The storm raged outside hours after the power went out. The temperature had dropped to be well below fifty degrees, which was unusual for November.
Kasey and Carleigh had brought all of their blankets from their beds into the living room and piled them all on the couch. It was freezing. They were both bundled up. Kasey changed into her grey beanie, her British scarf, and a pair of fluffy reindeer socks. Carleigh put on a beanie, too.
Since the power was out, they couldn't do much. Carleigh had lit her Hamilton opening night candle, and they had a little lantern, so they lit that candle, too.
Kasey had turned off her phone to conserve battery. If she needed to call someone, she didn't want her phone to be dead.
They had a deck of cards and played war for a while.
"So, how's the show going?" Carleigh asked.
"It's going really well. I think it'll be a good show. I'm excited to start staging and performing in our pre-Broadway shows," Kasey told her.
"That's good. Are they nice? Or are they like Megan?"
"No one is like Megan, exactly. I'm not a fan of the director, or Jacob, who plays Kristoff," Kasey admitted. "But Jess Clarke is such a sweetheart. You'd like her. And the little girls are adorable."
"I want to meet Jess, at least," Carleigh said. "So I can make sure that someone there is taking care of you. I don't like that we're not in the same show anymore. I can't protect you all the time."
"Carleigh, you don't need to protect me. I'm okay," Kasey said gently.
"But what if there's another shooting? Or if someone like Megan decides to make your life miserable?"
"There would be nothing you could do. You need to stop worrying about me," Kasey told her.
"What about Jace?" Carleigh asked after a brief silence.
"I don't know. Maybe he's just not into me anymore. You'd think he'd be happy about Frozen, but he's not. I get that he's upset that Tangled is going off, but he couldn't stay there forever. He already is the only official Flynn Rider. Even Kaitlyn Knox gave up Pascal a while ago."
"It's hard for anyone to leave a show. Think of how hard it was for you to leave. And I had a hard time leaving, but it comes with the knowledge that you have to move on," Carleigh reminded Kasey.
"I know, but he's my boyfriend. I don't know. I get where he's coming from, but he's acting like it's my fault," Kasey said.
Carleigh's phone rang. She picked it up, frowning slightly.
"Hey, Lin... Okay. Alright. Sure, I'll see. I'll ask her. Thanks. Stay safe. Alright, bye."
"What was it?" Kasey asked when Carleigh hung up.
"They're planning an OBC reunion, and Lin wanted to know if we were coming," Carleigh explained.
"Why did he call now?"
"I think he's bored. No one knows what to do. The group chat is getting spammed," Carleigh laughed.
"Hopefully the storm will be over soon," Kasey commented.
"I don't know... It's apparently a pretty serious storm. There's already a lot of rain on the streets. It's going to mess up a lot if it keeps raining like this."
Eventually, they both decided to go to sleep. Kasey had her stuff bundled up on one end of the couch, and Carleigh was on the other.
Being in the loft, hearing the storm raging outside, had an oddly calming effect. Kasey felt safe, wrapped up in her blankets, listening to Carleigh's light breaths.
~~~~~~~~
When Kasey woke up in the morning, the sun was streaming through the window. But Kasey could still see clouds in the distance. She guessed that the storm wasn't over.
Despite that, a terse message from Gary declared that rehearsals would continue, with or without more storms.
Emma, Maura, Rebecca, and Lily's parents all said that they weren't letting their children go to rehearsal. At least the younger ones were safe.
About a quarter of the cast wasn't coming. They either couldn't get transportation in or were dealing with leaks and flooding issues.
"Carleigh, I have to go to rehearsal," Kasey told her friend. Carleigh sat up.
"It's supposed to keep storming, though," Carleigh protested.
"I know, but there's no rest for the wicked, apparently," Kasey laughed. "I'll be okay. I'll take my phone and I'll tell you when I'm heading back."
"Alright, stay safe," Carleigh said.
"I should be back in like three hours," Kasey said.
"Okay," Carleigh said, burrowing back under her blankets.