A/N: For complication reasons, the age difference between Christine,
Raoul and Erik has been changed, so instead of Christine and Raoul
being two years old and Erik being almost thirty, Christine is two, and
both Raoul and Erik are three. Hope ya enjoy!
Christine glanced frightfully across the pastel-colored room in hopes her mother was still with her, but she could see the woman nowhere. First she pondered on the thought that perhaps her mother had just vanished into thin air, and then she began to wonder if some amount of crying might bring her back...
"Waaaahhhh!" Christine pouted, scanning the room with blurry eyes. "Maaaamaaaaa!" She noted that this didn't work, but kept on crying anyway for dramatic effect.
"Would you shut up?"
Christine turned to the owner of the icy voice, which turned out to be a little boy in a white mask. She rubbed her eyes and sniffed.
"Whassa mask for?" Christine asked.
"None of your business!" The boy retorted.
"Whassa mask for?" Christine repeated, giggling.
"Stop it!"
"Whassa mask for?"
"Grrr!"
"Whassa mask for, whassa mask for, whassa mask for?"
"It's time to begin class now, children," the teacher interrupted.
"Thank God," the mysterious boy muttered.
"Now, gather around me, kids," the teacher said enthusiastically happy as the two and three year olds did as she said. "This is your FIRST day of school, so it may be a little bit scary for some of you. We're going to play the Name Game to get to know each other better, and hopefully make new friends! Now - let's all sit in a circle!"
The children shuffled around. Christine spotted the masked boy and sat down next to him, as another boy sat on her other side. The few children left standing sat, and finally all was situated.
"Now, we're going to start with me," the teacher said. She took a deep breath. "My name is Mrs. Webber. And your name is..?" she pointed to a kid to her left.
"I'm Michael," the boy piped up.
The name's went down the line, from Sarah to Steve, when finally, it was Christine's turn to say her name.
"My name is Christine," she said clearly.
"Say it louder, hon'," Mrs. Webber said, smiling.
"I for one, heard her," the masked boy said. "I don't believe she will need to say her name again. It's Christine, for anyone who's deaf."
Mrs. Webber was astonished by this three year old's ability of speech - to be able to use such connected sentences at a young age was remarkably rare. She guessed he came from a wealthy family that had hired private tutors to teach him better speech. "And your name again is..?"
"Erik."
"Erik, have you been privately tutored?" Mrs. Webber asked.
Erik shook his head as Christine asked the boy on her other side quietly, "What does tootered mean?" The boy shrugged as the teacher looked puzzled, but continued on.
"And your name?" Mrs. Webber asked.
The boy next to Christine pointed at himself.
"Yes, you."
"Raoul."
"Raoul? Cute name," the teacher commented. Raoul beamed. "Now that we're done with names, we can have free time! Now you can play with any of the toys in this room, but you cannot leave until your parents come back."
"Yay!" The children shouted excitedly.
Christine, Raoul and Erik ran to a corner to play.
"Hi," Raoul said to Erik, "Whassa mask for?"
"No reason," Erik grumbled shyly.
"Ya huh!" Raoul pouted, "Tell!"
"He duwanna tell," Christine said seriously.
"Why not?"
"I dunno."
"Because you're a fop," Erik replied.
"Whassa fop?" Raoul wondered.
"It means cool person," Erik said, smiling behind the mask.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Thank 'oo! Will you be my friend?" Raoul asked.
"No."
"Why?"
"'Cause."
"Pwease?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Would you quit acting like a three year old!" Erik shouted.
"I am a thwee year owd!" Raoul blurted.
"Oh yes," Erik sneered.
"You too!"
"Am not, I'm three and a half!"
"Weally?"
"Yes."
"You ooold."
"Am not."
"Awe too."
"Am not."
"Awe too."
"Waaaahhhhh!" Christine cried. The boys stopped fighting when they finally realized that Christine had wandered from the corner, and was now being tormented by a group of boys. They were pulling on her hair and sticking their tongues out at her.
