Life Coach

Months flew by in my second semester. Before I knew it, it was March of 2012, Julia and I were offically 20 and out of our teens, and playoffs were around the corner.

My worries of not staying in touch with Patrick and the team faded after my trip to Chicago. I received a text or a call from most of them once a day. I would wish them good luck on game days and they would reply after the game with details from the game or pictures of their celebrations.

I knew Julia kept in touch with the guys as well, especially Jon, "What's he saying now?" I asked her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Julia, you don't get that look when I text you, so I know Jon's saying something cute and non-Captain Serious like."

"He's just telling me about his day." I stopped my stitching and looked at her.

"Aww, can he be any more adorable?" I gushed.

"Shut up. If Kaner was texting you, you'd look just like me." She stated putting her phone in her pocket and walked over to the pattern she was working on yesterday.

"So what is going on with you and the Captain?"

"Nothing's going on between me and the Captain." I gave her a 'you're kidding me right?' look, "What? Nothing is going on...I swear." From the tone of her voice, she was saddened by that thought. I don't blame her. After the week with him and that kiss under the mistletoe, I probably would've just handed him my pants by now. Jon was a great guy, and right now she 's going through the same feelings I am with Patrick...except the fact that she's kissed Jon.

"Give it time. The only thing on his mind right now is hockey." I reassured her. She gave me a small smile in response.

"What about you and Kaner? You two more close that usual." I shrugged as I pulled on the stitch.

"Same as we've always been. I don't know if it's me or he's that dumb not to realize it."

"He get's hit everyday in the head, you're lucky he remembers his name."

"I know but I don't want to just tell him and then have him be in that awkward position where he has to let me down easy. Then our friendship will be ruined and I don't want to take the chance. I'd rather just be friends."

"Even if your heart gets broken?" I didn't know what to say. Why do I continue to put myself through this if I'm just going to get hurt?

Maybe I care to much.

"But maybe he has feelings for you but he doesn't think they're mutual." Julia added.

"If that's the case than he's a complete idiot."

"I can ask Jon to get it out of him."

"No, that's alright. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

---

As I was finishing up an essay for a final paper, my phone went off, "Hello?"

"Is this Kara Harrison?"

"Yes it is."

"Hello Kara, this is Veronica Main from the American Bound Traveling Theatre Company. How are you?"

"I'm great, you?"

"I'm fantastic. I am calling to personally inform you that we have looked over you application for our internship and we were very impressed. We would love for you to join us this summer for our show."

"Oh, wow. That's amazing." I said sitting up in my desk chair.

"We've heard nothing but good things of you and it's talent like yours that we want working for us. Are you still interested in the position?"

"Of course!"

"Great, we have a meeting this weekend for the cast and crew so we can get to know everyone." She gave me the information on where the meeting was and said good-bye. I started dancing around the room, letting out a squeal of delight as I celebrated.

"I need to call Dom!" I yelled finding his name in my contacts.

"Doctor, doctor give me the news." He answered.

"I GOT THE INTERNSHIP WITH THE TRAVELING COMPANY!!!!"

"Wha-you got the internship?! That's awesome Kara! We get to work together again!" We talked for a while about what we expected and the adventures we will have traveling the country.

When our conversation ended, I flopped down on my bed, my energy drained from all the excitement I had minutes before.

This was literally a dream come true. A fucking dream come true! I'm getting the opportunity to travel around the country, visiting big and little cities in different states, doing the job I love. I had to call my mom and tell my dad, I had to tell the rest of my family, I needed to talk to my guidance counselor about classes while I'm away, I need to tell Nina and Julia and...Jon...and Patrick.

For now, I thought I should start by calling my parents. When I got a hold of my dad on Skype, I told him everything, "I'm so proud of you Kara. That's amazing!"

"Thanks dad. I can't wait for the summer. I just want to get through these weeks so I can get on the road."

"It'll be good for you. You were always one for traveling."

