Hi everyone! For all of you that have already read this story, I've edited all of the chapters. I only changed a few things, mainly trying to make everything run a little more smoothly. You can read them if you want. And to all of you that are new to this story, pay no attention to this authors note. :D
Wednesday night. The night of the talent show. It was supposed to be last Friday, but school was closed early due to bad weather. I was excited, as I had never been in my entire life. I had been preparing myself for my performance for quite some time now. I'd been taking this show quite seriously ever since I decided to sing, "Think Of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera. I had fallen madly in love with this story and its music. Singing this for other people meant a great deal to me and, in my eyes one of my greatest honors.
I was just about ready for my turn on stage. I was wearing an ivory gown that flowed with every step I took. My brunette hair hung in curls that encircled my face. The last little touch was some black eyeliner that brought out her brown eyes and red lip-gloss. I felt awkward. Normally I'm such a plain girl! I looked around the dressing room and sighed. It had a counter on one side of the room, with a half wall length mirror directly above it. The only part I liked about it was the bulbs that bordered the wall length mirror. It made it look like a movie stars dressing room.
Just then, one of the performers of the first act entered the dressing room.
"Kelly, You look great!" cried out Lizzy.
"Thanks! You're not looking too shabby yourself." I had known Lizzy from a few classes in school but didn't really become friends with her until the talent show.
"I am so excited! I can't wait to sing! I didn't think that I would be able to contain my excitement much longer.
"I am too, but I'm still nervous"
"Don't be. I know that you will do great."
I knew she would be but it wouldn't help her if she was nervous! I was glad through that she didn't try to make my talk anymore than I had to. I wanted to save my voice and plus, I'm not all that good at conversations. Looking away from her I let my mind begin to wander. Hopefully it would keep my excitement under control. Then I suddenly realized that my friend Belinda was singing now!
I immediately got up and ran through the door to the back stage entrance. Lizzy came rushing up behind me, looking a little worried. " Is something wrong?" she asked her face now slightly flushed.
" I simply wanted to listen in on Belinda before her song was over." We had a just made it in enough time to hear the last part of her song. As we listened, Joey came up behind Lizzy, startling her.
" Hey, guys" was all he said. Lizzy turned to face him and started chatting to him about something. I wasn't paying much attention to them now. I was about to turn around myself when the door suddenly opened, barely missing my face! One of the adults running the show poked her head out.
" Ms. Parker you're almost up. Go find Peter now." Before I could answer a deep voice spoke up behind me.
"I'm already here."
I turned around suddenly, hoping that I wouldn't look too surprised. He chuckled. I guess I did look surprised. Though, not because he had startled me, but by the way he was dressed. He had on a simple white loose shirt and black dress pants, but he had managed to pull off the "phantom" look so well it caught me off guard. I was so lucky he was generous, though. He had volunteered to be my "phantom" for me. If he hadn't, I would have one part of my song that had background noise, but I couldn't sing yet. I would have had to stand there for a whole verse doing nothing.
"Well, you two need to get in here now. You're turn is just about up." The lady in the stage had made me loose my train of thought. She held the door open for me as peter and I walked in.
It took my eyes awhile to adjust to how dark it was backstage. It would only be about a minute more wait. I began to fidget. The nerves I had suppressed back in the dressing room had made their way to the surface again. Peter must have noticed this for he came over to me and gave me a reassuring pat on the back. " You'll do great. I know it."
"Thanks." I mumbled. I didn't mean for my voice to sound so scared. I looked over at the main lady running this. She gave me a wave, signaling for me to get on center stage. Well, I didn't need to be told twice. With a brisk step I quickly made my way onto the stage. The curtain was still down but not for long. No sooner had I made it to my position that the curtains suddenly sprang to life, rising as high as they could go. The light streamed down on my face. Then, still with butterfly's I heard my music begin.
I knew the words by heart. Even if I had started to daydream I would sing the right words out of habit. I sang the first two verses with a normal, medium volume. I was saving all my passion for the last note, right before my big scene. Thankfully, I hit it without it going sour. Finally, we had gotten to my favorite part of the song. I took two steps back and waited for him to make his move. He had been paying attention. As soon as he say me step back he lurked out onto the stage, his eye's fixed on me. The crowd had a surprised reaction that I barely noticed. I looked over to him, still excited even though I was acting.
Still lurking, he began to go around me, never taking his eyes off of me. I couldn't help it but it did make my heart beat faster as I followed him with my head. When he was to my other side, I kept my head turned to where he was a moment before, as if he was still there. He then softly took my chin and turned me to face him. His hand was warm as if he was excited as I was. Our eyes met and seemed to lock, never breaking his gaze even as he quickly presented me with a rose.
It was beautiful! The bud was of a deep red color, Almost as deep as blood would be. And as I had expected the black ribbon was securely tied around the firm stem. I quietly took the rose and held it to my chest. His green eye's never leaving my sight, he gently took my hand and began to lead me off stage.
When we had almost made it to the edge, I froze, took a glance behind me and quickly took my hand back, running to the mic. With an expression on my face that would imply having mixed emotions, I finished singing. And taking a quick bow, I walked off the stage, my heart still beating hastily.
I had never had that much fun in years. Usually just being on stage in front of anyone at all gave me Goosebumps. But tonight seemed extra special, as if what I just did wasn't enough of an adrenaline rush. I made my way to the dressing room but it took awhile. Lizzy, Belinda, and Joey were all in front of me. "You were great!" " That was simply amazing!" and " You were really good!" was all I could here from them for about the next five minutes. I don't mind some praise when I had such a good time but this was starting to annoy me. I had to change my clothes and get ready to go home. Lizzy was right after me. She was the last act so I wouldn't get a lot of time to change.
Finally I was able to break away from them. I quickly changed back into a black t-shirt and Jeans, hoping I would be able to catch the end of Lizzy's performance. Not looking as to where I was going I bolted out the door only to run straight into Peter.
"Oh Peter, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going. I tried to sound as sincere as I could. He saved my performance. The least I could do was be polite.
"No harm done. You were really something out there. First the singing and then the acting! I was worried that the crowd would end up thinking you really were Christine."
" That was what I was aiming for, but thanks. You did really well too." He smiled sheepishly.
" So, will I see you at lunch tomorrow?" He seemed somewhat nervous again.
" I don't see why not. See you tomorrow then." He waved bye and walked away.
About ten minutes later I had found my mother. She wouldn't stop praising me. I found it to be a little embarrassing. After she had bragged about me to every person that she knew there we were finally going home. I was ready to just collapse into bed. She held the door open for me as she tossed some ideas about my future career into the conversation.
" You could try to be an actress. You seem to have a natural ability."
" That sounds like fun but the only career I want right now is one that involves me sleeping." I mumbled.
She simply giggled. I was beginning to get impatient. I began walking ahead of her to reach the car. She began to talk again but was cut short as she shrieked. I swiftly turned around to she my mother lying on the ground. I rushed to her side, thinking that she had tripped. But before I could reach her I felt a firm, strong hand on my shoulder.
My heart raced as I gasped. The hand spun me fiercely around with such strength it didn't seem human. I opened my mouth to scream but before I could the attacker tossed some strange, black powder into my face. It made the world around me begin to spin. I was quickly becoming disoriented and dizzy. Then, just as I had feared, I could feel my feet come out from under me. I was trying so hard just to shriek, but was loosing consciousness!
My mind was racing, even though now everything was black. If my head hit the concrete this hard, I was likely to split my head open! But just as my last little bit of consciousness lingered, I felt a pair of strong, firm arms wrap around me. Then, I blacked out.