Chapter 3: The Offer

“I’m what?” he asked

“You’re...Jeremy Kushnier!” she said, trying to believe what she was seeing. She worshipped this guy! “I saw you in “Footloose” on Broadway a couple of weeks ago. You were amazing!” she gushed.

“Yeah, that’s me!” he said, giving her a huge grin.

“Well, my name’s Kalle..”

“Kalle what?” he kidded.

“Oh! Sorry, Kalle McGregor.” she giggled nervously.

“Well, nice to meet you Kalle McGregor.” he said as he shook her hand.

“Yeah, you too..what are you doing up here in Toronto?

“I live here. I thought you’d know that since you’re such a big fan.”

Kalle blushed. ”Yeah, I knew that. Are you on break or something?”

“Pretty much, they gave me a week off. I wanted to come and see my family.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Kalle grinned. She couldn’t believe that she was having a conversation with Jeremy Kushnier.

“Yeah. So, are you seeing ‘Phantom’?”

“Uh huh..have you seen it?”

“I sure have! It’s one of the best shows running...other than mine of course.” he joked. “Well, then you’re in for a real treat. I used to come and see this show every month when I was a little tyke.”

“Cool. So, how long have you been doing shows like “Footloose”?”

“Oh, for about 10 years. I did “Rent” up here in Canada. Did you know that? Before then, I was still in High School. How old are you?”

“I’m 15. I’m gonna be a junior in High School next year.”

“Ah, so are you in the choir at school?”

“Yeah! I love to sing!” she said.

“Cool! Ever thought of doing Broadway one day?”

“That’s one of my dreams, actually.” Kalle liked where this conversation was going.

“Well, I’ve got a studio here in Toronto. Do you want to come by and sing with me?”

“Sure!! I mean, if it’s all right with my mom. She should be coming along soon. I can ask her then.”

“Well, I’d like to stick around and meet her, but I’ve gotta run. Where are you staying?” he asked. He seemed in a hurry to split.

“Room 145 in the Imperial Inn, over on Flower Ave.”

“Great, I’ll stop by tomorrow morning at about 9 to see about you coming to the studio.”

“Ok, it’s a date...I mean...” she felt the flush coming to her face again.

“See ya then!” He gave her a little wave and smile and was off.

Oh My God...Kalle thought. I must be the luckiest person on earth! I am going to a studio, and not just some regular old studio. JEREMY KUSHNIER’S studio!! What are all my friends gonna say abot this? More importantly, what is Colin gonna say about this? She began to get a little worried, but soon forgot about it all when she saw her mom and brother coming up the street. She couldn’t wait to tell them all about her meeting!!

“Hey mom! You’ll never guess..” she started

“C’mon Kalle, we’re gonna be late for the show!” her mom exclaimed. “Why didn’t you come to warn us that it was almost time?”

“I didn’t realize..I’m sorry..”

“We still have about 15 minutes. Let’s go!”

Auuggh! Why didn’t her mom understand her? Why wouldn’t she listen?

“Ok, ok.”

They rushed down the street to the theatre, where tons of people were already waiting in line. After about 5 minutes, they were inside the theatre. It was breathtaking. There were marvelous chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, and she couldn’t help but stare. Jeremy was right, she thought. This show really is gonna be great! They made their way to their seats, which were awesome. 5th row from the stage. She could barely contain herself. The stage was empty. She imagined herself up there, singing her heart out one day. That was what she planned to be doing years from now. If only that dream would come true. Now, she just had to concentrate on the show..