Going Viral

Chapter 55

March 27th

It seemed the whole world was watching. Rationally, she knows that isn't the case. The only person she knows that's in the audience is Percy. The rest of the seats are filled with a sea of unfamiliar faces that have come to support the show one final time.

Nostalgia creeps into the auditorium like a dense mist. Every thing she does is for the final time. This is the final time she will open the show, the final time she will sing this solo, do that routine, say those lines. Part of her wants to freeze in those moments forever, the other part of her wants to live through them all as fast as she can.

(Her vlogging camera is safely packed away in it's case in her apartment. As much as she wants to remember this experience forever, she would much rather focus on living in the present moment.)

And then the cast is bowing and she lets out the breath that's kept her going for the last few hours. Her chest is heaving and her headset feels sticky from sweat, but she's beaming at Ella who squirms impatiently on her hip. As is customary for a closing night, Jake darts on with a handheld mic and Apollo saunters to the front of the stage to make a speech.

"Good people of New York!" Apollo greets the audience, his flair for the dramatics making a few of the company hold back a laugh. He seems to have dressed a little more formally today in lieu of the show closing. His usual tracksuit or jogging bottoms has been replaced with a pair of clean jeans and a plain white shirt. There were a few creases in the shoulder but besides that, he looked almost smart. "Thank you for being here on this momentous occasion, the closing of a door, the finale to a wonderful run of shows. I've written a haiku for tonight, because my otherwise simple words cannot express my gratitude and love for the cast and crew of this wonderful production."

Around Annabeth, there was a commotion of people grumbling or trying not to laugh. Apollo's haikus must have been pretty memorable then, and not for the way he likely claimed they would be.

Tapping his mic, Apollo cleared his throat and began reciting the words he'd written on his hand. His voice was low and serious, causing the tone of the tone of the poem to be seriously misleading.

"Waitress is over.
We're all out of a job now.
Thank you for coming."

The auditorium fell into an awkward silence. Someone on the upper circle coughed. Ella wriggled in Annabeth's arms. Finally, Katrina let out a snort and everyone on stage fell into rowdy laughter, the tension easing from the room.

Still stood centre stage, Apollo beamed and spread his hands out, bowing to the audience. It seems he misunderstood the meaning of the applause. Annabeth was happy to let him bask in the limelight anyway.

"Now, back to the serious stuff. I've got about a million 'thank you's to say, but I'll do those in person. The most important ones just happen to be for the people on this very stage."

All eyes turned to them once more. Luke tugged on Ella's pigtails, muttering something that Annabeth didn't listen to. Her eyes met Percy's and all of her thoughts turned to him as Apollo droned on in the background.

He was sat closer to the front this time around, though she hadn't been able to see him during the performance. Now the house lights were up, her focus was drawn to him like some kind of magnetic force. Percy was smiling widely at her. When he caught her staring, he blew a kiss in her direction and butterflies swarmed her stomach as if she was reliving her Broadway debut all over again.

"That's you!" Ella prodded her side.

Dazed, Annabeth turned back to where Apollo was stood. Somehow, a bunch of flowers had appeared in his arms. She had been to out-of-it to notice how they got there.