"It will defiantly increase my pin collection too." He laughed.

"Well Kara, I'm happy for you. I've never been so proud."

"Thanks. I need to call mom and let her know."

"Alright Kara. I'll talk to you next week."

"Okay. Bye dad, love you."

"Love you too Kara."

When my conversation with my dad ended I dialed my mom's number. She was just as proud of me as my dad except she decided she needed to make me feel bad for leaving for the whole summer, "Mom, we discussed this when I applied. You said you wouldn't do this."

"I know, I know but I'm your mother, I never want you to go away. You'll understand one day."

"I'm still trying to get a decent job, motherhood is far down my list at the moment."

"Good answer. So when do you initially leave?"

"I find out this weekend."

"As soon as you find out, let me know."

"Yes mother." We talked for a little longer but it ended the same way it did with my dad.

To let everyone else know without making individual calls, I put it on Facebook, in capital letters and an obnoxious amount of exclamation points.

A bunch of people instantly liked it and sent congrats comments, which I replied with a 'thanks.'

"Honey! I'm home!" Julia exclaimed walking into the dorm room.

"Julia, you won't believe what just happened?"

"An ice cream truck broke down in front of our dorm and they're giving away free ice cream before it all melts?"

"...um....no. I got the internship for that travel company!"

"Oh my god Kara, that's amazing!" She said giving me a hug.

"I'm so excited! I have a meeting this weekend with the group about everything."

"That's awesome. Have you told your parents yet?" I nodded. "What about Jon and Pat?"

"No, I haven't called them yet. I've been busy telling everyone else."

"The show isn't during playoffs, is it?" She asked.

"Oh shit, I don't know. I don't think so because if I read the information from before correct, they don't leave until May."

"So you could miss the finals?" I shrugged. I never thought about playoffs. I know Jon and Pat wanted us both there for the whole thing, but this internship might not make that possible.

"Don't worry about it now. You got an internship when all those other losers who applied didn't. This calls for a celebration!" Julia yelled, pulling out her phone and texting someone. She grabbed my hand and my purse and dragged me out the door to her car. She headed towards Pittsford and pulled into the Cheesecake Factory.

We were seated at a giant table, "Are more people coming?" I asked as she slid next to me on the booth.

"Of course! We're celebrating!" In the next ten minutes, our friends from the shows took a seat at the table. By the time everyone got here, there had to be over twenty people here.

Thankfully the restaurant wasn't too busy on a Thursday night so we got our food pretty fast. Everyone congratulated me and asked all kinds of questions, "I won't know anything until this weekend." I told them.

When we finished with dinner, Julia told the waitress that it was my birthday just so I could get a free dessert. Everyone else ordered their dessert and just before we dug in, Julia stood up, her glass in hand, "A toast, to Kara. That she has fun living her dream and wreaks havoc everywhere she goes." Everyone clinked their glasses with each other and enjoyed their dessert.

---

The week ended very quickly which was good because I was dying to go to this meeting. I couldn't wait to meet everyone and get this show on the road(pun intended).

"Call me when you're done and I'll come get you." Julia told me. I nodded and got out of her car, making my way into the hotel where the meeting was taking place.

The lady at the front desk pointed towards an event room across the lobby. As soon as I walked into the room, I was greeted with a long rectangular table in the middle of the room. People were scattered all around, talking among each other.

"What's up, Doc?" A familiar face greeted, his arms open wide.

"It's so good to see you again Dom. It's been too long." I said, giving him a hug.

"Well maybe if someone texted me to hang out over break it wouldn't have been that long."

"I'm sorry. I was in Chicago."

"Chicago? For what?"

"To visit some friends."

"Wait...friends? Are you talking about those hockey players?" I nodded, my cheeks slightly red. "That's awesome Kara. So, whose heart did you break?"

"Excuse me?" I asked with a laugh.

"You must of broken one of their hearts. When I saw them, they were both starring at you with such love in their eyes." He teased.

