Today was the day, the first day of summer vacation! And seventeen year old Miranda De Chagny rose that morning with possibly the largest smile on her face in years. No school to rise early for meant she could spend her days at the Opera Populaire, where her mother worked. And she was excited beyond all thought right now, dancing happily about her room for a moment and just being...well, silly, she grabbed her teal ipod from her dresser and turned it on. 'Love and Save the Empty' by Erin McCauley blasted through the ear phones.

"Little girls, don't know how to be sweet girls, mommy didn't teach me. Little boys, don't know how to treat little girls, daddy didn't show me. Face down, on top of your head, oh why did I give it up to you? This is how I shoot myself up high." singing along with the musical device, she did a funny little stroll-slid over to her closet, never being one for dresses, she grabbed a pair of black jeans and a tight red t-shirt that she loved.

Doing the same dance to her full length mirror, she checked herself over, same piercing blue eyes, like her father and lush brown curls, like her mother. Miranda wasn't a hard person to understand, really, just that she just like her father headstrong as a boar and as stubborn as one too. Thank her mother for that one; it was a dangerous combination in a world where females were submissive. The very thought made her snort, another unlady-like trait, if Miranda was one thing, it was a tomboy, through-and-through.

Giving herself a little smirk, she left her room and headed down the winding stairs to the dinning room where she knew her parents, Raoul and Christine, to be. They sat in their usual spots at the ridiculously long table. 'Really, do three people need a table that long?' shrugging the thought off, she leaned forward to kiss her mother and fathers cheek, muttering her good mornings, she decided to ignore, with heated passion that they were arguing about her mothers Opera career, him wanting her to retire. 'Yea, like that would happen.' she snorted.

Christine eyed her daughter with a wrinkled nose. "Must you make such....brooding sounds?"
"Brooding?" Raoul furrowed his brow then snorted himself. It brought a giggle from his baby girl and a scowl from his beautiful wife.

Miranda looked between them, grinning to herself as a plate of delicious looking food was set before her. "Thank you, Gracie." they seemed to always have this 'debate' once a month but Christine always won and then four hours would pass without talking then her father would beg for forgiveness. Of course she forgave him; it was almost like a game. It was rather sweet but sometimes, disgusted her at how childish it seemed. Deep down, she wished for a marriage like e that, with such love and devotion. 'Sigh...' any thought of eating soon disappeared and after forcing some egg down, excused herself.

"Where are you going, darling?" Christine asked as she looked up, seeing Miranda with her purse and coat.

"Going to 'work'." she beamed and both her parents chuckled, knowing she spoke of the Opera Populaire, she always referred to it as her work, through the new owners refused to hire a 'child.' both had a sneaking suspicion it was because she was of the fairer sex. 'Snarky bastards.'

"Don't forget, pumpkin, we're going out with the Boyds this afternoon." Raoul indeed reminded her and if the brunette could glow anymore, she did. She absolutely loved hunting, though her mother disagreed with her husband's choice to include her. Still did if the scowl on her face was any indication.
"I'll see you soon, mother." kissing their cheeks again, she left the house, alight smirk on her face at hearing her mother exclaim,

'Really, Raoul?! Why must you include my daughter in the most barbous thing known to man?!" Miranda laughed at the thought. Considering most of her activities, she sometimes felt she should have been borne a male. Everything father and son did, it was father and daughter in the Chagny estates, the only thing she really shared with her mother was her love for singing and the Opera.

******************************************

Aron woke up that morning and laughed, he knew that it was Miranda De Changey's first day of summer vacation and he was anxious to see what she would do this time, remembering all the things she had done before. He grabbed his ipod and turned on 'Inside the Fire' by his favorite band, Disturbed

"Devin, wont go to heaven, she's just another lost soul about to be mine again." He sang along quietly, walking out into the main room of the house he shared with his father, Erik, or he was also known as the 'Phantom of the Opera' to everyone in the opera house. When he looked up, he saw his dad looking at him,

"Yea dad?" he asked, pulling a headphone out of his ear,

"Nothing." His dad said, looking away and gesturing towards the food on the table. Aron sat down and started to eat his breakfast, famished for some reason. While he was eating, he started to discuss the opera house with his father,

"I think that 'La Carlotta' has to go." Aron said bluntly. Erik nodded, agreeing with his son. Aron got up and took care of his dishes, walking over to grab his jacket and walking out, calling over his shoulder, "I will be back for lunch," Aron walked through the tunnels, ending up on the catwalks.

He looked down curiously, there was yelling coming from the managers office. He swung down and looked in a hole that he and his father had put, almost laughing at what he saw.

Miranda looked between the mangers, fuming,

"So, let me get this straight. You usually don't want me to even be around the opera house, but now you want me to be in it? To sing, no less?" she asked in an angry voice. The managers nodded, chanting 'we are men!' as she stared them down. 17 or not, the girl had one hell of a temper, just like her mother. De Chagny women were not the one you chose to cross, willingly. Miranda shook her head, fuming,

"Why don't you have Carlotta? She doesn't have the biggest part in here." She said icily, considering the option of flicking them off and walking out.

"Carlotta is home in Italy, for a family emergency." They explained, and then went on to say that she was their second choice for the part. That is what made Miranda crack,

"Second choice? I am you second choice? Isn't that called an understudy?" she yelled, then listened as they stuttered about Carlotta refusing to have an understudy. Miranda sighed; she hated being a girl sometime. She nodded and walked out of the office, not saying a word. After she left, the managers looked at each other and sighed in relief, the De Changey girls were never one's you cross willingly, they knew that now. Miranda walked out and smirked, she knew that she had been a little over the top, but it had been worth it to see the managers faces when she had started to yell. She walked over to her mother, explained the situation, and then to the orcastra pit to talk to Monsieur Reyar, like she did every time she came to the Opera Populaire.

Aron slid to the floor, trying and succeeding in holding in his laughter at the scene he just witnessed. Miranda De Changey had some temper, he would admit that. She didn't seem the spoiled type though, or the diva type, so maybe she could stay around. He shrugged and got up; it all depended on her voice. She wasn't staying if she had a bad voice that was final. He started walking back down to the cellars; he had to talk to his father about this. He took the backstage way though, and when he got to the ropes, he heard a voice singing. It was a girl's voice, she was amazing. Unlike anything he had heard before. He found himself walking towards the orcastra pit, where the voice was coming from. When he saw her singing, his eyes widened, he couldn't believe that Miranda De Changey's voice was that amazing. It was almost, heavenly; she wouldn't be leaving the Opera Populaire because of the Phantoms, that's for sure.

Miranda closed her eyes, getting into the song she was singing to show Monsieur Reyar her range, so the orchestra knew how to play it with her. She listened to the musical break in the song, smiling as she heard her mother walk into the room; she looked at her and smiled, then closed her eyes again to finish the song. When she was done, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath, and smiled, she thought she had nailed it. Everyone started to come over to her at once, telling her how good she was. She nodded and looked at them all, trying to get them to go away so she could be alone. After about 5 minutes, she openly walked away and into her mother's dressing room, closing and locking the door behind her.

Aron followed her, silent as night. When he saw her lock the door, he thought of the passage behind the mirror, but shook his head; he didn't know what she was doing in there!