Miss Jefferson

Chapter 17

A Month Later

I took a deep breath, fiddling with the gold buttons on my cream-colored jacket.

"There you go," Ari tied my hair off in a bun on the top of my head.

"Thanks, Ari." I said, standing up.

"You nervous?" She asked.

I nodded. "Scared out of my mind."

She smiled. "Hey, you got this."

"Thank you." I said gratefully as my phone began to ring. I stepped out into the hallway and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Miss Jefferson!" Daveed's voice boomed through the device. "How we doing?"

"Scared." I said without hesitation. "Very scared."

"You'll be fine!" He sang, to the tune of 'You'll Be Back'.

I laughed. "Thanks, Diggs."

"And please tell me you got someone else to fix your hair for Lafayette?"

"Yeah, Ariana did it."

He let out a mock sigh of relief. "Good. You'd scare everyone away if you'd-"

"Alright, shut up."

He laughed again. "Break a leg, sis. Don't forget that Jefferson attitude. Sass everyone in the theater off at the same time."

"Will do, Diggs. I'll message you after the show."

"I'm expecting it! See ya!"

"Bye, Daveed. Thanks for calling."

"No problem, girl." He hung up.

"Excuse me, are you the Jefferson/Lafayette understudy?" Someone asked.

I looked up. "Yeah." I stuck out my hand. "Martha, right?"

She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing.

She accepted my hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well."

"Good luck tonight, anyway." She continued, leaning against the wall next to me. "Oak said something about tonight being your first performance as a major character."

I kept my face expressionless. "Yeah. I'm in ensemble, but I wanted to try out for understudy. I can't believe they gave me the understudy for a major male's part,"

She laughed. "Show them you deserve it."

I laughed too. "I will."

"I don't know all of the ensemble cast names." She said nonchalantly. "And there are so many of you—"

"There are a few ways you could distinguish us, I guess. Sasha's got big, fabulous hair. Ariana's got the curls on the top of her head. Thayne is always happy and excited about something, so you'll see his facial expressions. I have cochlear implants—"

Her head snapped up. "What?"

I looked over at her. "Yeah." I tapped the devices behind my ears.

She narrowed her eyes in confusion and suspicion. "Do you like the musical, Newsies?"

"Love it to death." I said, my tone matching the wary look on her face.

Her eyes softened, her expression now conveying a sort of sadness. "Are you Jada?"

I nodded slowly.

"Jada Astor?"

I nodded again.

Her eyes grew wide with sympathy and shock. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you...um...he told me,"

The intercom beeped. "Places call, places call."

"I gotta go." I said. "Do you want to tell me during intermission?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not staying for the show."

"You're not watching Oak?"

"No, he and I just..." she gestured in the direction of his dressing room.

She took a deep breath, hesitated, and then sighed as if to say 'forget it'. "Never mind. You'll figure it out on your own. It was a pleasure meeting you, Jada Astor."

I tilted my head. "Pleasure meeting you too, Martha, but I'm sorry to say you've got me confused out of my mind."

She smiled and laughed, turning her palms upward. "Sorry! I can't say anything more! Just, go show them that you deserve this understudy part."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

She turned on her heel and walked out the back door.

•••••

After the last note in 'Non-Stop' was sung, and the lights dimmed, and the audience was finished with their applause, we filed off the stage.

Anthony nudged me. "Act one down."

I exhaled. "I survived."

"You did good." A deep voice said.

I looked up. "What?"

Oak shifted uncomfortably. "Act one. You did really well."

I gave him a curt nod. "Thank you."

He nodded back and walked down the hall, toward his dressing room.

Anthony's eyes followed him until he disappeared around the corner.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Anthony," I reprimanded. I was, admittedly, a little ticked off as well, but I couldn't stay upset. As much as I'd like to deny it, I missed talking to Oak. I missed him.

"What? He needs to get his head straight!"

"Maybe so, but you have no right to commit first-degree murder."

"What's his problem?" Anthony ignored me and continued his ranting as Jasmine joined us. "He dates you, dumps you for some other girl, and then when he's over her, wants to get back with you?"

"He's over her?" I asked, puzzle pieces from Martha's comments clicking together.

"Yeah. Martha didn't tell you?"

"She and I haven't really talked until today. She didn't even know who I was."

"What'd she say?"

I tilted my head, remembering ho strange our exchange had been. "She found out my name, and then got really weird. Like she knew something I didn't?"

Jazzy, who'd been watching this conversation in silence, spoke up with a smirk on her face. "Maybe she does."

I gave her a look. "Which means you know too?"

She shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

"You implied it, Jasmine Cephas Jones. What do you know?"

She smiled at me, sighing happily. "You'll see."

"Jas?" Anthony raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing you can prove yet." She said, pressing a quick kiss to his lips and walking toward her dressing room.

"I'm gonna figure this out." Anthony said to me as he ran after her.

I rolled my eyes.