WHACK!
"OWWWWIIEEE!!" A boy screamed as Erik punched him in the face. "WAHHH!" The kid bawled louder than Christine, and this caught the teacher's attention.
"What happened here?" Mrs. Webber asked sternly as the kid clutched his eye with Erik looming over him.
"I punched him," Erik said plainly, grinning broadly.
The teacher gasped. "Erik! Time out! Now! Five minutes!"
"Five minutes?!" Erik cried, "That's outrageous! I'll die of starvation before the time is up!"
Again, Mrs. Webber was lost for words at the boy's highly advanced vocabulary, but the angry look did not leave her face. "NOW."
Erik, grumbling, went to the time out corner and sat facing the wall.
"Now, continue your play, children," the teacher said, wandering off to play with the good two and three year olds.
In the corner, Erik began to cry.
"It's okay, Ewik," Christine said, "You did nufin' wrong."
Erik sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Mrs. Webber said I did."
"She's a meany poo-poo head!" Christine said laughing.
Erik grinned, turning around. "Did you see me punch Steve?"
"Yeah, ha ha!" Christine answered. "Feel bettow?"
"Thank you, Christine," Erik said. They smiled at each other.
"Hey! She's MY girlfwend!" Raoul shouted.
"I'm not your GEWRLFWEND!" Christine shouted back. "Boys awe yucky!"
"She still MY girlfwend," Raoul said to Erik, "So don't touch her!"
Christine ran up to Raoul and hit him really hard in the face.
"OWWW!" Raoul whined.
"I leawn it fwum YOU, Ewik!" Christine said happily.
And besides the fact that she made Erik laugh, Mrs. Webber saw Christine clobber her friend, and she would hear nothing of it. So despite Christine's pleas and Erik's intervening, it was into the time out corner for her as well.
"So NOW what?" Christine asked huffily to Erik who was twiddling his thumbs.
"We WAIT for FIVE whole minutes," Erik said knowingly.
"You'll stay here with ME?"
Erik nodded.
"But you almost done here!"
Erik shrugged.
"I like you, Ewik!" Christine said happily. This made Erik grin, but Raoul, who overheard behind them (who was playing with Steve and Michael) frowned.
"I think you a meany - a meany doo doo bwain!" Raoul yelled at Erik.
"Am not!" Erik said, standing up from his sitting position.
"You ALSO a chicken!" Raoul said more quietly, because the teacher was giving warning looks.
"Why is THAT?" Erik asked, slitting his eyes.
"YOU won't take off thu mask!" Raoul smirked, his two new friends standing threateningly behind him to back him up if necessary.
"Yeaaah," the boys taunted.
"Take off thu mask, Ewik," the three boys began to chant.
"No!" Erik said.
"Yeah! If he duwanna, he dun gotta!" Christine said, tipping her nose up at the boys.
Before anyone could stop him, Raoul stepped forward and with a tiny hand, pulled away the cold mask, gasping at what he saw. Everyone gaped for a minute, while Erik reached for the mask.
Raoul tugged the material from Erik's reach, finally coming back to himself. "You UGLY!" He ran away, throwing the mask to Steve, who took it from Michael and it became a mean game of keep away.
"Ugly! Ugly!" The boys said, chanting again. Erik finally gave up trying to get his mask back, and began to pout on the floor.
"I want it baaack!" Erik whined, crying.
"Ha ha! Nooope," Raoul retorted. Then, from out of nowhere - a foot planted a kick right below the belt, and with lightning speed, all three mean boys were rolling in pain on the floor, whimpering and crying.
"Nobody be mean to Ewik!" Christine growled, her foot threateningly poised. When no boys showed any sign of getting up, Christine took the mask from the floor and handed it to Erik, who put it on as quick as he could.
"They wrong," Christine said in a matter-of-factly tone, "You a handsome pwince to meeeee. On the inside."
"Really?" Erik asked tearfully.
"Weally," Christine answered.
