Return to the Past Chapter 1, a phantom of the opera fanfic

Return to the Past

Leslie Alexa Donnelly is an outgoing girl, who is in the choir for her school play of the Phantom of the Opera. During the production, she falls and hits her head and is transported back in time to the reign of the real Phantom of the Opera. When the Phantom discovers her, will he be able to face what she could be?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, on which this story is based off of. Everything that you do not recognize and is original belongs to me.

Chapter 1

"Five, six, seven, eight! Kick, pirouette, kick, spin! Kick, spin, kick run jump!" Mrs. Carmichael called out from the auditorium. The choir was practicing one of the harder ballet numbers of the new school play, The Phantom of the Opera. "Again ladies, let's do it again! Five, six, seven, eight!" Mrs. Carmichael watched, making sure that everyone stayed on time. "Miss Donnelly, you are ahead of the beat! Slow down girl, you are going to fast!" she called out.

"Sorry Mrs. Carmichael, I'll fix it." Leslie replied to her teacher. Leslie Alexa Donnelly was a seventeen year old with golden brown hair in ringlets down to her mid back, green eyes, and rosy red lips. She was five feet four inches tall, had naturally tan skin, slender and physically fit. Leslie was generally an outgoing girl who loved to play sports as well as dance and act; she was good at everything she did.

"Okay girls, let's do it again. This will be the last time if you do it right!" Mrs. Carmichael said. They had already gone over this number of the show ten times, so everyone was tired. "From the top; five, six, seven, eight!"

"Leslie, wait up!" a girl called, running after her.

"Hey Heidi." Leslie said, smiling at the girl. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing. I just wanted to say that you are a really great dancer, no matter what Mrs. Carmichael says." Heidi said.

"Thanks, but I probably have to work twice as hard as everybody else. I'm exhausted!"

"Yeah right, you're a natural at this!" Heidi exclaimed, giving Leslie a huge smile, and received one in return.

"She may be a decent dancer," another voice said from behind the two girls. "But I'm a better singer because I was the one who got the part of Christine!"

"No way! Leslie is probably way better than you; she is the best at everything else." Heidi exclaimed, whirling around to face the newcomer.

"Oh yeah, so why didn't she audition for an actual part then?" the girl retorted, glaring at Leslie. "You know what; I bet you can't sing at all, can you?"

"Why do you care Maggie, you've never cared before whether or not I could sing." Leslie asked.

"Because I know that someone is better than you at something, and that someone is me! It also means that you are not perfect!" Maggie snarled, delighted in herself.

Rolling her eyes, Leslie responded, "I'm not perfect you know. I get B's in school, and I make mistakes in sports all the time."

Smirking, Maggie turn3d at the next street. "You can sing, can't you Leslie?" Heidi asked hesitantly.

"Yes, but I don't like singing." Leslie sighed. "I get all flustered when I sing in front of people by myself."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to get over that won't you!"

"Um, someday I guess. Why?" Leslie asked suspiciously.

"Because you are the best at everything; everyone knows it!" Heidi said, sounding like it was common knowledge.

"No, I'm not! I don't sing, and I can't play basketball, so I'm not the best! Can we drop this now; I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sure." Heidi said understandably. "So, do you think that we are going to be ready for opening night next weekend?"

"What, it starts next weekend?" Leslie exclaimed. "I don't know, nobody has all of their lines down yet, and some of the dances are still shaky. Plus Mike is having troubles hitting his falsetto notes for the song Music of the Night; honestly, I don't know if we can pull it off at all! I mean, we have been working on this for three months!"

"I know, but we have to! Plus it's too much fun just to give up, and we already have every ticket sold!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Leslie said shocked. "I didn't thin that anyone would want to see a high school play."

"Wow, how many people came back at you old school in Colorado?"

"Like only our parents. I keep forgetting how different it is here in Orlando. Florida in general is different." Leslie said. "Well, this is my turn. I'll see you tomorrow at practice." she said, turning onto the street she lived on.

"Okay, thanks for walking home with me! Bye!" Heidi called to the retreating girl's back.

"Bye!"

"I'm home!" Leslie called from the foyer of her home. "Where are you dad?"

"I'm in the back kiddo! Why don't you get something to drink and come outside with me?" Leslie's dad called back to her, obviously from outside.

