Center Stage (Frazel)

3

"I am so nervous I think I could throw up," Hazel admitted, looking at Nico as they walked.
"Aw, don't be," he shrugged, throwing his arm around her shoulders.
"Well, you've done this several times before. I haven't."
They were headed to their first Cats rehearsal, and Hazel could hardly breathe. Of course it was easy for Nico - he'd done this several times. Newsies, Band! The Musical (an off-Broadway show he'd just finished up), and countless regional shows.
She'd gotten the casting news about a week and a half ago, and since then she'd been studying the script non stop. She'd watched the filmed version of the musical more times than she could count, and every morning on her run she'd listened to the Cats cast recording.
To say she was excited was an understatement.
"This building," Nico said abruptly, holding his arm out.
Hazel turned and looked up at the tall building - it was somehow more intimidating than all the other buildings around it.
"C'mon," Nico beckoned, opening the glass door. "This is where we first rehearsed for Newsies," he added.

She followed her brother inside - he grinned at the guy working at the desk, who nodded, and strode on down one of the hallways.
After passing a few wooden doors, they reached one with a 6 on the door, and Nico opened it casually, like he'd open the door to his apartment.
Inside was a large studio - one wall was a mirror, the other three were painted light blue. One had a ballet bar mounted across it.
Several people were already there; backpacks, dance bags, and water bottles were against every wall.
"Nico!" A voice called, and Nico broke into a grin as a girl trotted over to him. Her face was so familiar - Hazel just knew she'd seen her somewhere before.
"Hi, Calypso!" Nico hugged her. Obviously they'd met before. "Who are you playing?"
"Victoria," the girl - apparently named Calypso - replied, just as Hazel realized she was the girl she'd talked to at her final audition. Her long caramel hair was twisted into a bun on the top of her head, and she was wearing leggings and a Wicked: The Musical tee. Basically the same thing as Hazel.
"Oh, and Hazel! I'm guessing you're Rumpleteazer?"
Hazel grinned and nodded, and Calypso pulled her into an awkward side hug.
Hazel wasn't sure why, but she already really liked her. Maybe they could be roommates on the tour.
Just then, the door opened again and a boy not much - but a bit - bigger than Hazel strode into the studio. He had black hair, and when he and Hazel met eyes, he quickly winked.
"I'm gonna guess you're Rumpleteazer," he grinned, walking over to her.
"I am..." she said slowly. "How'd you guess?"
"Um... I follow Nico on Instagram," he laughed, "so I've seen pictures of you. And that sounded creepy."
Hazel laughed. "I'm Hazel. Who do you play?"
"I, my dear, play Mungojerrie. I'm Sherman Yang."
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were the dynamic duo of the show - there was literally a whole song called Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. They were like... Batman and Robin or something.
Hazel laughed and shook his hand. "Pleasure to be working with you."
"And you, my friend," he replied.
Just then, a middle-aged man sauntered into the room and introduced himself as the director.
By the time they actually started reading through the script, Hazel was so excited she could hardly sit still.