A/N: Thanks for the love on chapter one!

Coffee in hand, Vanessa headed down her apartment hallway towards Emilia's room. She hoped the caffeine would be the cure for not only her sleep deprivation but the slight hangover she was fostering. The mornings always came too fast, especially for someone who had been up past midnight watching interviews of a certain playwright. She had only meant to do a quick google search, but a few articles later and her thoughts, and bottle of merlot, kept her up most of the night. Hamilton had only opened on Broadway less than two months ago, and the buzz surrounding it was growing exponentially by the day.

Her theory was only verified  when she approached Lia's door and heard the cast album playing from inside her daughter's room. From the hallway, it was only a faint sound but his voice was prominent. She could single it out anywhere. Whenever she would hear it, her mind instantly transported her back to being a lovestruck nineteen year old, along with all of the heartache and joy that came with that year. She would constantly replay that last conversation: the one that had changed everything.

She took a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door. She waited for a response before heading into the teenager's cave.

"I figured you'd still be in bed."

Lia looked up from her desk and biology notes, already dressed for the day, ahead of even her mother. "Just reviewing. Ms. Campbell is known for her pop quizzes."

"Well, good thing you'll be a step ahead." Vanessa smiled, taking a sip of her coffee, "Did you finish all of your history reading last night?"

"Yeah," Lia had stayed up until midnight finishing up all of her assignments, and was only going off of four hours of sleep by the time she had woken up to start studying. Hunter had turned her into a coffeeaholic, "I have no doubt Mr. Martin is still going to ask questions about it that will leave me absolutely clueless."

Vanessa shook her head lightly at her daughter's attitude "Ever the optimist."

Lia closed her biology book and notebook and brought it over to her backpack. "Just a realist," She replied with a shrug of her shoulders, she pulled out flashcards before zipping her bag closed. The girl seldomly took a break when she was stressed over her grades. "I'd be a lot more optimistic if we could finish up this boring stuff and move on to the history that's actually interesting."

Vanessa laughed, "Which is what?"

Lia rolled her eyes, a habit Vanessa was keenly aware was increasing each day, "Hello?" She held her phone up towards her mom, as the music played from it, "There's no way that I could fail with the greatest musical study guide ever created."

Vanessa mustered up a smile, "Well, the Revolutionary War isn't too far off from the Boston Tea Party."

"How do you even know that Hamilton takes place during the Revolutionary War?" Lia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have caught a lyric now and then considering it's been the only thing you've played lately. Besides, I didn't fail history." She finished her backtracking off with a hint of sarcasm, glad to be met by the expected eyeroll which meant she wouldn't get asked any further questions on the topic. The last thing she was going to admit to were the opened tabs on her phone of her late night search on the historical accuracy of the musical. "I'm going to go get dressed and head out pretty soon. I have a hearing at ten, and then some meetings this afternoon. You're coming to the office after school, right?"

"Yeah." She threw her backpack over her shoulder and made sure to grab her headphones. They were an essential part of her school day.

"If you decide to make plans with anyone or join anything, not that I'm telling you to," Vanessa emphasized the point knowing either suggestion would only be met with annoyance, "But if you do, just text me, okay?"

Lia simply gave her a thumbs up, fully aware she would be on her way to her mom's office directly after school.

Her mother left her with a kiss to the forehead, as she went back to listening to her music and reviewing flashcards before her morning commute to the subway.

On the subway, Lia completed one of her new daily tasks- entering the Hamilton lottery. For some reason her mother seemed to have zero interest in going, despite the cultural phenomenon it had become. Everyone wanted to see it, except her mother. The ticket prices were astronomical so she knew her mom would never pay for them. Her only hope was the lottery.

She finished entering her information just as the subway pulled into her stop. Emilia made her way to school, mentally psyching herself up for another rigorous day at Hunter.

She'd made it through history class, disappointed by a C on her test from the previous day. As she was packing up her things, Mr. Martin called to her to come see him. She inwardly groaned and slung her bag on her shoulder and approached his desk.

"Emilia, I know you've been struggling with the material thus far," he began. "Many of our students have been attending Hunter since kindergarten but you're new this year, correct?"

