Chapter Text
I am not throwing away my shot, I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I’m just like my country, I'm young, scrappy and hungry and I am not throwing away my shot. I’ma get a scholarship to King’s College I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish.
Peggy raises an eyebrow at Alex. “That sounds like bragging to me.” Alex looks down with a sheepish smile, red coloring his cheeks.
“How do you know you’re going to get a scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools ever built?” Thomas laughs, “I didn’t think you were smart enough.” Alex looks up, his embarrassment leaving quickly, and glares in the other man's direction.
“That’s the problem, Jefferson, you don’t think. So, of course, the flesh you call a brain in there couldn’t comprehend the fact that I can and did get a scholarship to King’s College.”
Thomas stands, ready to yell in Alex’s face. Who does he think he is, saying that? Madison puts a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back down, mumbling, “It’s not worth it,” under his breath. Thomas sits, albeit reluctantly, and continues to glare at him. Alex only smirks in his direction before turning back to the screen, which has started playing again.
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish.
Hercules nudges Alex, “Isn’t that the truth?”
I gotta holler just to be heard, with every word, I drop knowledge. I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal. Tryna reach my goal, my power of speech unimpeachable.
Lafayette raises an eyebrow, ”For someone who said they weren’t going to brag, sure does brag a lot, chéri.”
Only 19 but my mind is older, these New York City streets gettin’ colder, I shoulder ev’ry burden ev’ry disadvantage, I have learned to manage. I don’t have a gun to brandish, I walk the famished. The plan is to set the spark into a flame, but damn it’s getting dark so let me spell out my name.
“Why would you want to spell out your name if it’s getting dark?” Peggy asks, looking at Clara expectantly.
“It’s a metaphor, meaning that the flame is going to run out before he has a chance to make it bigger. Hamilton is scared that he’s running out of time before he can truly become well-known, so he wants to make an impact in the world as early as possible so people don’t forget him.”
I am the- A L E X A N D E R -we are- meant to be a colony that runs independently. Meanwhile Britain keeps shittin’ on us endlessly.
“Ugh, yeah, they do,” Washington whispers to himself.
He ain’t ever gonna set his descendants free, so there will be a revolution in this century. Enter me (he says in parentheses)
John’s mouth moves quicker than his brain, and he mutters “Gladly” under his breath before he can stop himself. He almost breaks his neck trying to look at Alex to see if he can gauge his reaction. It’s difficult to see in the dimmed lighting, but it looks like Alex didn’t hear what he said. John lets out a sigh of relief.
Alex’s face burns from the comment. He knows that John didn’t mean to say it, judging from how fast he turned to check on Alex, but he’s glad he did. He just might have a chance with him.
Don’t be shocked when your history book mentions me. I will lay down my life if it sets us free.
“Alexander Hamilton!” Eliza scolds, “Why would you say that?”
Alex shrugs. “Because it’s true? If it means that our kids will have a better life than I did, then I’d gladly do it in a heartbeat.” Eliza quiets down, not necessarily happy with the answer, but understanding it nonetheless.
Eventually, you’ll see my ascendancy. And I am not throwing away my shot. I am not throwing away my shot. Hey, yo, I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy, and hungry and I am not throwing away my shot, and I am not throwing away my shot.
“Why is it so repetitive?” Jefferson asks. Madison shrugs, not knowing the answer.
And I am not throwing away
My shot ( My shot )
I am not throwing away
My shot ( My shot )
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
And I'm not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
It's time to take a shot
“That's a lot of shots, boys,” Angelica scolds, though her smile betrays her tone.
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to 'onarchy?
'Onarchy? How you say, how you s-oh, 'anarchy!'
Lafayette’s face turns red at his terrible pronunciation.
“You never were that good at English, were you, Laf?” Mulligan says as he wraps his arm around his friend.
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my—
Shot
Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice
And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I'm joining the rebellion 'cause I know it's my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants
I'm gonna take a—
Shot
“Ok,” Hamilton starts, “So far, there have been the type of shots with a gun, then there’s a shot like you’re going to try something.” He turns to Laurens, giving him a soft smile. “Yours is probably going to be an alcohol shot or something.”
Laurens shrugs, “You’re probably right.”
But we'll never be truly free
Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me
You and I, do or die, wait 'til I sally in
On a stallion with the first black battalion
Have another—
Shot
“I was right!” Hamilton says as he gives a cheeky smile. Laurens stares at his smile for a beat too long, noticing Eliza looking at him curiously from the corner of his eye. He quickly averts his gaze and focuses back on the movie.
Geniuses, lower your voices
“Burr, you always have to add your input don’t you?” Mulligan groans from where he's seated across for Burr.
Hamilton nudges Mulligan and laughs, “Yeah, if I never had to hear you speak again, it would be too soon.”
Burr roles his eyes but decideds to stay civil. For now.
