Emilia's mood had shifted significantly now that she and Lin were wheeling a cart full of bedroom items out to his car. He'd let her pick out new bedding and some decorations to make his spare room seem more like her own.

Lin was excited to have her officially setting up shop at his place. He hoped she'd visit often but also didn't want to put a rift between her and Vanessa. Emilia was still obviously very upset with her. He hoped to broach the subject with her at the right time.

They arrived home and Emilia immediately took everything to her room. They switched out the boring bedding and made the bed up with a new bright yellow and light gray set. Lia put down a rug on the hardwood floor and opened up the blinds. She had a great view of the George Washington Bridge.

Having Lin for a dad was going to be so much fun. He let her order pizza and soda, not reminding her not to have too much like her mother would have done. Her mother could be so suffocating and Lin was like a breath of fresh air.

"Mmmm," she groaned as she hit into her third slice of pizza. "This is so good."

Her mouth was full but she continued. "Mom never lets me eat three pieces."

"Don't overstuff yourself kiddo," he chuckled. They were watching Ozark on Netflix, something her mother would never let her watch.

"Can you believe my mom won't let me watch this?" She asked. "What's the big deal?"

Lin panicked. The last thing he needed was Vanessa being mad at him for letting their kid watch gore. He pressed pause and returned to the main menu. Damn, he knew nothing about kids.

"Hey!" She complained, her mouth full of pizza.

"Sorry," he said, licking his fingers. "Maybe not a good idea if your mom doesn't approve."

"Who cares?" She said brazenly. "She's a liar."

Lin sighed, not liking Lia trashing her mother. "Lia," he began. "Your mom's not the enemy. She made a mistake."

"A mistake?" She gaped. "She lied to me for fourteen years. I'd say that's more than a mistake."

"She had her reasons," Lin said, though he wasn't sure why he was defending her.

"Are you trying to say you're not completely pissed she didn't tell you?"

"Of course I am," he said. "I would love to have been around when you were growing up. I missed so much and it kills me. But harping on the past will just make you bitter. Let's focus on what we have now."

Lia didn't completely buy it but she was willing to humor him. "That's right," she said. "We can hang out all the time and I can hang out at the theatre and-"

"Remember, you still live with your mom," he said. "I work nights so we might only get to hang out on the weekends."

"But...can't I hang out at the theatre with you?" She asked.

"Sure, sometimes, but when I'm at a performance I can't really hang out," he pointed out gently. "I've gotta focus on my job."

Lia deflated a bit, tossing the last half of her pizza on her plate and reclining. Now that she had a newly discovered and totally awesome dad, she wanted to be with him non-stop.

"Yeah, I guess," she conceded, staring blankly ahead.

Lin sensed she was disappointed and scooted closer to her. He draped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll be together tons," he promised her. "I promise you. We'll find a balance."

Lia nodded in agreement and decided to enjoy the time with her dad before he had to head to the theatre. He chose an Austin Powers movie and they settled into a comfortable silence.

——

At school the next day, Lia dreaded Mr. Martin's class. She'd mouthed off to him yesterday; something she'd never done to a teacher. Was he going to hate her more now?

She kept her head ducked as the period began, hoping to stay as invisible as possible. They were moving on to a new unit about the Renaissance. Barf.

"Emilia Nadal," he called right away, looking at his struggling student. He pointed to the stool next to his desk. "Front and center."

She looked around uncomfortably and got a few looks of pity. He'd never done this before. She sighed and reluctantly made her way to the front. Lia swallowed as she waited to see what poison he had in store. Of course she hadn't done the reading from the night before.

"The Renaissance," he said loudly. "What country did it start in?"

"Uhhh...France?"

"No," he replies. "Think farther east."

"Russia?"

A few snickers. Lia felt her face turning red and her heart started beating faster. Why did he have to do this?

"Did you do the reading last night, Miss Nadal?"

She looked down and decided not to lie. "No."

"And why is that?" He asked, continuing to humiliate her.

