Blue's head was pounding like the bass drum in the orchestra pit by the time she stumbled through the doors of her apartment building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Grateful to be inside the dead quiet lobby instead of on the noisy subway, she walked as straight as she could to the elevator across the plush red carpet. After being on her feet all day, the carpet beneath her felt like walking on actual marshmallows and already had her head spinning thinking about how incredibly soft her bed would be when she finally got to lay down.

Or maybe her head was spinning from the six shots of tequila?

Either way, she was determined she would make it up to her apartment without stumbling now. If she could survive walking the two blocks from the 59th Street–Columbus Circle subway stop without embarrassing herself, there's no way she was going to lose her dignity in front of the lobby concierge, George. He wouldn't let her live it down if he so much as got a whiff of the tequila - she learned that lesson last year when she came home wobbly from a girls' night out and he jokingly called her "Boozy Blue" for a solid month. George was an elderly gentleman that took it upon himself to make every single person that walked through his lobby smile that day. He was a gossip and knew everyone's business, but used it for good to find the perfect way to cheer each tenant up when they needed it. Neighbor Susan lost her Shih Tzu named Annabelle last year and George had a dozen lilies delivered to her apartment to offer his condolences. He knew she was allergic to carnations and made sure to get the correct flowers so he wouldn't add allergies to her list of misfortunes.

Blue tried to act normal by waving quickly at George as he gave her an I-know-what's-happening-but-I'm-gracious-enough-to-act-normal look and waved back. She successfully reached the elevator and thanked the elevator gods when the most satisfying bell ever dinged and the doors opened immediately. It was already down and she didn't have to wait for it under the inquisitive eyes of George. She stepped inside and pushed the 8th-floor button with her elbow - she may have had too many shots but she was still coherent enough to use the trick her germaphobe dad taught her when she was six years old and they were shopping at the mall for a Mother's Day present for her mom. She was also coherent enough for that memory to still hurt, so she shut it in her mind as quickly as the elevator doors in front of her.

As the elevator crept upwards with a lazy sway back and forth, the warmth of the non-air-conditioned space made her eyes start to droop and her mind start to wander. She reflected on her night and how bittersweet it had been. The wrap party at Bar Centrale had been a time for the cast and crew to come together for one last hoorah before they all flitted away to new productions and different paths.

Blue had been working on To Tell A Lie for two years now, and the last show this week had been difficult for everyone to deal with. They had truly become like family, working side by side for so long that they often saw each other more often than they saw their real families. It's an odd sensation to feel so heavy from mourning the end of a show, and yet at the same time so light from anticipating the next one. They had known Lie would be ending for months now so she had already secured an interview for a position as costume designer on another show that would be starting production in a few weeks. She was going to miss this tribe of amazingly talented people. They grew with each other over the past few years, and in turn, grew closer together. But this wasn't her first show and she knew she would be able to move on quickly. It was a huge perk of her personality in this business, being capable of attaching herself completely to people and projects, but then moving on to the next thing without lingering in melancholy for too long. Not that she didn't keep in touch with many friends from many shows, she had been to plenty of weddings and baby showers for co-workers over the years, even planned a few of them herself. It was all a part of the lifestyle she chose when she was ten years old and saw Les Mis for the first time; she was built for this life and it suited her well.

The bell dinged again and jolted her out of her reverie. She startled a little and stood up straighter from slumping against the wall, her exhaustion weighing her down.

She shuffled down the hallway to her door and dug around her purse for her keys. Grabbing the purple cat keychain attached to the rest of her keys, she yanked them out and shoved them into the keyhole. The second her door began to open, her ginger squishy faced cat named Molly began chirping at her from inside. She was excited to see her human, but was mostly impatient because treat time was well past-due.

Blue felt terrible that she had been waiting for her treats all night but knew she was used to her unusual schedule and sometimes long hours. She threw her purse down on the bench by the door and slipped her boots off. By the time she had taken two steps in the general direction of the treat cabinet in the kitchen, Molly had hopped over to it and began meowing loudly. Bending over to grab the bag of treats, Blue felt a surge wooziness and a belch escaped her lips. Molly just blinked up at her judgingly with her head turned to the side and her tail curved in the shape of a question mark.

"Don't you look at me like that. If you had the chance to have six shots of Fishy Feast Treats you'd pounce on that like...well, a cat."

Molly jumped on the counter in response and sat down, curling her tail around her. The look of disdain on her face was only pronounced by the flatness of it. She finally licked her lips in her last attempt to remind her human of the task at hand before she resorted to scratching furniture to get her point across.

"Fine, have some extras as a bribe. I expect you to be your usual chipper self when I wake up in the morning, young lady."

Molly ignored her and began scarfing down the treats without even chewing to further get her point across at how late treat time had been.

Blue walked out of the kitchen and headed down the hall towards her beloved bed. As she passed the bathroom though, she realized she needed to wash her face and brush her teeth or she would regret it in the morning, in addition to the expected hangover. She turned right into the small bathroom and began her nightly routine.

While she was slowly brushing her teeth, she stared proudly at her long brown waves. One of her hair and makeup friends, Misha, had taught her the trick of using hairspray after curling, but before brushing, to create soft waves that stayed all night. Even her makeup still looked good, her signature smokey eye accentuating her vibrant eyes. After silently thanking Misha for all of her wisdom, her eyes darted over to the sticky note she had written herself.