Just then, Mrs. Webber came running. "Young lady!" She shouted at Christine, "You do NOT kick your fellow classmates! Say you're sorry!"
"Not sowwy," Christine said stubbornly.
"Say you're sorry or you'll have TEN minutes of time out!" The teacher replied.
"Hm mm," Christine said, shaking her head. "Those boys mean!" She pointed at Raoul, Steve and Michael.
The teacher looked to Erik. "Were these boys being bully's?"
Erik nodded.
"Okay, I'll let you off.. but only this time. No more fighting, or it's ten minutes for each of you," Mrs. Webber said.
Soon enough, the door creaked open, and Mrs. Webber greeted a bunch of parents who filed into the room. Each parent found their child, until only Christine and Erik were left. Finally, Christine's mother entered the room.
"Mommy, Mommy!" Christine leapt into her mother's arms.
"Hi!" Her mother smiled, "How was your first day of preschool?"
"It was okay, I made a new fwend," Christine answered quickly.
"That's wonderful, Sweetie. How about we go home now?" Her mother suggested.
"Wait, Mommy, I have to say bye to Ewik!" Christine said, leaping out of her mother's arms.
"Okay, dear!" Christine's mother called after her. Mrs. Webber sidled up besides Mrs. Daae.
"Your daughter, er.. is a bit violent.." the teacher began seriously, but that was all Christine could make out before she met Erik, sitting alone in the corner.
"I have to go now, Ewik," Christine said.
"Okay," Erik replied sadly.
"Bye-bye, Ewik," Christine whispered.
"Erik."
"Huh?"
"My name is ERIK.. not Ewik."
"Okay.. Ewurik!"
Erik sighed as Christine started to toddle away, but changed her mind and hopped back to Erik's side.
"I hope we fwends fowever and ever!" Christine said over enthusiastically.
"Me too," Erik said.
"Ewurik?"
"What?"
"I wove you."
"I love you too."
Christine hugged Erik, and kissed him on the cheek whispering, "I can't WAIT 'til next time!"
"Me either."
And as Christine left with her mother to go home, Erik smiled and waved, receiving his first touch of love in his entire life.
FINIS
Christine glanced frightfully across the pastel-colored room in hopes her mother was still with her, but she could see the woman nowhere. First she pondered on the thought that perhaps her mother had just vanished into thin air, and then she began to wonder if some amount of crying might bring her back...
"Waaaahhhh!" Christine pouted, scanning the room with blurry eyes. "Maaaamaaaaa!" She noted that this didn't work, but kept on crying anyway for dramatic effect.
"Would you shut up?"
Christine turned to the owner of the icy voice, which turned out to be a little boy in a white mask. She rubbed her eyes and sniffed.
"Whassa mask for?" Christine asked.
"None of your business!" The boy retorted.
"Whassa mask for?" Christine repeated, giggling.
"Stop it!"
"Whassa mask for?"
"Grrr!"
"Whassa mask for, whassa mask for, whassa mask for?"
"It's time to begin class now, children," the teacher interrupted.
"Thank God," the mysterious boy muttered.
"Now, gather around me, kids," the teacher said enthusiastically happy as the two and three year olds did as she said. "This is your FIRST day of school, so it may be a little bit scary for some of you. We're going to play the Name Game to get to know each other better, and hopefully make new friends! Now - let's all sit in a circle!"
The children shuffled around. Christine spotted the masked boy and sat down next to him, as another boy sat on her other side. The few children left standing sat, and finally all was situated.
"Now, we're going to start with me," the teacher said. She took a deep breath. "My name is Mrs. Webber. And your name is..?" she pointed to a kid to her left.
"I'm Michael," the boy piped up.
The name's went down the line, from Sarah to Steve, when finally, it was Christine's turn to say her name.
"My name is Christine," she said clearly.
"Say it louder, hon'," Mrs. Webber said, smiling.
"I for one, heard her," the masked boy said. "I don't believe she will need to say her name again. It's Christine, for anyone who's deaf."