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I'm with you, but the situation is fraught
You've got to be carefully taught
If you talk, you're gonna get sho t
“That’s actually good advice, Burr. It would have helped those idiots much more had they shut their mouths and not talked about the revolution every chance they got,” Peggy says as she rolls her eyes.
Hamilton gives an exasperated sigh whil Burr claps his hands. “Thank you! Finally, someone with common sense! Hamilton, you could learn something from the third Schuyler. She’s smart, that one.”
Peggy, not appreciative of being called the ‘third Schuyler,’ rolls her eyes and re-focuses on the movie.
Burr, check what we got
Mister Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot
“Merci, Alex.”
I think your pants look hot
“That was directed at me, right?” Mulligan asks. Nobody answers, engrossed in the movie, so he shrugs and folds his hands in his lap.
Laurens, I like you a lot
John blushes but tries to shake it off. The movie meant as friends and only friends, nothing else. Right?
“Whoever wrote this did a fantastic job at portraying us,” Lafayette whispers to Mulligan, “because even they noticed how much they like each other. Now the two of them need to get their head out of their asses and realize as well.”
Mulligan laughs. “They sure do.”
Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot
What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot
Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not
A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists?
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is
Oh, am I talkin' too loud?
Sometimes I get overexcited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that I'll make y'all proud
“Aww, you were so cute, Alex!” Eliza coos.
Alex splutters. “I was not cute!”
“Shut up, I want to watch the movie,” Jefferson sneers. Madison elbows him in the side.
Let's get this guy in front of a crowd
“Don’t encourage him,” Jefferson mutters with a roll of his eyes.
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
“Why is this repeating so much?” Lafayette asks.
Ev'rybody sing
Woah, woah, woah ( Woah, woah, woah )
Hey
Woah ( Woah )
Woo
Woah ( Woah )
Said, let 'em hear ya ( Yeah )
Let's go
Woah, woah, woah
I said, shout it to the rooftops
Woah
Said, to the rooftops
Woah
Come on
Yeah
Come on, let's go
Rise up
When you're living on your knees, you rise up
Tell your brother that he's gotta rise up
“Yeah!” The boys yell simultaneously.
Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up
Angelica gives John an appreciative nod.
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Woah, woah, woah
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Woah
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Woah
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Woah
Rise up ( Rise up )
I imagine death so much, it feels more like a memory
“Alex… that’s not good,” John says as he grabs Hamilton's hand. Almost as quickly as he grabs it, he lets it go. Hamilton gives him a weird look.
When's it gonna get me?
In my sleep?
Seven feet ahead of me?
If I see it comin', do I run or do I let it be?
“Run, obviously! What the hell? Do you want to die?” Mulligan exclaims, not caring about his use of language. Eliza didn’t even hear the profanity, too shocked that her husband had thought about himself dying often.
Is it like a beat without a melody?
See, I never thought I'd live past twenty
Where I come from, some get half as many
Eliza wanted nothing more than to hold her husband's hand in that moment and comfort him, but it looked as if Laurens had taken on that responsibility. Hamilton was squished up against Laurens' side, the two of them sharing an occasional comment. She didn’t want to be jealous, especially not at a time like this, but it had her in a death grip. Exhaling softly, she grabbed Phillip’s hand and leaned into him instead.
Ask anybody why we livin' fast
and we laugh, reach for a flask
We have to make this moment last, that's plenty
Noticing all the pitying looks, Hamilton addresses and speaks about his situation. “When you grow up in a place like I did, you had to make sure you live in the moment instead of the future because you never knew if you would get to see the future.”
Scratch that
This is not a moment, it's the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with
Something to prove went
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin' our promised land
And? If we win our independence?
Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
“Sadly, no,” Washington says, shaking his head. He wishes that would be the case, but he’s been doing this long enough to know that there will always be problems for people to fight.
Or will the blood we shed begin an endless
Cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?
I know the action in the street is excitin'
But Jesus, between all the bleedin' 'n' fightin'
I've been readin' 'n' writin'
We need to handle our financial situation
Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?
“Why in the world is a 19-year-old worrying about the financial state of a country that they just arrived in?” Burr says, his question aimed at no one in particular.
I'm past patiently waitin'
I'm passionately smashin' every expectation
Every action's an act of creation
I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow
Mulligan cheers, and it gets the other boys to join in as well.
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot
Not throwing away my shot
We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot
Not throwing away my shot
We're gonna
We're gonna
It's time to take a shot ( Rise up )
It's time to take a shot ( Rise up )
It's time to take a shot ( Rise up )
Take a shot, ri— ri— ri—
Shot
Shot
A-yo, it's
Time to take a shot ( Time to take a shot )
Time to take a shot ( Time to take a shot )
And I am— ( And I am )
Not throwin' away my—
Not throwin' away my shot
“Well, that was exciting,” Clara says and claps her hands together. “Any questions, statements, or complaints?” At the shake of everyone's head, she exclaims, “On to the next one, then!”