"B...because I had a lot of homework," she said, which was true. She hadn't done much of it, however. Homework had been getting away from her lately.

"I see," he said. "Well, you have extra homework for tonight. Two thousand words on the beginnings of the Renaissance. Which began in...anyone?"

A few students mumbled Italy. Lia was at last excused from her personal hell. At the end of class, he passed back some graded papers and saw she'd received a C- on her essay test. Her worst yet.

As soon as the bell rang, she felt herself panicking. No way could she write a four page essay AND do her regular homework. Her palms were starting to sweat and she felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. She ducked into a corner and pulled out her phone. She dialed her father.

It felt like an eternity before Lin answered on the third ring.

"I need you to come pick me up," Lia said the words so fast that it was barely sensible.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Lin asked with concern, over all of the background noise Lia could hear through the phone.

"I just need to leave," Lia felt her breathing get heavier. It didn't even phase her when the warning bell rang.

"Okay, okay," it seemed like Lin changed locations from wherever he was. "Slow down. Take a deep breath before speaking,"

"Lin, I -"

"Take a breath."

Lia heard the class bell ring again, signaling that she was going to be late to class. Despite the growing feelings of anxiety, she closed her eyes and took a breath. She breathed out, not feeling entirely better but feeling a little more at ease. Without prompting, she did it once more.

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Lia replied honestly.

"Okay, now answer my question. Is everything okay?" Lin repeated his initial question. He was glad Lia didn't sound as panicked, but still had his concerns.

"I just really don't feel good," Lia glanced around, worried a passing by faculty member would spot her. She headed off to a nearby restroom, to at least try to hinder the likelihood. "I had a really bad class, and I just can't stay here."

"Did you call your mom?" He asked.

"No," She hadn't spoken to her mom since leaving her office the day before. Today was the first time she had the option of calling someone else. It had always been just Lia and her mom. She was still pissed at her though, and didn't want their first conversation to be about her leaving school during the day.

"Lia, I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to pick you up. Your mom would have had to add me as an emergency contact."

"Lin, please?" Lia's stomach was in knots. She glanced at the time of her phone, noting that she had already missed half of English. She hated missing class, but the thought of having to spend the rest of the day in school to have more piled on her sounded worse.

She heard him let out a sigh and tell her to hold on. Lia started to worry about her choice of calling him. She didn't want to burden him. What if he got sick of her and left?

"Where are you at?" Lin spoke up.

"The bathroom hiding out."

Lin went quiet for a few more moments before speaking again, "Okay. I'm at The Today Show. I finished up my segment here before you called, but I have another interview at noon. I texted your mom, but haven't heard back from her yet. You think you can make it until lunch while I figure out a few things?"

"Yeah," Lia answered quietly. She had completely forgotten that Lin had mentioned the previous day he was doing press all morning. She felt even worse for bothering him.

"Why don't you head to the nurse's office? That way you won't get in trouble." Lin said with a reassuring tone, "Besides, if you get in good with the nurse now then you'll have a forever pass for when you're late to class, which I absolutely don't know from past experience."

Lia couldn't help but giggle at the advice, comforted by his jovial tone. The more time spent with Lin, the more she realized an ease about him. He seemed to always know the right thing to say. "I will. Thanks Lin."

"No thanks needed. Text me if anything comes up in the meantime, okay?"

Lia assured him that she would and they ended the call. She took a few minutes to make sure she was composed before heading to the nurse's office. Once she got there and got through the formalities of checking in, she was able to lie down on one of the cots. She hadn't even realized she fell asleep until she was being shook awake.

"Emilia? Your dad's in the front office."

She almost thought she was still dreaming when she heard the words, and then remembered the events of her past week. As she began to wake back up, Lia realized that was the first time she had heard someone refer to Lin as her dad. She liked the way it sounded.

Lia gathered her things before heading to the office where she found Lin in a baseball cap and glasses having a friendly conversation with the front desk personnel. She wouldn't have known it was him were it not for the 'Washington Heights' logo on the ball cap.

