The sun shone in brightly through the windows of the small coffee shop. The smells of espresso and spice blended beautifully to create a warm environment that kept patrons coming back for more. The fact that this coffee shop was located near NYU was another positive for the owners, as it attracted a large student crowd. That's how Emmy had come to know and love Java – her freshman year at NYU she had come here after miserably wrecking her first theatre audition. The play – The Seagull. The part – Irina. She had walked in, eyes threatening to spill the tears that had dammed up. One look at her and the barista insisted that she have a coffee on the house. She had taken it black and had fallen in love. The next day she found out she had been cast as Irina and would be taking the stage with some talented and experienced actors. Deciding that the coffee had somehow helped in securing the role, she came back every morning.

The baristas knew her by name. They also knew her school schedule, dictating what time she would come in each morning. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays she would be at the store at 8:15am, and her black coffee would be ready for her. Tuesdays and Thursdays she would be there by 8:55am, and again the coffee would be ready. She would spend hours at the store, researching monologues to use for various auditions. The baristas entertained her requests for an audience when she needed to rehearse, and they had come to love the bubbly blonde who no longer cried after auditions but instead ordered three shots of espresso to perk her up.

This morning happened to be a Friday, so, as usual, she had been at the shop at 8:15 to retrieve her coffee. The baristas noticed something different about her appearance this morning, however, and began to question her. "Emmy, you're looking tired this morning," Jamison stated from behind the counter. He was the barista who had swiftly become her best friend in the coffee shop, the one who had begun her affair with Java by offering her that first wicked cup. She smiled and simply nodded. "It was a long night of studying," she replied, tilting the cup back and letting the dark liquid captivate her. It slid smoothly down her throat into her stomach, warming and waking her at the same time. She smiled again, this time brighter, and stated, "I think this will do the trick."

"It always does, love," he laughed and she made her way to her typical table. It was located in the corner of the store, across from the milk and sugar table. Pulling out her laptop she decided to check the emails that she had neglected since the beginning of the week. It had been a long one, full of midterms and audition preparation. She had not realized how close she was to entering the real world until this past week; the thought of the four auditions she had tomorrow caused her breath to hitch a little in her chest. Opening Google Chrome she headed straight for Gmail, sighing as she typed in her user info. She downed the last bit of the coffee Jamison had given her earlier, frowning a little as she realized the bliss was over. Jamison noticed the look and smiled as he prepared a second cup for the blonde.

Emmy swiftly deleted pointless emails from Facebook and was about to open an email from her mother when another caught her eye. It was from a voice professor at NYU, one that she knew of because he worked closely with the musical theatre department but not one she was associated with because she had never focused strictly on musical theatre. She clicked the link to open it, wondering why in the world he would be contacting her.

Ms. James,

I was shown this video last night at a rehearsal by a peer of yours who thought I might be interested in seeing it. I know that you are focused on acting, but with that kind of a voice you might want to consider extending your studies at NYU to add musical theatre to your repertoire. If you wouldn't mind I would like to meet with you to discuss a few possibilities extending outside of the school setting as well. You know where my office is. Feel free to email me a time when you can meet.

Dr. Vincent Hoff
Professor of Voice and Music Theory

At the bottom of the email was a link to a YouTube video. She clicked it anxiously, wondering what had captivated his interest so much. "Cover of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep'…Amazing." She recognized the setting immediately. It was from an open mic night she had performed in at a local jazz club Sunday night. She pressed the button to allow the video to play. She and her guitar were illuminated beautifully in the low lights of the stage. She had been dressed in a long black and white striped shirt with a lace flower on the right shoulder, paired with black tights and black heels. Her hair, a layered crop with bangs, framed her face and made it look slimmer. Her makeup looked spectacular in the light, and she allowed herself to smile at her appearance. It wasn't everyday she looked at herself and thought she looked good. The dark eyeliner and mascara had been a good choice, making her look sultry, and her red lips popped against her ivory skin. She adjusted the volume in time to hear the strums of her guitar begin. She had started softly and built, and the audience was blown away when she had gotten to the chorus. It gave her chills to watch it replay.

"Emmy, is that you?" Jamison questioned as he placed the new cup of coffee beside her. She nodded as she continued watching the video, and he sat beside her. "Jesus, I didn't know you could sing like that," he added as it finished and the applause roared. She saw herself on the screen. She had been close to tears that night at the response, and once again she felt her eyes get a little misty. People actually thought she was good. She began to scroll down to view the comments when Jamison exclaimed, "Emmy! Look at how many views this thing has had!" Her breath caught as she read the number – the video had already had over 1.5 million hits. She was a YouTube sensation. "Oh…" she whispered. "Is this really happening?"

Jamison laughed. "Yeah, Emmy, this is happening." He kissed her on the forehead and she blushed. "Let's read the comments," he suggested, and she obliged. It felt weird reading remarks like, "This girl is way too talented for jazz clubs," and "BEST VOICE EVER" about herself, but she couldn't help feeling warmer and warmer as she continued reading them. They were talking about her, and not for her acting, but for her singing. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Jamison excused himself. Looking back down at the computer she read the email once more, deciding that she would pay Dr. Hoff a visit that day. Until then, however, she had monologues to prepare. "Hey Jamison…you have time to listen to some monologues?"