Mrs. Webber was astonished by this three year old's ability of speech - to be able to use such connected sentences at a young age was remarkably rare. She guessed he came from a wealthy family that had hired private tutors to teach him better speech. "And your name again is..?"
"Erik."
"Erik, have you been privately tutored?" Mrs. Webber asked.
Erik shook his head as Christine asked the boy on her other side quietly, "What does tootered mean?" The boy shrugged as the teacher looked puzzled, but continued on.
"And your name?" Mrs. Webber asked.
The boy next to Christine pointed at himself.
"Yes, you."
"Raoul."
"Raoul? Cute name," the teacher commented. Raoul beamed. "Now that we're done with names, we can have free time! Now you can play with any of the toys in this room, but you cannot leave until your parents come back."
"Yay!" The children shouted excitedly.
Christine, Raoul and Erik ran to a corner to play.
"Hi," Raoul said to Erik, "Whassa mask for?"
"No reason," Erik grumbled shyly.
"Ya huh!" Raoul pouted, "Tell!"
"He duwanna tell," Christine said seriously.
"Why not?"
"I dunno."
"Because you're a fop," Erik replied.
"Whassa fop?" Raoul wondered.
"It means cool person," Erik said, smiling behind the mask.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Thank 'oo! Will you be my friend?" Raoul asked.
"No."
"Why?"
"'Cause."
"Pwease?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Would you quit acting like a three year old!" Erik shouted.
"I am a thwee year owd!" Raoul blurted.
"Oh yes," Erik sneered.
"You too!"
"Am not, I'm three and a half!"
"Weally?"
"Yes."
"You ooold."
"Am not."
"Awe too."
"Am not."
"Awe too."
"Waaaahhhhh!" Christine cried. The boys stopped fighting when they finally realized that Christine had wandered from the corner, and was now being tormented by a group of boys. They were pulling on her hair and sticking their tongues out at her.
WHACK!
"OWWWWIIEEE!!" A boy screamed as Erik punched him in the face. "WAHHH!" The kid bawled louder than Christine, and this caught the teacher's attention.
"What happened here?" Mrs. Webber asked sternly as the kid clutched his eye with Erik looming over him.
"I punched him," Erik said plainly, grinning broadly.
The teacher gasped. "Erik! Time out! Now! Five minutes!"
"Five minutes?!" Erik cried, "That's outrageous! I'll die of starvation before the time is up!"
Again, Mrs. Webber was lost for words at the boy's highly advanced vocabulary, but the angry look did not leave her face. "NOW."
Erik, grumbling, went to the time out corner and sat facing the wall.
"Now, continue your play, children," the teacher said, wandering off to play with the good two and three year olds.
In the corner, Erik began to cry.
"It's okay, Ewik," Christine said, "You did nufin' wrong."
Erik sniffled and wiped his eyes. "Mrs. Webber said I did."
"She's a meany poo-poo head!" Christine said laughing.
Erik grinned, turning around. "Did you see me punch Steve?"
"Yeah, ha ha!" Christine answered. "Feel bettow?"
"Thank you, Christine," Erik said. They smiled at each other.
"Hey! She's MY girlfwend!" Raoul shouted.
"I'm not your GEWRLFWEND!" Christine shouted back. "Boys awe yucky!"
"She still MY girlfwend," Raoul said to Erik, "So don't touch her!"
Christine ran up to Raoul and hit him really hard in the face.
"OWWW!" Raoul whined.
"I leawn it fwum YOU, Ewik!" Christine said happily.
And besides the fact that she made Erik laugh, Mrs. Webber saw Christine clobber her friend, and she would hear nothing of it. So despite Christine's pleas and Erik's intervening, it was into the time out corner for her as well.
"So NOW what?" Christine asked huffily to Erik who was twiddling his thumbs.
"We WAIT for FIVE whole minutes," Erik said knowingly.
"You'll stay here with ME?"
Erik nodded.
"But you almost done here!"
Erik shrugged.
