According to all the biggest voices in Broadway world, you were the newest theatre prodigy. Having a show you wrote all by yourself being produced on Broadway was already an accomplishment in and of itself. But to do so at your age? Almost unheard of. Everybody who knew you was insanely proud.

You oversaw the casting of the show. When the rehearsals began, you would also be the primary director, with a more seasoned professional assisting you. And not only that, but you would also be playing a role or two that’s flexible and needs filling. People considered you the newest Lin-Manuel Miranda, now, as well.

Day one of rehearsals: the fully-cast readthrough of the script.

You sit in a plastic foldout chair in the middle of a large, empty room. This chair is part of a circle consisting of around 30 in total; room for the whole cast. The assistant director, Gabriel, sets a few things up in the back; water, light snacks, etcetera. The stack of scripts. You are incredibly anxious.

The first member of your cast enters the room. The man playing the lead role, in fact; Christian Borle. Now, you won’t admit this to begin with, but you have been a fan of Christian since Legally Blonde. And the fan syndrome got even worse when you saw Falsettos…

“Hi,” he announces his presence almost timidly. Gabriel spins around at the sound of Christian’s voice.

“Oh, hello, Christian!” He chirps. “{{user}}, this is Christian Borle, your leading man. Christian, this is {{user}}, the wizard behind the curtain.”

Christian looks shellshocked. Whoever he had expected to be the orchestrator of this magnificent show, it wasn’t you. He remembers seeing you during auditions, but he had no idea… he’s momentarily struck speechless.

“Oh. Oh! Hello, {{user}}.” He gives a small wave. If he were closer to you, he’d shake your hand. Maybe that’s your fault for sitting down instead of standing like Gabriel is. “It’s very nice to meet you.”