The Phantom of the High School
Prologue
I'm sorry, but I don't need a beta at the moment. Thanks for the offer though! P.S: Love your username; it made me doodle music notes all over my English project. Oh well, I can just say it's a border. Stay awesome! xx
Tia finished typing her last reply and closed the lid on her laptop. Her eyes were burning, and a quick glance at the clock on her stereo told her it was almost eleven. She knew she shouldn't have responded to every review, but it was a tradition she'd had ever since she started writing fanfiction. It had been fine when she'd only had half a dozen reviews added every chapter, but now alternate endings had become so popular that hundreds came in every day.
"If any more are posted overnight they'll just have to wait" she thought as she got up from the curled position she'd held for almost two hours, groaning slightly as her limbs protested. Tia limped to her bathroom, which was thankfully only next door, and splashed her face with water from the tap. She brushed her teeth quickly, but didn't turn the electricity on for fear of waking up her sleeping parents.
As she did this, her eyes settled on the small engraving which was carved into the wall above the sink. It was the letters T+E, outlined in a heart. This amazing artwork had been done with a rusty nail three years before, when Tia was 12 and had first watched Phantom of the Opera. She had immediately become obsessed with it, particularly the title character Erik. Her young self had tried to explain (as well she could with the huge retainer she'd been forced to wear) that fictional crushes were one of the most common kinds, but no-one would listen. At least she'd had the sense to just talk about this with her friends, so her social life wasn't a complete wreck.
Tia traced the letters with a finger and put her toothbrush down. She already had her pyjamas on, so all she had to do once she got back to her room was flick the light off and fall into bed. She was asleep in minutes, but what she didn't know was that she wouldn't wake up to exactly the same life.
When Tia arrived in History class on Monday morning everything seemed normal. The boys on the rugby team were having a practise game with scrunched up pieces of paper, the notoriously forgetful Eleanor was begging Mr Dawn for a homework extension, and Kaylie and her group of chavs were discussing the new clothes they'd bought over the weekend. Tia stood behind her seat, got out her pencil case and books and surveyed the class for her friends. Nada.
Bored, she began twisting strands of her long auburn hair around each other, trying to create a plait. She didn't particularly like any part of her appearance, expect her eyes. They were green and slightly catlike, and she thought they made her look sly. Wouldn't it be cool to have two different colours though? Still obsessed.
"Hey!"
Tia was called out of her thoughts by her friend Megan, who had just come through the door. She had shoulder length blonde hair, which was adorned with a small army of clips and bows, and blue eyes. With her appearance you would expect her to be popular, but she was perfectly happy with her little group. Not that she wasn't trying to get one of the popular guys to go out with her. Today her efforts took the form of a brush of mascara and some lilac lipgloss. None of these things were allowed at the school, which had a very strict uniform code, but they went unnoticed for some odd reason.
"Hm? Oh, hey Meg." Tia had always called the blonde that, for obvious reasons. Megan herself had only listened to Tia's description of the character, and since she used to do ballet she was fine with it.
"So," said Megan, inclining her head to the side, "what did you do at the weekend?"
"Oh, you know. Read. Write fanfics." Tia replied rather sheepishly. She knew that Meg spent most of her time out shopping or going to parties, so this news would definitely be boring to her. The next thing her friend said confirmed her suspicions.
"Seriously? Do you honestly ever do anything else?"
No, Tia wanted to say, but, seeing as smart comments were one of the only things that annoyed the blonde, she shrugged indifferently with a small smile. Megan saw the funny side of this and gave a giggle, still grinning as she slid into her place.
"Honestly though; you do know it isn't real, right?"
"Of course." Tia replied. Though I wish it was.
A few moments after this, Mr Dawn got up from behind his desk, his signal that the lesson was about to begin. Tia saw her other friend Amy, a tall girl with black hair, slip through the door just before he closed it.
"You're late, Miss Black." the teacher said as Amy hurried past. She mumbled a quick apology and practically fell into her place, panting from the running she'd probably been doing through the hallways. Well, she does live in the next town and has to walk, thought Tia.
Now that all his students were seated, Mr Dawn opened his mouth to start talking about the next topic they were going to be studying. Most of the class heard him start the word "right" before someone knocked on the door. He groaned in (slightly theatrical) frustration as he walked over to open it. Behind him, Tia could make out the shape of a short, slightly plump woman with a brown bob. This was Miss Finch, one of receptionists.
She spoke in hushed tones with Mr Dawn for a few moments (in which Tia heard one of the boys wolf-whistle) then stepped into the room to address the class, looking behind her as she did as though expecting someone to follow.
"Well Year 10, this is very short notice I know, but I have with me a new student who is going to be joining you for the rest of this year."
"Are they invisible?" yelled Leo from the back, earning a stern look from Mr Dawn.
"No, just a little shy." Miss Finch stepped to the door again, and stuck her head round to talk to the person outside. "Come on Mr Destler, they sound like it but they don't bite."
At the mention of her new classmate's surname, Tia looked up sharply. No. That was way too much of a coincidence. It couldn't be-
Then the boy came in.