"You're absolutely ridiculous."

"Did you tap one?"

"I'm not talking to you about this!" I said, my cheeks getting redder.

"Don't worry sweetheart...we have all summer to talk about it." He said, giving me a wink.

"If everyone would take a seat, we can begin." A man, who I assumed to be the director or producer, said.

Everyone came together around the table, me sitting next to Dominic, "Welcome everyone. We're so happy to have you here. My name is Julian O'Riley. I am the director for this show. To my right is Charlie Smith, he is the our producer. Then we have Michael Gray, Stephen Binds, and Veronica Main. They are in charge of music, choreography, and the backstage. We have called you all here to congratulate you on being a part of our company. You were carefully selected by all of us based on your talent, experience, and personality. We see great potential in this room and we can't wait to show you off to the country. Let me begin with informing you that the show that will become your life over the summer is none other than Hairspray.

"Everyone will receive a script of their own. That is your Bible. Do not lose it. You may write in it all you want but it is not replaceable. Right now, I would like the cast and crew to separate, that way you can get to know each other and your supervisors."

He instructed the cast to go to one end of the room and the crew to the other. I walked over to the back of the room where Veronica Main was standing, a stack of scripts in her hand.

"Hello everyone and congratulations on getting the job. I look forward to working with all of you personally. Do you guys think you can separate into specific groups? I want set design and props to my left, make-up, hair, and costumes to my right, and lights and sound in front of me." We did as we were told and she continued, "Everyone take a script and we'll get started." She passed the books out and began informing us on what was needed for the show. She had drawings of the sets, a few of the costumes and how make-up was excepted to look like. She had the cues for lights and sounds, and the placement of the sets on the stage. It was very well organized.

"Alright, now that the important stuff is finished, why don't we get to know each other?" Everyone in the group went around and said their name, how many years they've been in show business, and what job they're accustomed to doing.

"My name is Kara Harrison. I've been doing this for eight years and I can do everything but I specialize in costumes." I introduced. As the group went on, I came to realize I was the only legit person that specialized in costumes. The others were hair and make-up mostly. They said they knew how to sew but they weren't that experienced.

When we finished the crew meet-and-greets, the group as a whole came together again, "The cast has already begun working on lines and such. We just finished with finalizing the backstage necessities so we will get started on that soon. Crew, you'll hear from us in a few weeks when we get all the material and equipment. There's gonna be some pressure on getting it done quickly so bare with us. I know you can do it.

"If you have any questions, don't be afraid to come to one of us. We'll be around each other for five months, better start getting use to us." The meeting was dismissed and I said good-bye to Dominic.

Just as I was leaving the conference room ,Veronica came up to me, "Kara right?" I nodded, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm sure you're aware that you are really our only costume girl. Don't fret about it. After what I heard and read about you, you'll do an amazing job. I'll be there to help you too."

"Is there anything you need me to do before the show get's started?" I offered.

"Maybe you can draw out some more costume ideas for me and Julian. I had a few but my expertise isn't costumes." She handed me the couple sketches she had and told me to do whatever I please with them.

"Here's my number if you have any questions. Call, text, whatever you want. You're in control right now." I thanked her and headed out of the hotel.

I text Julia informing her that the meeting was finished. As I waited on the curb, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. This is just one more step closer to living the dream, no matter how small it may seem to others, this is huge to me.

Besides Winnipeg and my trip to Chicago, I don't exactly get out much. I was finally getting to see the country and that is just one step closer to seeing the world. Oo, to travel the world designing costumes and putting on shows...that's the life for me.

I was flipping through the script, taking some quick notes when my phone buzzed. I looked around the parking lot and didn't see Julia so either she got lost or god knows what.

But it wasn't Julia calling me. It was Patrick. My smile grew. I hadn't gotten the chance to call him with the good news and now was my opportunity, "Long time no talk Patrick Kane. How've you been?"

"Kara...I fucked up."