"I like you, Ewik!" Christine said happily. This made Erik grin, but Raoul, who overheard behind them (who was playing with Steve and Michael) frowned.
"I think you a meany - a meany doo doo bwain!" Raoul yelled at Erik.
"Am not!" Erik said, standing up from his sitting position.
"You ALSO a chicken!" Raoul said more quietly, because the teacher was giving warning looks.
"Why is THAT?" Erik asked, slitting his eyes.
"YOU won't take off thu mask!" Raoul smirked, his two new friends standing threateningly behind him to back him up if necessary.
"Yeaaah," the boys taunted.
"Take off thu mask, Ewik," the three boys began to chant.
"No!" Erik said.
"Yeah! If he duwanna, he dun gotta!" Christine said, tipping her nose up at the boys.
Before anyone could stop him, Raoul stepped forward and with a tiny hand, pulled away the cold mask, gasping at what he saw. Everyone gaped for a minute, while Erik reached for the mask.
Raoul tugged the material from Erik's reach, finally coming back to himself. "You UGLY!" He ran away, throwing the mask to Steve, who took it from Michael and it became a mean game of keep away.
"Ugly! Ugly!" The boys said, chanting again. Erik finally gave up trying to get his mask back, and began to pout on the floor.
"I want it baaack!" Erik whined, crying.
"Ha ha! Nooope," Raoul retorted. Then, from out of nowhere - a foot planted a kick right below the belt, and with lightning speed, all three mean boys were rolling in pain on the floor, whimpering and crying.
"Nobody be mean to Ewik!" Christine growled, her foot threateningly poised. When no boys showed any sign of getting up, Christine took the mask from the floor and handed it to Erik, who put it on as quick as he could.
"They wrong," Christine said in a matter-of-factly tone, "You a handsome pwince to meeeee. On the inside."
"Really?" Erik asked tearfully.
"Weally," Christine answered.
Just then, Mrs. Webber came running. "Young lady!" She shouted at Christine, "You do NOT kick your fellow classmates! Say you're sorry!"
"Not sowwy," Christine said stubbornly.
"Say you're sorry or you'll have TEN minutes of time out!" The teacher replied.
"Hm mm," Christine said, shaking her head. "Those boys mean!" She pointed at Raoul, Steve and Michael.
The teacher looked to Erik. "Were these boys being bully's?"
Erik nodded.
"Okay, I'll let you off.. but only this time. No more fighting, or it's ten minutes for each of you," Mrs. Webber said.
Soon enough, the door creaked open, and Mrs. Webber greeted a bunch of parents who filed into the room. Each parent found their child, until only Christine and Erik were left. Finally, Christine's mother entered the room.
"Mommy, Mommy!" Christine leapt into her mother's arms.
"Hi!" Her mother smiled, "How was your first day of preschool?"
"It was okay, I made a new fwend," Christine answered quickly.
"That's wonderful, Sweetie. How about we go home now?" Her mother suggested.
"Wait, Mommy, I have to say bye to Ewik!" Christine said, leaping out of her mother's arms.
"Okay, dear!" Christine's mother called after her. Mrs. Webber sidled up besides Mrs. Daae.
"Your daughter, er.. is a bit violent.." the teacher began seriously, but that was all Christine could make out before she met Erik, sitting alone in the corner.
"I have to go now, Ewik," Christine said.
"Okay," Erik replied sadly.
"Bye-bye, Ewik," Christine whispered.
"Erik."
"Huh?"
"My name is ERIK.. not Ewik."
"Okay.. Ewurik!"
Erik sighed as Christine started to toddle away, but changed her mind and hopped back to Erik's side.
"I hope we fwends fowever and ever!" Christine said over enthusiastically.
"Me too," Erik said.
"Ewurik?"
"What?"
"I wove you."
"I love you too."
Christine hugged Erik, and kissed him on the cheek whispering, "I can't WAIT 'til next time!"
"Me either."
And as Christine left with her mother to go home, Erik smiled and waved, receiving his first touch of love in his entire life.
FINIS