"Hello?" I ask, putting the phone to my ear.
"Scout?"
"Atticus?" I here a chuckle on the other end.
"Do people really call you Scout?"
"Yes. They do. But not because of the book. How are you calling me?
"You're book. You left it. And it has the number."
"Oh, shit. I forgot about that. Um, I could come get it so that you don't have to do anyth-"
"Why don't you come to the theater? You can meet some if the cast and get your book back."
"The cast. Of Hamilton?"
"No. Cats." He says, sarcastically.
"Well, sorry. It's not like I've seen a Broadway show before, never mind meet a cast."
"There's a first time for everything. How about Friday. Before the show. It's at eight so you wouldn't miss any school."
"Um, yeah. That works."
"Meet you at the stage door at like five?"
"Sure. Thanks." I say, still surprised.
"No problem." I hang up, still completely shocked.
"Denis! I'll be home later Friday night." I call. He peaks his head out from his room.
"Do you know what time." I shake my head.
"Call me when you find out."
"Okay." I grab my bag and walk off to my room. It's small. It's a foldable twin sized bed and I can just stand in it. I haven't decided if I prefer this over foster care. As much as I hated being passed around, I at least had some hope of being put in a really loving home that would help me reach my dream and even adopt me. That's every orphans dream, isn't it though?
I have my brother though. He's nineteen years old and got custody of me months ago. I don't think he's fit for it but it appears so. When you fold my bed, the room looks bigger.
We aren't necessarily poor. We inherited money from our parents and since my father knew that he was going to die, he set everything up. My brother was applying to colleges at the time and I was flying through schoolwork and books such as Les Mis. So the money went towards our eduction. Only our education. And textbooks.
I sit down on my bed and swing my legs.
Why did he invite me? Me.
-
"Scout." The man says when I approach the theater. Lin-Manuel is his name. I just think of him as Lin.
"I don't think your disguise works as well as it would if you weren't standing in front of the theater you work at." He has on a hat and sunglasses.
"Well it's working right now. Come on." We enter through the front door instead of the stage and I follow him down corridor after corridor and stairs. "So what's with the uniform?" My uniform is multiple shades of blue. I have a white blouse, plaid skirt, and a a blue sweater with the logo on the upper left side. Plus tights because it's cold.
"I go to a private school." I say as we continue to make our way around the building.
"I guessed."
"I would have changed into normal clothes but I had to stay after today."
"Were you in trouble?" He teases.
"No. Orchestra and yearbook crew."
"Oh, what instrument do you play?"
"Violin."
"Do you like it?" I shrug.
"I only play twice a week. And yearbook is twice a month." He nods.
"So you let me ask questions but not Daniel."
"You're doing something nice for me."
"So if I wasn't, you'd blow my questions off."
"Precisely." He laughs and opens a door, letting me in first. "Thanks. What's this room?"
"The green room. You know what that is?"
"No."
"Yeah you do."
"How would you know?"
"I just do. These are our coloring books. Check out this one." He lifts up one from the stack. "It's a Hamilton one." He hands it to me and I open it, flipping through and looking at each one.
"Cool."
"Cool? Is that what I get from a girl who goes to Walker?" He must have seen the name on my sweater.
"Engrossing." I say, like I'm fancy or a rich and educated lady. He laughs. "So do you get like drawings and stuff?"
"Yeah. It's really cool. Sorry, I mean engrossing. There's some really great artists that send stuff." I nod, impressed by the coloring book.
"Lets's go see some of the cast."
