Time seemed to fly quickly after that. Kasey ended up being sick for a week of shows- she wished she hadn't, because they hadn't had a full cast for two weeks. The first was when Sebastian was on vacation, the second was when Kasey was sick. Luckily, she felt well enough to do the week of shows leading up to Thanksgiving.

It came as a big shock to everyone when they were asked to participate in the Thanksgiving Parade. It was especially strange because the other shows that were asked were much older shows, like Anastasia and Dear Evan Hansen.

Ordinarily, they wouldn't have been invited until Thanksgiving of next year. Kasey guessed that it was because Frozen had taken off so quickly. Every show was sold out, like Hamilton had been.

Rehearsal for that was outside, when it was freezing cold. Kasey was bundled up in her grey jacket- the one that Carleigh had given her- and her lyric scarf.

Gary had chosen to perform bits of 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman', 'For the First Time in Forever', and 'The Arendelle Waltz' for their parade numbers. 

They practiced their modified choreography. Kasey's voice wasn't as great as she would have liked it to be- it was probably because she was still coming off her sickness. Doing a week of shows while still somewhat sick hadn't been a good idea, if Kasey was being honest. 

The good thing was that the performance wasn't live singing- they lip synced to avoid technical problems, as with all of the Macy's performances. They recorded a new track for the medley of songs, and Kasey didn't have to worry about singing live. 

The only downside about performing at the Macy's Parade was that they had to get up early in the morning to make their performance slot, which was right after Anastasia. And they couldn't go anywhere for the holidays.

Not that Kasey minded all that much. Carleigh was going to her mother's house to watch the parade, so her friend would still see her perform, even if it wasn't in person. And Gary was so stubborn about having the maximum amount of shows possible that he wasn't giving the cast much of a Thanksgiving break anyway. 

Kasey arrived at the theatre at about six thirty in the morning, to get her makeup, wig, and costume on before they went on the bus to the prep area. 

It was definitely weird to be performing at the Macy's Parade. She'd heard so much about it, but somehow, after living in New York City for a few years, she still never had the opportunity to sit down and watch the parade. It had just never worked out that way.

If she was being honest, she really didn't understand the whole excitement around the gigantic balloons on Thanksgiving, either. Just the holiday in general was still a little baffling, but she didn't mind- everyone was happy and thankful, and that was all that mattered.

"Attention, cast, this is your one-hour call," the loudspeaker declared. Kasey dipped her brush into her blush and quickly applied it.

"Ready for this?" Jess asked, poking her head in the door.

"Yeah," Kasey said. She was trying to avoid talking as much as possible so that she wouldn't kill her voice for the shows in a few days. She knew everyone would be excited before and after their performance- lots of shouting, most likely- so she was taking steps to prevent talking before the celebrations began.

"Good. Listen, Kasey, thank you for being such a great costar," Jess said suddenly. "It's Thanksgiving. I know we don't really talk about being sisters or whatever that much, and we don't acknowledge our friendship specifically, but you really are an amazing person. I'm really glad that we're acting onstage together."

"Thank you, Jess. I would give you an inspirational speech, but-"

"No, no, save your voice," Jess laughed. "If we don't have time alone before we perform, have a good performance. I know you'll do well, and lip syncing isn't that hard."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the morning was a whirlwind, as everyone loaded onto the bus to travel down to Macy's to get ready.

They passed the Anastasia cast, who was getting ready for their performance. They managed to pose for a multi-cast picture before the Anastasia cast had to dash off to wait for their cue to go on.

Lily, Emma, Rebecca, and Maura all seemed extremely star-struck by the fact that they were going to be on live television, performing on Thanksgiving. 

The performance went by in a blur- Kasey barely registered the cameras and the people. She was just trying to focus and do well for everyone that was watching. She knew how much the parade meant to some people. And Jace was watching, and she wanted to make him proud too.

It felt like they had barely stepped onto the stage when it was over. Kasey was somewhat relieved- it was cold, and the costumes weren't made to be warm at all.

Once they finished performing, they went inside to change into their street clothes. They had the option of staying to watch the parade. Kasey and Jace were meeting up afterward.

She walked down the few streets until she reached the place where she'd agreed to meet up with Jace. 

"Hey," Jace said, hugging her. "How'd it go?"

"It went well," Kasey told him. "How's the parade?"

"The usual, cool balloons, cool floats and stuff," Jace said. "Whenever you want, we can go for our lunch/dinner thing."

"Sure, I'm ready whenever you are."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know."

They ended up walking around for a while, following the parade's progress until they got bored and headed to a cozy little diner. 

It wasn't very crowded- most people were eating Thanksgiving dinner with their families, not at a restaurant. Jace had offered to cook dinner and make a turkey, but he and Kasey agreed that it was easier for both of them to just go out. Kasey had to perform, and Jace wanted to watch the parade. It was good that they both had the same, laid-back attitude about Thanksgiving meals.

Thanksgiving might have been made better by the fact that neither of them cooked- Kasey wasn't sure. They talked for hours, eating whatever they felt like it. And they had pie, of course. 

It was relaxing. It was certainly different than having dinner with the Bettiols, but it was in a good way.