"Yes, sir," she answered politely. Who used the word thus anymore? This guy was such a yuppie.

He reached behind him and picked up a paper from his desk, holding it out to her. "There's a tutoring program available," he said. "Talk it over with your parents. It's $20 an hour. I think it could help you out."

Emilia's heart dropped further. Her teacher thought she was doing so badly that she needed tutoring? She really was this dumb. She swallowed and took the paper reluctantly. There was no way she could ask her mother to pay for tutoring. They were on a tight budget.

She thanked him quietly and then ducked out of the classroom, humiliated. She found the nearest recycling bin and tossed the paper inside.

Just as she approached her next classroom her phone buzzed. It buzzed all the time but for some reason her heart stopped. They weren't allowed to have their phones out at school, but she ducked into the bathroom and fished it out. Her heart pounding, she unlocked it and found an email notification. Her fingers flew as she found and opened it.

Her heart stopped. She had won the Hamilton lottery.

She read it three more times to make sure it was true. Congratulations! You have won two free tickets to see Hamilton tonight at 8 pm. Present this email to the box office to claim your tickets by 7 pm.

The bell rang but she for once didn't care about racking up a tardy. She squealed and jumped up and down in exhilaration. She was going to get to see the hottest show in New York. Renee Goldsberry. Leslie Odom Junior. Lin-Manuel Miranda!

She squealed again and heard footsteps outside the open doored bathroom. A teacher stuck her head in frowning.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" She asked.

Emilia cleared her throat and quickly put her phone away. "Yes. Sorry.  Female issues."

She avoided eye contact as she snaked around the teacher and made her way to class.

Two tickets. Her mother would come, obviously. Wouldn't she? She didn't have any friends to speak of to ask. Her old friends from middle school had been ghosting her, apparently moving on to better things. She didn't remember a single thing from algebra class but couldn't care less.

As soon as school let out, she pulled out her phone on the front steps of the campus. She called her mother, hoping she wasn't in court. Luckily she picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Lia," she greeted. "Can you-"

"I won tickets to Hamilton!" She practically screamed into the phone. Vanessa pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment. She couldn't remember the last time her daughter sounded so excited. And loud.

"What?" She asked.

"I've been entering the lottery every day," she explained, suddenly out of breath. "And today I won! Two tickets to the 8:00 show!"

"That's nice, sweetheart. Very nice." Vanesa said through gritted teeth, thankful this conversation was taking place over the phone instead of where Lia would be able to see her face. She shut the door to her office.  "And that's for tonight?"

"Yes and we have to be there by seven to claim the tickets. So, it's four now, if I go straight home I'll get there in thirty minutes and I have enough time to wash my hair and figure out what I'm going to wear. You just have to make sure you leave the office, at the latest, five because we can not leave the apartment any later than six to make sure we get -"

"Emilia," Vanessa interrupted her daughter's breathless spiel, "You just told me the news and it's less than four hours away. I just got back to the office. I still have clients to meet with and a motion that is due -"

"Mom, this is Hamilton," Emilia stopped her mother in her tracks before she could continue down the path she sensed, "Everything stops for Hamilton."

"Lia..." Vanessa said meekly, feeling her stomach churn.

"I'll just go by myself then," Lia's tone of voice shifted from excitement to combative, "There's no way I can miss this."

"That's not happening," Vanessa said sharply, as she sunk back into her chair with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath, knowing how her daughter could get when she was determined about something. She knew that Lia, although not a fan of her tone, wasn't asking for anything unreasonable. Her schedule could be rearranged and the work could be done tomorrow. She also knew she didn't want her daughter to be in the same room as him without her there. "But, you're right." Her tone softened, as she chose her words carefully, "This is a great opportunity and you're obsessed. Let me move some things around and I'll meet you back at home by five."

"Yes!" Emilia's squeal was an indicator that her excitement had quickly returned, "You're the best, mom! Okay, I'm about to head into the station and I'll probably lose signal so I'll see you at home. Thank you, thank you, thank!" Although she couldn't see it, Vanessa knew her daughter's grin was covering her entire face.

"Of course, sweetie." The phone call disconnected and Vanessa threw her head back in a similar fashion to her teenage daughter.

"Shit."