~4~

                                    

                                          
Jasmine's POV
                          
The excitement I felt when I woke up over Noah coming home today was quickly overcome with a feeling of anxiety. Today we were going over Say No To This. This song had me singing some of the hardest notes I've ever tried. I still couldn't seem to hit a few of them.
                          
I managed to pull myself out of bed and got ready. I stopped at Manhattan Mocha for coffee before getting a cab to take me to the theater. The nervousness over that day's practice only grew as I stepped into the Public and walked to my dressing room.
                          
Renée and Pippa immediately noticed that something was off about me.
                          
"Hey Jazzy, are you okay?" Renée asked. "You look tired."
                          
"Yeah I'm fine," I lied. "Just a little worried about going over Say No To This." A little was an understatement.
                          
"Oh yeah," Pippa said, "We're both nervous for Take A Break." I could tell she was lying to make me feel better but decided not to mention it. Instead, I changed the topic and we talked while making our way to the stage.
                          
We started practice with vocal warm-ups and then moved into running What'd I Miss. They worked on that for a while and then started on Take A Break. Daveed and Oak led me through some breathing exercises to help me calm down.
                          
"You'll do great," Oak assured me. I nodded, though I didn't believe him.
                          
They finished Take A Break and Pippa, Renée, and Ant joined Daveed and Oak in wishing me good luck as I climbed onto the stage and stood next to Lin, Sydney, and Leslie.
                          
"You ready?" Leslie asked me. He had become something like an older brother to me in the past week. I nodded quickly as the music started. Leslie sang the opening.
                          
"There's nothing like summer in the city,"
                          
Soon Lin was starting his part.
                          
"I hadn't slept in a week. I was weak. I was awake."
                          
I mentally prepared myself as my part came.
                          
"She said," Lin sang, turning and flashing an encouraging smile at me.
                          
"I know you are a man of honor."
                          
"I'm so sorry to bother you at home."
                          
"But I don't know where to go."
                          
"And I came here all alone."
                          
I sang the lines the best I could. I glanced up at the cast members who were sitting in the audience. Daveed, Anthony, and Chris had their mouths open in surprise. Am I doing something wrong? I looked over at Pippa and Renée. Pippa gave me two thumbs up while Renée smiled and nodded.
                          
"I hid the letter and I raced to her place screamed 'How could you' in her face she said," Lin sang, sounding genuinely angry. I had to remind myself he was acting.
                          
"No sir," I sang, trying to sound desperate. We continued the song and soon got to the hardest part.
                          
"If you pay, you can STAAAAAAY," I belted the last note. A few people in the cast whooped, causing me to smile for the rest of the song.
                          
As soon as the music ended the whole cast started cheering.
                          
"That was so good Jazzy!" Pippa shouted from her seat. Leslie, Sydney, and Lin all gave me a hug.
                          
"You did great!" Lin said quietly to me as we hugged. I smiled up at him and turned around, only to be ambushed by someone else's embrace.
                          
"Shit Jas I didn't know you could sing that well!" The person said.