young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 46

The show went well. Kasey was slightly mentally drained after taking the test and then doing a show, but it wasn't any worse than studying for finals when she was in school. 

She changed out of her costume and sent a quick text to Jace telling him where to meet up. She was still wearing the outfit she'd worn to take the citizenship test, so she was probably more dressed up than she should be. But it was fine. 

Kasey quickly made her way through the halls of the stage, dropping off her mic before heading through the secret door that opened to the theatre where the audience was. She'd taken long enough that all the audience members had been ushered out the door except Jace and his family. 

She spotted them fairly easily. They were all sitting in the lobby on the velvet covered benches. Jace was wearing a button down shirt and khakis.

There were four other people with him- a man about Jace's age, who Kasey guessed to be Jace's brother; an older woman with graying hair; and an older man with glasses; and a dark haired girl, about nine years old.

They all stood up when they saw Kasey approaching.

She hugged Jace first. "Thanks for coming, Jace," she said. Then she turned to the little girl.

"You're Kasey," the little girl stammered. 

"I am," Kasey said, smiling. 

"You're the one that Uncle Jace always talks about. You were onstage," the girl continued. "How do you dance like that?"

"A lot of practice and a lot of dance classes."

"Kasey, this is my niece, Ally. This is my brother, Jordan, my mom, Moira, and my dad, Andrew," Jace said.

Kasey shook hands with all of them except Ally, who had gone back to hiding behind her father's leg. 

"Thank you so much for doing this," Jordan said earnestly. "Ally's been talking about nothing but Hamilton for months now. We finally got a chance to see the show."

"You should have asked me to get you reduced tickets," Kasey told Jace. 

"I didn't think it would be polite," Jace said.

"I wouldn't have minded. I don't really use my family tickets, anyway," Kasey reassured him. 

"Would you mind signing a program for Ally?" Jordan asked.

"Absolutely," Kasey said. She took the pen and the Playbill that Jordan was holding out and quickly signed her name, adding 'To Ally :)' on it. 

"We loved the show," Moira told Kasey. "It is such an interesting concept, and Jace has talked about how wonderful the music is. He was right. I had never really gotten a chance to listen to it yet. I think I'll buy the album when I get home."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. The show means a lot to all of us," Kasey said. 

"What did you think, dad?" Jace asked his father.

The older man was quiet for a minute, then- "It's a stain on Broadway culture. It doesn't belong on Broadway- no hip-hop musical should ever play alongside greats like Phantom of the Opera and Cats. It was distasteful. I will never see it again."

"JAMES!" Moira hissed. 

"I have never understand why young people think they can wear leggings and flop around onstage like a couple of dead fish. The music was too loud and it is a disrespect to our founding fathers. How dare you desecrate these men and the lives that they sacrificed to create this nation?" Andrew spat at Kasey.

She took a step back.

"Especially you. You dare try and speak to my son while you poke fun at our nation's history? How dare you?! You aren't even American. You don't belong here. Go back to Britain and sulk in your castles. We don't need filth like you creating this trash and rubbing it in everyone's faces. You don't deserve to be here. We don't need British trash here. We have enough problems as it is," Jace's father continued.

Jordan took Ally away from the scene.

"How can you say that to her?" Jace demanded. "She's my friend. I thought you were better than this. She deserves to be here just as much as you. You have no right to disrespect her and her friends. This is her life!"

"She needs a different life, or, better yet, she doesn't need one at all. She and all of her friends and the people who run this filthy show can all go to hell for all I care!" 

"Come on, Kasey," Jace said, his voice icy. "We're leaving. I'll talk to you later, mom. I don't want to hear from father for a long time."

~~~~~

Jace dragged Kasey out into the brisk air. They walked quickly for a few moments. Kasey could tell that Jace was furious. She herself didn't even know what to think. She never thought someone would say such horrible things about the show. Having it spat at her face didn't make it any easier to swallow.

Finally, Jace pulled Kasey into a cafe and they sat down at a table in the window. As they waited for their drinks, Jace finally spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that. I didn't think that my father would ever say something like that. I thought he would like the show."

"It's not your fault. There will always be people who disapprove of the show," Kasey said gently.

"But you've been through so much. You survived the shooting. I cannot believe that he would say something like that knowing that people have died," Jace said, rubbing his face with his hand. 

"Not everyone is as understanding as we want them to be," Kasey told him.