young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 54

Carleigh had been trying to gauge Kasey's thoughts on her citizenship ceremony. Carleigh had the idea of asking the officials to attend the Hamilton performance and doing the ceremony onstage after the bows. She thought that Kasey would be alright with it, but at the same time, she was reluctant to secretly plan the ceremony without Kasey's knowledge. She knew how much becoming a dual citizen meant to Kasey.

But in every conversation, Kasey had mentioned that she wished that she could do it with everyone in the audience present. She had said that the audience was like part of her family, and so was the cast. That would be a way to have all of them there at once.

So, Carleigh had contacted the citizenship office. They'd been confused at first, and then once Carleigh explained, they were surprisingly alright with it. They said that it was an unusual request, but that they were willing to participate. It would be a good way to spread awareness about receiving dual citizenship.

Carleigh had also notified everyone else in the cast. They all knew that tonight's show was Kasey's final night as a solely British citizen.

Now, the last thing was to tell Kasey. Carleigh was nervous. 

They were in the dressing room alone. Carleigh had said that she wanted to get to the theatre early to practice her Eliza songs in the theatre, but in reality, it was so she could get ready for Kasey's ceremony.

"I have something to tell you," Carleigh confessed. Kasey looked up from her phone.

"Okay..." she said, a little warily. 

"You know how you've been talking about how much you want the cast to be at your citizenship ceremony?" Carleigh asked.

"Yeah," Kasey said. "I still do."

"I looked into it and contacted the officials. They're willing to do the citizenship ceremony tonight onstage after the show," Carleigh said. "I asked them to."

Kasey was silent for the longest few seconds of Carleigh's life. 

"You really did that for me?" Kasey asked softly.

Carleigh swallowed and nodded.

Kasey stood up and hugged Carleigh. "It means so much to me, thank you."

"So you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am," Kasey reassured her friend. "Thank you, Carleigh. It means a lot."

"You're not mad that I didn't ask you first?"

"I would have wanted a little more mental preparation, honestly," Kasey laughed. "It's a little sudden, but I'm glad you told me before they walked onstage. That would have been really terrifying."

"I'm glad. I was really concerned you'd hate the idea and be mad at me," Carleigh admitted. 

"I'm not mad, Carleigh, don't worry. Now I'm just nervous," Kasey said. 

"Don't be nervous. All you have to do is show everyone else how much you care about the United States. You've already shown everyone else that. Now you're just going public."

"Thanks, Carleigh."

"Now, I'm going to curl your hair. It's a special day."

~~~~~

The show went smoothly. Carleigh could tell that Kasey was a little nervous about the ceremony that was going take place, but she was handling the stress extremely well.

 Carleigh was excited for Kasey. She knew becoming a citizen meant a lot to her friend, and today was the day. Carleigh was just relieved that Kasey had approved of Carleigh's secret plans. 

They weren't really secret to the cast anymore. Everyone knew about how Kasey had applied for dual citizenship and taken the test. They'd all been surprised, but when Carleigh had told them what she wanted to do for Kasey, they'd all agreed in a heartbeat. 

It was exciting that Kasey was going to be a US citizen. Carleigh hoped that everything would go well, and that no one would be rude about it... Especially Megan.

Surprisingly, Megan had toned down over the course of the year. She was less antagonistic toward Kasey now, which Carleigh was glad about. As much as Kasey hid it, Megan's comments had gotten under her skin. But now, Megan just ignored Kasey's presence. Sometimes she would even do Snapchat videos with Kasey, reviewing the different filters.

"Kasey's gonna be an American!" Ariana squealed. "Are you excited?"

"Yes," Kasey laughed.

"All the swings are here, too," Carleigh added. Stephanie and Morgan waved at Kasey.

"I'm glad," Kasey admitted. "I wouldn't want to have this any other way."