?" Carleigh laughed and nodded.

"I don't remember which episode we're on, though," Carleigh said.

"I think it was the season finale of season eight," Kasey said. "I'm not sure."

"That sounds right," Carleigh replied. She sat down next to Kasey and grabbed a blanket from the bin that they stored their blankets. It was the British flag one, that Kasey had gotten from Paul and Wendy when she went to Juilliard.

They started watching the episode. Kasey slid closer to Carleigh so that they could share the blanket, and Carleigh put her chin on top of Kasey's head.

"Thanks for tolerating my overreaction," Kasey said just as the intro played.

"Of course, that's what friends are for," Carleigh laughed.