Mike groaned quietly to himself as he stepped out the doors of the studio. The streets of New York were even more crowded than he'd expected them to be on a Friday evening. People rushed past past on the sidewalk, jostling his arm and stepping briefly into the street to move around someone who was moving particularly slow. The pace in New York was so fast and he still hadn't quite managed to feel comfortable here. He thought he'd be ready for New York after living in Chicago for the past eight years, but after only a month here he could see that the cities were almost as different from each other as they both were from Lima. In Chicago everything had been a bit slower, the city a bit calmer, and the people a tad friendlier.
He paused for a moment to adjust his bag and his earbuds before stepping carefully into the moving sea of people and heading east towards the subway. He took a moment to adjust to the flow of people, but he soon settled down and cranked up the volume on his iPod. His mind whirled as he worked out the steps to go with the song he had on repeat while his feet covered the increasingly familiar route towards the apartment he shared with a coworker.
A few blocks later Mike was crossing the street towards the metro when he caught a glimpse of someone exiting the coffee shop a few steps ahead of him. Her head was bowed towards the phone in one hand, while the other hand clutched a cup of coffee, but he would have recognized that petite brunette anywhere. He removed the earbuds and let them dangle around his neck as he quickened his pace a bit to catch up. When she glanced up to check the crosswalk his face split into a grin as her identity was confirmed.
She had earbuds in, he could see the tell tale white cord peeking out of the collar of her jacket, so he reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. Her head moved to a beat he couldn't hear but she didn't turned towards him, probably so used to people brushing against her on the sidewalk that she didn't think the tap was intentional. Moving closer he reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, feeling her tense beneath him before she whirled around.
Her eyes were blazing, her mouth open and he had no doubt she was ready to fire off a scathing lecture on how extremely rude it was to touch people in public, but the words died on her lips when she registered the face in front of her.
"Mike Chang!" she squealed and throw her free around his waist in an exuberant hug. He hugged her back just as exuberantly nearly lifting her off the ground, he'd forgotten how very tiny Rachel was. "What are you doing in New York? Last I heard you were in Chicago dancing with Hubbard Street."
"I was. Well, up until about a month ago. I loved it, but I got a job offer to choreograph for Alvin Ailey and I couldn't turn it down. I moved in early September and started work a week after that."
Rachel grabbed Mike's arm, pulling him away from the corner, moving back towards the coffee shop she'd exited earlier where they leaned comfortably against the window.
"That's incredible! Alvin Ailey is one of the best dance studios in the country, and they are incredibly lucky to have someone as talented as you working for them! I'm so proud of you!" Rachel bubbled with excitement, and Mike grinned in response.
"Thanks Rach. It's what I was working towards all along in Chicago, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. What about you? Are you shocking everyone on Broadway? Last I heard you were the next big thing."
Rachel's grin grew even wider and her eyes sparkled with excitement, but she spoke with a more modest tone than Mike was used to hearing. "I don't know about shocking everyone, but I'm definitely working my way up. I just wrapped a run of Nunsense and I have an audition for Elphaba in the revival of Wicked! Everyone tells me I'm a shoe-in since I worked with the director when I was still at NYADA, but I've been practicing for weeks to make sure I'm 110% prepared to wow him."
Mik had no doubt she'd get the role, before he could open his mouth to say so her phone beeped and she nearly dropped her coffee in her attempt to read the message. Panic crossed her face as her fingers flew over the keys. Pocketing her phone she grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him along as she crossed back over the street he'd just came from.
"Uh, Rachel? I live that way." Mike pointed in the opposite direction with a look of amusement on his face.
"Well, I live this way. Do you have plans for dinner?" A satisfied smile settled on her face when Mike shook his head no. "Good. You're coming to eat with us tonight! It'll be fun to catch up, it's been ages since we've seen each other!"
Mike chuckled at the brunette's sudden decision making. She may be more modest about her success than she was in high school, but she's still just as stubborn and bossy as ever. He let her lead the way down the street, listening to her talk ramble on about the different things he absolutely had to do and see now that he was in New York.