Disclaimer—the lyrics from "show me" from "my fair lady" do not belong to us, they belong to alan jay lerner, who wrote them, and probably frederick lowe too b/c he co-wrote the musical.  whichever, whomever…they don't belong to us so whatever.

Chapter 24

Old Habits Don't Die

            Sophomore year Kate won the role of Maria in The Sound of Music.  The production of this musical passed without much incident.  There was only one hitch, and that was getting Kate to follow the script during certain parts.  Kate often had to be restrained from kicking the lead male in the shins (on a few occasions she wasn't stopped in time) before she remembered that the things he was saying weren't really from him, but from the script.  Such was the degree to which Kate immersed herself in the story and character.

***

            Even her newly found love of musicals could not stifle Kate's basic instinct.  In fact, the cast and crew of each new musical she performed in provided her with a wellspring of unsuspecting victims.  Pranks reigned supreme, courtesy of Kate, on the set of most play practices.  Whenever anyone complained, Kate replied that she was merely being professional.  It was common practice for there to be a prankster on the set of movies and Broadway plays.

            That year, Jake was coming back with Caleb for part of spring break to see Kate in The Sound of Music.  The day before they got out, Alan, J, and Kate went up to the college to help Caleb pack.  As soon as they arrived, Kate disappeared, saying that she wanted to go find something to eat.  Her parents let her go, but not without the slightly uneasy feeling that she might be planning something.

            Kate shocked everyone when she returned a few hours later, snacks from the cafeteria and admissions information in hand.  There was no sign of anything out of place anywhere.  Everything of Caleb's was securely locked in the car, and his dorm room was prank free.  Kate was in the process of smiling innocently at her parents and brother when a surprised and angry roar sounded from a room down the hallway. 

            Alan, J, and Caleb rushed to investigate as Kate followed peacefully behind them, her innocent smile changing to a satisfied smirk.  The yell came from Jake's room, and from his lungs.  He'd just finished his own packing when he returned to find his room now inhabited with by a zoo of native college wildlife.  Crows and robins cawed and chirped, fluttering from spot to spot to avoid being run over by the squirrels that raced from bedpost to doorframe.  A groundhog burrowed its way deeper beneath Jake's bed.

            Everyone turned to Kate when they finished taking in the scene.  Some fumed, others waited for an explanation with raised eyebrows.  Kate shrugged her shoulders and grinned.  "I figured Jake could use a few dorm-sitters over spring break."

***

            In Kate's junior year, she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.  This was a part she thoroughly enjoyed, though she had a long argument with Mr. Nelson about cutting out the song "Why Can't A Woman Be More Like A Man?"  She also balked when she saw the type of dress that she was to wear for the ball scene.  Kate could tolerate wearing simpler dresses, but it took much urging to get her into the fancy one.

            During that production, Kate bonded more not with Sean, the boy playing Henry Higgins, but with fellow junior Drew, the one playing Freddy.  Drew was amused and even inspired by Kate's antics.  The two were soon a zany and near-inseparable pair.

***

            Alan poured three glasses of orange juice and smiled lovingly as J stumbled into the kitchen.  "Good morning, honey," he said after he kissed her.  A smile flickered on then off on J's face—the best answer Alan was going to get until she woke up.  Alan held back a laugh and motioned for J to sit.  "I made us breakfast, like I always do.  Where's Kate?  Still getting dressed?"

            J nodded silently and dug into her cereal.  Alan sighed and sat down.  It was a typical weekday morning: he woke first, made breakfast, and Kate and J eventually forced themselves out of bed to come eat with him.  Neither his wife nor his daughter were morning people, though Kate could be coxed into being a little less hostile in the morning than what was possible with J.

            Kate was making her way down the stairs when a sound stopped her descent and her parents' eating.  A voice came from outside on her lawn.  A familiar voice singing a familiar song that Kate as working on at that time. 

            "Speak, and the world is full of singing, and I am winging higher than the birds…"

            Alan and J paused, spoons in the air, and watched as Kate jumped down the remaining steps, ran to the door, and throw it open with blazing eyes.  She stomped up to Drew, the owner of the voice, took a deep breath, and retorted (in song),

            "Words, words, words, I'm so SICK of words!  I get words all day through, first from HIM!," a wild point to the house, "now from you!  Is that all you blighters can do?!"

            J and Alan stood from the table and plodded to the doorway, observing their daughter and her cast mate continue the rest of the song without breaking character for a moment.  Slowly, an enigmatic grin crept upon J's face as she continued to study Kate and Drew.  Alan glanced from her to Drew and Kate then back again.

            "What…are they doing?" Alan asked.  J shushed him, swatted his arm, and continued to watch the youth with an ever-growing smile.