"I am not throwing away my shot!" Alexandra declared, her fisted hand rising in the air. "I'm just like my country, I'm young, scrappy, and hungry, and I'm not throwing away my shot!"

She turned to Erin, who was highly annoyed.

"I'm gonna get scholarship to King's College. I probably shouldn't brag, but dang, I amaze and astonish! The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish. I gotta holler just to be heard,
with every word I drop knowledge!"

Joan looked like she was going to burst out laughing. Alexandra continued.

"I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal. Tryin' to reach my goal, my power of speech: unimpeachable.
Only nineteen, but my mind is older. These New York City streets getting colder, I shoulder every burden, every disadvantage. I have learned to manage. I don't have a gun to brandish. I walk these streets famished.!The plan is to fan this spark into a flame. But damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out my name. I am the—"

"A-L, E-X, A-N, D
-R-A—we are—meant to be," Joan, Lafayette, Helena, and Alexandra shouted together

"A colony that runs independently. Meanwhile, Britain keeps shitting on us endlessly. Essentially, they tax us relentlessly. Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree. He ain't never gonna set his descendants free. So there will be a revolution in this century. ENTER ME!" She shouted.

"Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me. I will lay down my life if it sets us free. Eventually you'll see my ascendancy," Alexandra finished.

"I dream of life without the monarchy," Lafayette started. "The unrest in France will lead to "onarchy". "Onarchy?" How you say, how you s—Oh, anarchy!" She said, correcting herself. Mulligan was smiling at her. Alexandra raised an eyebrow at Joan as Lafayette continued.

"When I fight I make the other side panicky! With my shot!" She cried.

"Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice. And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis!" Helena said, winking at Lafayette, who turned faintly red.

"I'm joining the rebellion cuz I know it's my chance, to socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants! I'm gonna take a shot!" Mulligan said, grinning.

"Eh, but we'll never be truly free. Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me. You and I, do or die, wait till I sally in on a stallion, with the first black battalion. Have another shot!" Was Joan's contribution to the cheer. The four were interrupted by Erin standing up.

"Geniuses, lower your voices. You keep out of trouble, and you double your choices. I'm with you, but the situation is fraught. You've got to be carefully taught: If you talk, you're gonna get shot!"

"Burr, check what we got. Madam Lafayette hard rock like Lancelot. I think your pants look hot. Laurens, I like you a lot! Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot. What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot. Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not. A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists. Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!" Alexandra replied. Suddenly she quieted.

"Oh, am I talkin' too loud? Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth.
I never had a group of friends before.
I promise that I'll make y'all proud," She said, looking sheepishly at Joan, Helena, and Lafayette.

"Let's get this girl in front of a crowd!" Joan crowed, slapping Alexandra on the back. She began chanting.

"Rise up! When you're living on your knees, you rise up! Tell your brother that he's got to rise up! Tell your sister that she's got to rise up! When are these colonies gonna rise up! Rise up!"

"I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. When's it's gonna get me? In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me? If I see it coming, do I run or do I let it be? Is it like a beat without a melody?" Alexandra asked. When her friends(and she considered Erin a friend) all look confused, she explained.

"See, I never thought I'd live past twenty. Where I come from some get half as many. Ask anybody why we livin' fast and we laugh, reach for a flask. We have to make this moment last, that's plenty." After thinking for a moment she shook her head.

"Scratch that. This is not a moment, it's the movement! Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went.
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand! We roll like Moses, claimin' our Promised Land! And? If we win our independence? Does that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants? Or will the blood we shed begin an endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants? I know the action in the street is exciting. But Jesus, between all the bleedin an' fighting. I've been reading an' writing. We need to handle our financial situation. Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?" Alexandra drew another breath, and before anyone could interject, she powered ahead.

"I'm past patiently waitin'! I'm passionately smashin' every expectation! Every action's an act of creation! I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow! For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow! And I am not throwin' away my shot!"

The others stood frozen, staring at the girl. Alexandra blushed faintly. Joan slapped her on the back.

"Well said, Alex. Well said."

-

Three Weeks After the Read-Through

Brenna was at the piano with Lin, Paula, Kendra(Erin Burr), Lillian(Joan Laurens/Phillie Hamilton), and Quinn(Helena Mulligan). They were going over "Erin Burr, Ma'am" and the non-ensemble parts of "My Shot". Brenna kept tripping over her words during parts of "My Shot", mostly because there were so many. The women were joking around with Lin and each other. The five had gotten rather close in the three weeks they'd know each other.

Lin stopped playing the piano and sighed.

"Take a break guys. It sounds great," he said, giving a tired smile.

"Sure thing, Lin" Kendra said. Kendra was thirty-five, married with kids, and had automatically become the "mom" of the group. Brenna, the youngest by two years, was often called Baby Ham by the rest of the cast.

"Paula!" Brenna called as the older girl packed up her stuff. Paula looked up, smiling.

"What's up, Baby Ham?" She asked. Brenna rolled her eyes and snagged her arm.

"I want coffee, and I know a place we can get it free," she explained. Paula slid her hand down so they two entwined their fingers, making Brenna flush.

"Lead the way, Bren," she said, and Brenna walked the block to her family's cafe.

"Madre!" She called. "I'm home!"

Helen looked out from the back.

"You brought a friend!" She cried. Paula released Brenna's hand and waved.

"I'm Paula Laurens," she said. She shook hands with Helen.

"We have lunch break," Brenna explained. "Could we have some coffee and bagels to go?"

Helen made the food quickly, and handed it over to her daughter.

"Love you, mija!" Her mother called as Brenna and Paula left the cafe, carrying their lunch.

"I like your mom," Paula said. "Shes really nice. Like you." Paula accented her point by elbowing Brenna in the side. Brenna grinned at her friend, turning red.

The two entered the large lunch room, finding Jon, Anthony, and Daveed in a deep discussion about racial diversity in major movies.

"In the Hunger Games they kill all but one of the main black characters," Jon argued. Anthony opened his mouth to retort when Paula and Brenna sat down next to him.

"In this play, people of many races die," Paula said. Anthony elbowed her.

"Not the discussion topic, Pauls. Tell Jon that Hunger Games is not racist!" He said, pointing at said person.

"It's not, Groffsauce," Brenna said, taking a bite of her bagel. Jon rolled his eyes and ate a forkful of his salad.

Daveed just sighed.

"They've been at it since this morning," he explained. Paula snorted a laugh.

"Hush, little pig," Brenna said. "You and Lillian got into a debate about whether Hamilton was bi or just a lesbian this morning."

"She is so bi," Paula said. "Why else did she marry Elijah?"

"Shut up, Laurens!" Lillian yelled from across the room. Before Paula could respond, Brenna clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Calm down, Paula."

The girl sighed. They all sat in silence until Lin called Jon in to practice "Burn."

"I also need Paula and Brenna for the Cabinet Battles," he said.

"Let's go, Jefferson," Brenna said, running into the rehearsal room with Paula behind her.