Maria woke up at 6:00 AM sharp. She got dressed, ate a hard-boiled egg she got from the refrigerator, brushed her teeth, and headed downstairs toward the gym in her New York City apartment complex. As she booted up the treadmill to warm up, she thought of the day ahead.
Tonight was the final performance of West Side Story. She was ready to be over with it, but also somewhat sad it was going to be over. At least she wouldn't have to put up with Shadow's romantic advances anymore. But she hadn't been able to line any future gigs up, as well received as she had been in her debut performances.
Maria was shocked upon hearing that Shadow, a mutant hedgehog, had been cast as her romantic interest in the musical. She thought it was kind of weird that she had to kiss him, and didn't feel comfortable about it. She thought it was borderline bestiality. But this was her big break, so she didn't want to turn this role down for anything in the world.
But over time, she has warmed up to Shadow. Whereas, at first, she saw him as a dark, mysterious figure, she now sees him as somewhat of a cross between a pet and a little brother. She definitely has grown to have feelings for him, although not romantically so, as Shadow would have liked. Think of Star Wars the Phantom Menace when Anakin is just a young lad but he has a huge crush on Padmé but it isn't mutual because that would make Padmé kind of a creep since she is so much older than him. That is more or less the dynamic that is at play between these two.
As for her thoughts on whether or not mutants should be accepted into society, she has mixed feelings. She grew up in a rather religious family, and her parents and other family members had often expressed their disapproval of going against God's natural way of things and humans mutating animals into beings that are as intelligent as (or more so than) humans themselves. The work of genetics should be left in the hands of God, they would argue.
As she finished up her workout and went back upstairs to her apartment, she got a call from her mom, who was back in Puerto Rico.
"Hi, Maria," she said, "I just called to let you know that there's another hurricane coming."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" said Maria.
"Send money," said Maria's mom.
Maria sighed, "I'll see what I can scrape up. But you know how expensive it is living here."
"Yeah, well," said Maria's mom, "Hurry up and become famous already."
Maria's mom hung up. Maria walked into the bathroom, opened up the faucet to the shower, and took off her clothes as she waited for the water to warm up. She placed her hand underneath the shower head to make sure the water was at a comfortable temperature, but it wouldn't warm up. The water heater must have been acting up again. So she stepped in regardless and took a cold shower.
Indeed, although Maria had landed the starring role of Maria in West Side Story on Broadway, she still was not earning very much in the grand scheme of things once all her living expenses were taken into account. She was pretty sure they were paying Shadow nearly twice as much as her. Who knows for what reasons. But the fact that she was a young woman of color probably had something to do with it.
Maria was indeed panicked that she would soon deplete all the money she had saved up to move to NYC. As talented as an actor she was, mathematics wasn't her strong suit, and she had grossly underestimated the city's cost of living. She would have to line up another gig, one way or another, or be forced to move back to Puerto Rico. And that was the last thing she wanted.