The Story of Tonight

Chapter Seven

Emilia didn't actually believe her mom when she texted that Lin was going to pick her up until she saw the Escalade pull up near the closed station. She also didn't think she'd ever get over seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda in his car where she'd be joining him, and not just on her phone screen doing an interview.

"I don't think I've ever met someone who lives in New York who drives so much," Lia joked as she got into the passenger seat.

Lin laughed as he turned down the volume on his radio, "It gets me where I need to go," he started driving once she was buckled in, "And it saved you from walking two miles."

"Touché. So, you were just in the neighborhood?"

"Yeah. I also figured your mom wouldn't have asked if she wasn't really desperate."

Lia couldn't help but laugh, "You're probably right."

"She hasn't changed much since we were younger; always the workaholic." He laughed fondly as he thought back to the many date nights that would turn into writing and study sessions, "What type of law does she practice?"

"She does a lot of personal injury, employee discrimination, stuff like that. She always says everyone should have access to good legal advice, not just people who've been charged with crimes."

Lin had always found Vanessa's passion to be one of the most attractive qualities about her. She had always been great at expressing it, in more ways than one.

"That sounds a lot like her."

"Yeah," Lia's face held a look of admiration. She didn't think she'd want to be a lawyer, but she was proud of all the people her mom helped, "The money sucks, but she does do a lot of good." She paused for a beat before letting out a groan, "And she'd killed me if she knew I was talking about money so,"

"Your secret's safe with me," Lin finished off her sentence, finishing it off with a genuine smile. Although he had only been around the young girl less than a handful of times, he could tell how close she was to her mother. Most teenagers didn't care about their parents' feelings, whereas, Emilia seemed to have a great respect for Vanessa.

They drove in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, only the beats of 90s rap playing throughout the car. "So, your mom said you stayed after for tutoring?"

"Of course she did," Lin held in a laugh at the change of her tone of voice. Afterall, even the most respectful of teenagers were, still, teenagers.

"Come on, what's so bad about tutoring?"

The look on Lia's face, along with her raised eyebrows, left her feelings about the topic pretty apparent, "Let's see: I'm being tutored in history and talking to someone who wrote an entire musical about history."

"I wasn't always the guy who wrote musicals about history!" Lin countered, "And it's a collaborative effort. Sure, I'd say I know more about Alexander Hamilton then the next guy, but there's no way in hell you'll find me writing a musical about geometry."

Lia couldn't help but laugh. She noticed more whenever she was Lin, he had a natural tendency to alleviate situations. "But that's not the same."

"It is. I just play to more strengths and learn to strengthen my weaknesses. Alright, what's your favorite class in school?"

"English."

The former English teacher grinned wide, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair. "Okay, I'll make you a deal. Are you still in trouble?"

Lia gave him a confused look, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question,"