"Meet with G.N. Tuesday - don't forget to bring portfolio"

Her sluggish mind had to work hard to make sure tomorrow wasn't Tuesday. An internal calendar finally popped up in her mind and she realized it was Friday, which meant there was plenty of time to gather herself together for the incredibly important meeting.

Taking the time to floss - her dentist would have been so proud - she recalled how this meeting even came to be.

Her friend Arjun from college called her one morning with the news that he would be employed as production manager for some amazing new show. He wouldn't stop talking about it for at least three minutes until Blue had to interrupt him to tell him to take a breath before he passed out. His excitement was seeping through the phone and she could almost imagine his big brown eyes as wide as dinner plates while he talked to her. She had about a dozen questions for him, beginning with: did they already hire a costume designer and could he put in a good word for her?

"Bluebonnet Mae Everson, don't you ever doubt my love for you again! The designer just up and quit, something about a family crisis, and not only do you already have an interview lined up thanks to me, but the creator saw To Tell A Lie last year and remembered it vividly."

Blue gasped loud enough for Arjun to hear and she could just imagine his ego growing two sizes that day. She knew he loved to take credit for being her biggest fan in college and therefore she obviously owed him her entire career. Obviously.

"When I mentioned you, very casually I swear, he knew your work and seemed excited to meet with you for the position. I don't want to take too much credit, of course..."

Of course.

"...but, when you win your Tony I expect you to weep when you mention my name and how I was such an inspiration and you are forever indebted to me- "

"Okay okay, I get it Arjun" and without missing a beat she then launched into her rehearsed and very dramatic 'thank you speech' in the middle of the coffee shop that she had been standing in line at for the entire conversation. She added in a few fake sobs to really get across to the 'audience' how grateful she was for Arjun.

The old accountant in front of her - he definitely was an accountant - looked at her like she had lost her mind. Which, after standing in line for ten minutes just for a caramel macchiato, she resigned to the fact that he might be correct and she might have already started the descent into madness. She shrugged at him and pointed at her phone, as if that was enough explanation. It must have been because he rolled his eyes and turned away, letting her return to her conversation.

"Listen, you don't have to convince me. Lie is closing in a couple of months, we just got informed this week. So I'll be looking for something new anyway, and based on your new-show-on -Netflix excitement level, it sounds like it should be interesting. Just email the details and I'll add it to my calendar if I'm free."

"Blue I am telling you right now, you will definitely not want to miss this meeting. Even if you finally lose your mind completely in between now and then and don't want the job, you will want to be there just to meet Gael Nevárez. He's a genius, Blue, and you know I don't use that word lightly. The stuff that comes out of his brain is unlike anything I've heard before. He wrote the script and music, is starring in it, and it’s his first time producing! I want you to be a part of this, I can feel it's going to be something meaningful. Maybe big, maybe not. But magical for sure."

"I trust your intuition, your path to my Tony hasn't led me astray so far. Not to mention, it's been years since we worked together and I am desperate to feed off your mojo again. Not that I haven't loved working on Lie, the people have been so amazing. But now that I know it's ending I feel like I need something a little more creatively fulfilling. Know what I mean?"

"I'm telling you, this is it. I can feel it in my bones, and I want my girl Blue on the journey with me."

She smiled at that and said her goodbyes since her name was finally called by the barista. They had jokingly written her name with a blue sharpie and it almost made up for the long wait to get her much needed caffeine.

The thought of caffeine jolted her brain back into the present day and she remembered how much she will need in the morning to fend off the hangover that is sure to meet her as soon as she opened her eyes. Her face and teeth were thoroughly cleaned, and she felt even more exhausted because her brain got the signal it got every night when she finished her bedtime routine: it was finally time for sleep.

She padded down the rest of the hall to her room and removed her little black dress as quickly as her numb brain would allow her limbs to move. She threw it on top of the clothes hamper in the corner and flopped onto the most glorious and comfortable memory foam bed in human existence. She sighed happily as she swished her legs around the worn-in cotton sheets. Her petite frame only took up the tiniest portion of the bed, which usually left plenty of room for Molly to claim the rest of the bed real estate for herself. After plugging in her phone and setting it down on the bedside table, her eyes drifted over to the only framed photograph she owned. The edges were frayed and there was a crease down the middle from being folded too many times, but the sight of her parents embracing her four-year-old self still brought the sting of tears to her eyes. Tequila always made her sentimental, but even without that coursing through her veins, she still would have felt the pang of loss. She shook her head and abruptly packed that away. Emotions took a lot of energy for her, and that was something she was incredibly short on at the moment.

She rolled over and felt Molly had curled up on the bed without her noticing, purring loudly and doing her duty in keeping her feet warm. As her eyes closed and she drifted away, her thoughts were only on the upcoming weeks. The fire of excitement started burning deep in her chest, finally allowed to spark now that To Tell A Lie had officially closed. Who knew what she would have a chance to be a part of, or who she would be able to create alongside with on this new path. Maybe this Gael would be the genius Arjun had promised. She was ready for something fresh, ready for the exhilaration that each new show brought her.

She had no idea what was in store, but what happened the following Tuesday as she strolled into the Century Theater would change her life forever.