Rami & Friends

Morning (Katherine)

My alarm clock sings to me: Careful the things you say, children will listen

I wake up as if I am living in a Steven Sondheim fantasy world.

"Sing me to sleep, my babies!" I say softly into my pillow. If you ask me, the perfect way to start the morning is a jam session to the OBC of Into the Woods.

I wake up and walk to the bathroom, eager for a good rinse in the shower. Kate's bed is still lying empty on the other side of the room, and it feels wrong. Is she still in custody?

"Jeez," I say with an eye roll. "She stole a few saxophones and silver bars."

I am still waiting for a call from either her or the police department. I called 9-1-1 last night telling them to 'keep me posted', but something tells me they don't really care.

"I'll see what I can do," the woman on the other end of the phone had said last night. Well, apparently all she can do is nothing. And that is exactly what she did.

I try not to blare the Hamilton soundtrack too loudly while I'm in the shower this morning-don't want to wake up the neighbors or stuff like that. But, Lin-Manuel Miranda's voice serenading me is too much to resist, and by the time 'You'll Be Back' comes on my shuffle, I literally just can't help myself. I grab my water-proof speaker and put it full volume.

"La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-Die-ya-da da-da-da-da-Die-ya-da!"

I hear a banging on my dorm room door. I swiftly turn off the shower faucet and press pause on Johnathan Groff. "I'M IN THE SHOWER!!" I holler.

"Shut up, will ya?" I hear the voice at the door yell back. "And turn down the music. People are trying to sleep next door."

"Got it!" I yell back, trying not to act mad that they interrupted my Dorm Room Hamilton Concert. The nerve some people have, am I right.

I play Dear Evan Hansen in my ear buds as I send out the weekly email to The Phantoms:

Dear 'The Phantoms':

Why, hello again! Forgot you were on this email list? Well, no worries, I remembered, of course. I suggest we have a meeting tomorrow to discuss a brand new musical. Taking suggestions for the one she would discuss. Respond when you can.. stay musically inclined, Phantoms!

<3 Katherine Steele

Who are the Phantoms? Well, they're just a little theatre geek support group that I run, that's all. We always joke that we're a "musical theatre cult", which just scares the people away 99% of the time. We do get a new member every once in a while. Like, just last week, this girl Lilli-what was her last name? I don't remember. She wants people to call her "Check Check Check" as in the word "check" three times. Why? I do not know.

The first response I get is from greaseonakeyboard@gmail.com, that's my friend Molly, or I guess you would say acquaintance. Every time I see her on campus, she barely mutters a word. I read her email:

<<greaseonakeyboard@gmail.com>>

We should react to a new musical like 'Pretty Woman'. Just a thought

"Good idea," I reply with a cute little thumbs up emoji. I had always wanted to get around to listening to it. I mean, it is supposed to sweep the 2019 Tony Awards. I decide I am going to wait to get more replies before I pick a musical.

I go down to the dining hall to grab a box of dry cereal. I hate dairy because.. TMI ALERT.. It centers the mucus around my sinuses and nose area, and I can not sound clogged up when I sing, and I have a major lesson with my vocal coach this morning. I'm auditioning for a school production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. And even though I'll probably end up with Paulette or Margo, I'm aiming towards the lead role of Elle Woods, and to get it, I need to have a stellar audition.

Once I grab my cereal, I scurry up back to my room. I turn my phone on so I can listen to the OBC of Legally Blonde, just to familiarize myself with the material a little bit more. But, the first thing I see on my phone is a voicemail from Kate.

Hesitantly, I play it:

"Hey, Katherine. Rami isn't picking up his phone.. maybe he, like, left it in his car or something. I don't know. Well, they allowed me one phone call, but Rami isn't answering, so... I'm calling you. Anyway, they don't really know what to do with me. The punishment should be sorted out by this evening. Just wanted to clear that up, so.. yeah. That's it."

The phone goes dead silent. The evening? Kate is one of my closest friends-she's a band geek, I'm a theatre geek. We both love music.

I honestly think Rami is kind of a jerk. He doesn't seem worried at all.. he hasn't called me once to see if she's come home yet.

All morning, I debate whether I should call Rami or not. To be fair, he never called me once. But, I decide to anyway, before it's too late, considering my voice lesson is 9:30, and I can't be late.

I finally dial his number, and I tell him everything. He seems more understanding and worried than I thought he would. I hang up when things get awkward, he starts breathing into the phone really heavily and it's giving me weird chills.

I stare at the clock.. 8:50. Kate will get home this evening.

And now, we wait.