Miss Jefferson

Chapter 2

I was born in Manhattan, New York, where my parents still live.

I've got skin the shade of copper, and nearly untameable curly hair.

I went to school, did ballet and contemporary dancing, my mom taught me to sing, etc., etc.

Relatively normal life for your average New York kid, right?

Well, there's one small difference.

When I was eight, I lost most of my hearing. Had to get surgery and cochlear implants.

And no, they don't fly off my head when I do a pirouette.

Okay, maybe they did once, but that's beside the point.

I moved out when I was 20 years old, and got an apartment of my own.

I lived as normal as I could, looking for jobs, paying rent, and always looking for another book to read.

But one day, my best friend told me about this new musical.

I auditioned with him.

I didn't actually think I'd get in, but I guess I was pleasantly surprised.

•••••

"And she says, hey," Julian began.

"Hey, hey, hey," we echoed. My hand collided with the back of the wooden chair I sat on.

"And she says, hey," He nodded, and we all joined in for the last verse. "Cause there's no place I'd rather go, rather be, rather see."

Applause rang out through the small studio room.

"Call it a day?" Mack asked, checking her watch.

"Yep." Julian answered. "Same time Thursday?"

"You bet." I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

"Hey, I was thinking," Mack started.

"Oh, no." We all seemed to groan collectively.

She rolled her eyes. "What?"

"We all know what happens when you start getting ideas." Cecile said, giving Mack a look.

"Alright, but I promise it's good this time!" She insisted.

"That's what you said last time!" I teased.

"Oh, shut up."

Julian laughed. "Alright, Mack. Spill."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, wouldn't it be cool if we could actually do something with the songs we sing? I mean, we come in here, for no reason, and we—"

"It ain't for no reason." Andrew cut in. "It's to have fun."

"Well, I know that! But think about it! We sound great!" Mack exclaimed.

Julian looked at the rest of us. "We'll talk about it Thursday, okay?"

We all agreed. Eventually, all 17 of us exited the studio building.

I stopped at the water fountain to get a drink before leaving.

My phone began ringing.

I wiped my mouth and pulled it out of my pocket, answering the call.

"Hello?"

I listened to the voice with a growing smile on my face.

"Yes, yes, thank you! Thank you so much! When? Saturday? Okay, thank you! Bye!"

I hung up and immediately scrolled through my contacts to make another call.

Calling Anthony

"What's up, Jada?" He asked.

"I got a call from the producers." I said excitedly.

"Really? What'd they say?"

"I made it! First rehearsal on Saturday! What about you?"

"I'm just gonna be honest with you, Jada, I did get a call."

"And?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see if I'm there on Saturday."

"You jerk. That is not a fun game."

"It's fun to me."

"It's stupid. You're stupid. Did you get in or not?"

"I think you'll be surprised at my answer, since someone stupid, such as myself, wouldn't be able to land a spot."

"You got in."

"That I did, girl."

"Congratulations!"

"Hey, same to you. Do you want to get together tonight to do something for it?"

"I literally can't think of anything else to do than watch a movie or something." I laughed.

"Then that's what we'll do. I'll see you around seven?"

"Sure. My place."

"Gotcha."

•••••

"Which characters did you get?" I asked, flipping through his script.

"John Laurens and Philip Hamilton. You?"

"Ensemble and understudy."

"Understudy for what?"

"I was thinking about that. I don't know. They'll just have to see what I'm best at."

"You're best at everything."

I threw a popcorn kernel at him. "I think I have a role in mind."

"You looked over it?"

"Yeah. So, do you know anyone else on cast?"

"Lin. That's about it."

"Hmm. Can I catch a ride with you on Saturday?"

"Why you always hitchhiking with me?"

"Cause everyone else in New York could be trying to kidnap me. You don't carpool with strangers."

"How do you know I'm not trying to kidnap you?"

"Cause you would've done it by now."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. You nervous?"

"I'm excited. Really excited. But...yeah."

He laughed. "It's okay to be nervous."

"You just gotta show 'em what you got, right?"

He nodded, tapping my nose. "Exactly."