Chapter 23

Old Interests Resurface

            Kate recovered well from her fall, and the years continued on.  By the time Kate was 14, a freshmen in high school, Will was in his late 20's and long gone, and Shay and Chrissy were 22 and out of the house as well.  Caleb was 19 and in college, though he still came home for breaks and the odd weekend.

            Kate's interests remained much the same as a high school student as they had the rest of her life.  Pranks were still high on her list of favorite activities, but she took an interest in other things too.  Kate loved sports…but not the traditional kind.  When she was in 5th grade, she had spied a neighborhood kid riding around on a skateboard, and from then on, she was transfixed.  Once she was in high school, Kate was rather adept at boarding.

            Also, Kate was still addicted to her acoustic, and after much begging, she was given an electric guitar (that she helped buy) in middle school.  Yet,  her interest in that field was as follows: when it's too rainy or cold to be out boarding, and there are not pranks to be pulled, then I like to jam.

            Kate's list of hobbies included nothing extracurricular.  Having four brothers and sisters that had each done something after school (Chrissy had been in art club and Caleb an editor on the school's newspaper) somehow turned Kate off to the idea.  She also claimed that there was nothing she wanted to do after school.  SO it came as a shock to  her parents one day when she made a little announcement.

***

            J and Alan came home to a relatively quiet house.  If Kate wasn't out boarding (which she wasn't, for her skateboard was in the garage), she usually had music or the t.v. blasting.  Kate was only quiet when she was planning something.  Curiously, J made her way up to Kate's room.  She was shocked to find Kate frowning at her keyboard—one that hadn't seen anything outside of Kate's closet in years.  Frustrated, Kate glanced up at the music she had before her, then back down at the keys, trying to figure out how to play it.

            J walked quietly into the room and sat beside Kate on the bed.  "Annie Get Your Gun?  That's a good musical.  I've never liked the ending, though.  In the historical story—"

            "Don't tell me," Kate said, looking up at her mother.  "We're watching it in music class and we haven't gotten to the end yet."

            J nodded, "fair enough.  I heard that it's the musical that your school's doing this year." 

            Kate shifted on the bed so she could face J.  "Yeah, we are, that's why we're watching it in class.  Oh, and that reminds me, I  have to tell you something."

            J cocked her head and smiled crookedly at her daughter.  "Good or bad?"

            Kate laughed, her cerulean eyes twinkling.  "You're strange, Mom.  And it's good, don't worry.  I just gotta let you know that I'll be taking the late bus home for about a month or so.  'Cause I'm staying after school."

            J blinked in surprise, but soon recovered and rubbed Kate's back encouragingly.  "It's a shock, but if that's what you want to do, then great!  Might I ask why?"

            Kate's cheeks reddened a bit.  "I know it seems not me…but when I heard what the musical was, and who it was about…it seemed kinda cool.  So I tried out…and thought I didn't get a lead, I'm Steph's understudy.  She's playing Annie Oakley."  Kate smiled sheepishly at J, who was staring, slack jawed, back at her.

***

            Kate's news came as a pleasant shock to everyone.  No one could have expect that Kate was interested in doing musicals, but all were very proud.  Kate even informed her parents that the music teacher, Mr. Nelson, had told her that even through she was only a freshman, she was good enough for the part of Annie Oakley.

            Yet, Steph was a senior, and the Golden Girl of T.C. Williams.  She was class president, president of the National Honors Society, and had enough talent oozing out of her pores to be a shoe-in for the lad of the musical.  So to Steph the part went.  Kate didn't begrudge the girl; Steph had earned the part, and she still had three more years of high school to prove herself.  Things changed one normal day.

***

            It was 4 p.m. on a Wednesday that spring, and Kate was at musical practice.  In fact, everyone else involved was at practice, everyone except for Steph.  Steph had not mentioned anything about not being at practice.  There was a National Honors Society meeting, however, so Mr. Nelson figured that Steph was there.  Still, they had to continue with practice.  So Mr. Nelson asked Kate if she would run through "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better," with Jake, the senior who was playing Frank (the male lead).

            With an amused giggle, Kate did.  She and Jake stunned everyone present.  There was only one thing that Steph was missing, and that was chemistry with Jake.  Kate sizzled with chemistry.  Perhaps it was because she had known Jake since she was a baby.  Jake was a close friend of Caleb's, so he was often around her growing up.

            When Kate and Jake finished the song, an applause louder than all else's echoed from the back of the auditorium.  Standing at the mouth of the auditorium was Steph, applauding wildly.  She jogged to the state with a cryptic grin on her face.  Giving Kate a thumbs up, Steph leaned over and whispered something into Mr. Nelson's ear.

***

            Steph was overwhelmed with all the schoolwork and extra activities that she was trying to juggle.  She had been running at top speed from the NHS meeting when she reached the hallway outside the auditorium.  She was brought to a halt by the strong, clear performance put on by Jake and Kate.

            Steph had already decided that she needed to lighten her load, but until that moment, she hadn't been able to pick which activity to drop.  Hearing and seeing that Kate worked much more smoothly with Jake than she did, Steph gave the lead to her understudy.  So, with three weeks left till opening night, Kate undertook the title role for T.C. Williams' production of Annie Get Your Gun.

***
            Caleb came back during spring break to see Kate perform.  Immediately upon learning whom  her romantic lead was, he pulled Jake aside and warned him to be careful around Kate.  "I know you're Frank and she's Annie, but try anything on my baby sister and I'll be forced to kill you."

            Despite anything that could have potentially worked against the entire cast, the musical was a spectacular success.  Thus began a new chapter in Kate's life that would never truly end.