"There she is," Lin said when he spotted Emilia, with a wide grin on his face. "You ready?"

Lia nodded as Lin grabbed her backpack from her. In exchange, he handed her over a ball cap and sunglasses. It was while they were walking towards the entrance of the building Lia realized why he had given them to her. The few people that were in the hallway hadn't even tried to conceal their stares at the pair as they were walking by. Although Lia obviously knew of Lin's fame and seen the paparazzi at the theatre, this felt different. She hadn't even thought of the fact when she had asked him to pick her up. She was grateful he had come in between periods when less people would be out. She threw on the cap and glasses as they reached the double doors, hoping this wouldn't lead to any more issues.

They walked silently for a minute or so as they headed for the subway. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked her gently.

"I guess," she said. "Can we not talk about it?"

"We can drop it for now but I think we need to talk about it later."

Lia sighed quietly and stuffed her hands further into her pockets. They boarded the subway and made their way to Vanessa's house in Brooklyn. Lia was quiet on the ride, messing around on her phone. They arrived home 20 minutes later and Lia went to change straight into sweats.

Lin grabbed himself a granola bar, having skipped lunch to get his daughter. Lia found the softest blanket and cocooned herself on the couch. She closed her eyes, glad to be away from school.

Lin plopped down next to her. He dutifully felt her forehead. "You feel fine," he observed. "What's up? You sounded upset on the phone."

She sighed heavily, fiddling with the edge of the blanket. "My history teacher is such a jerk."

"How so?"

"He made me come up front and quizzed me on the Renaissance in front of everyone. And he humiliated me when I got it wrong. And he gave me extra homework because he hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Lin reasoned, though he didn't like the sound of him embarrassing his kid. "Is this the class you're having trouble in?"

"Yea," she said. "I have a C. I've never gotten a C in my life."

Lin remembered how hard Hunter could be. The incoming freshmen were often stressed out of their minds. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Adjusting to Hunter takes a while."

"That's what Mom says," she replied in annoyance.

"Well she's right," he smiled. "A C at Hunter every once in a while is fine. Do you think meeting with your teacher would help? I could ask for a conference."

She shrugged in reply.

"Well how about you take a little break and I'll help you with your extra homework. I think I remember enough about the Renaissance."

Lin periodically texted with Vanessa, unbeknownst to Lia. She was obviously concerned her workaholic kid had asked to come home from school. Lin assured her she was better and that he was helping her with her history.

When Vanessa arrived home around 5:30, Lia was typing away on her computer, looking in control of her school work. Lin got up and walked to the kitchen so they could have a private conversation.

"How is she?" Vanessa whispered, unraveling her scarf.

"She's better," he said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "She's mostly just having a hard time in history. Says the teacher is hard and he embarrassed her today."

"She's super sensitive," Vanessa remarked. Sometimes the smallest thing could cause the biggest drama.

"Yeah, but from what she told me I don't like what I'm hearing," he said quietly. "I think I might set up a conference with him, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Vanessa said. It was kind of nice to have someone else to take on the hard parts of parenting. Parent teacher conferences could be terrifying. She was glad to let Lin handle it.

"Great," he said. "I'll call tomorrow. I better run."

Lin reached for his jacket and proceeded to kiss the top of Lia's head. He gave Vanessa a wink as he headed out the door.

Vanessa poured herself some wine and joined her daughter on the couch. "So, Mr. Martin, huh?"

Lia nodded, eyes on her screen. Thanks to Lin's help her punishment essay was done and she had started on her homework. Vanessa peeked at her screen and saw she was on Wattpad.

"What's that?"

"It's a writing website," she explained. "Lin suggested I write about a historic time from the perspective of a teenager so I'm trying it out. I could use it for an English essay maybe too."

"Great," she said, impressed with Lin's guidance. History class had been a struggle from the beginning and she sounded almost confident.

Vanessa put her feet up on the coffee table. Maybe having Lin-Manuel Miranda as a co-parent came with some perks.