"Okay, just let me go put my books down in my room and change." she called back, then turned the corner and ran the stairs. Turning left at the top, Leslie walked to the end of the hall and into her room. She had a nice room, quite spacious really, and she had her own conjoining bathroom and walk in closet, both of which doors were on either side of the door she just entered from. Her room was L shaped, going straight out in front of her for about nine feet by ten feet, turning right to wrap around the back of the house for about sixteen feet by twelve feet. Walking into the smaller part of her room was her work area, which was where her desk, bookshelves and computer were. After turning to the larger part of her room, at the end is a window seat/couch with an end table on either end, opposite the window seat is her dresser, and on the wall opposite the doors in the middle of the room is her double bed.

Putting down her school and dance bags, Leslie quickly changed and ran back downstairs to where her father was lounging on the lawn reading the newspaper. "Hey daddy!" she called, walking out the back sliding glass door.

"Hey kiddo, how was play practice?" her father asked, putting the paper down.

"It was tiresome. Mrs. Carmichael worked us to death! For a little while I was afraid that my legs were going to fall off from dancing so much!" Leslie replied, plopping down onto a chair next to her father.

"How is the show coming along? I understand that ya'll are going to open in a week, correct? Does everybody know their lines? What about the songs, can the lead roles hit the high notes?" Leslie's father asked.

"Um, they are working on it. We still have a ways to go before we open though. I just hope that we will be ready on time. I think that Mrs. Carmichael is going to die if we aren't." Leslie said, laughing a little.

"You who! Is anybody home?" a voice came from inside the house, sounding to be around the front door.

"Out here Sandra!" Leslie's father called.

"Oh there you are!" said a woman, Sandra, as she appeared at the back sliding glass door. "I was hoping that you would be home Jim; oh, hello Leslie! Did you have a pleasant day at school?"

"Yeah, sure. Um, I have some homework that I want to get done before dinner dad, so is it okay that I go do it now?" Leslie asked, getting a little uncomfortable around the appearance of Sandra.

"Of course! No snacking though, Sandra is making a home cooked meal for us, so I don't want you to spoil your appetite." her father said.

"Sure, whatever you say." Leslie grumbled, walking back into the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs to her room.

"So, how was your day baby?" Sandra said, sitting down on Jim's (Leslie's father) lap.

"Hecktick, as usual. We just can't seem to find any good lawyers around here, so the firm is getting pretty desperate. They keep loading me down with a ton of new cases for me to defend, but I can't handle it on my own. Sometimes I wish that I hadn't gotten transferred to this branch; there is almost too much work!" Jim said.

"Well, I'm glad that you moved here, or else I wouldn't have met you! Come on, I want to take you out to dinner next Friday night to celebrate our six month anniversery." Sandra said.

"Oh no, I can't! Leslie's show opens that night, and I promised that I would go. How about next Saturday? She won't mind if I don't come to every performance."

"Saturday it is then, but I'll have to cancel my reservations…"

"Well if you already have reservations, I'm sure that Leslie won't mind if I go to her other performances, just as long as I go to at least one."

"Oh Jim, you are the greatest!" Sandra exclaimed. Leaning over, she kissed him, then got back up and went to the back sliding glass door. "I'll pick you up at seven, so don't worry about driving; and trust me; you are going to just love this place! Bye baby!"

"Bye Sandra." Jim called after her.

"Bye Sandra."

Leslie had been sitting at her window seat, watching and listening to the conversation. How could he miss my opening night? How can he be dating that monster of a woman? Especially so soon after mom died! I can't believe him! She thought to herself, disgusted with her father, and fuming hatred towards his new girlfriend. Getting up, Leslie walked over to her desk and started her homework.

"Leslie, will you help me set the table please?" Sandra called up the stairs.

"Leslie, come set the table!" Jim demanded. A minute later, Leslie trudged down the stairs, through the living room; and into the kitchen. "Help Sandra set the table please."

"Sure, whatever." Leslie mumbled. She walked by the table which was against the wall to the right, opposite the sliding glass back door, to the opposite end of the kitchen where the U shaped counter was. Pulling out three sets of dishes and silver wear, Leslie set the table.

"Leslie, are you ill? You have hardly touched your plate!" Leslie's dad inquired halfway through his own meal.

"Oh Jim, let the girl be. I don't mind that she doesn't like my cooking. I can hardly blame the girl; she has never had a real home cooked meal before." Sandra chided.

"My mother would cook every night! She was a great cook! Dad, how can you let her say that?" Leslie cried.

"Leslie Alexa, you will apologies this instant! That was uncalled for, and you know it!" her father commanded.

"It's okay Jim; she hasn't had a woman in her life to teach her manners, so I guess I'll help her if you want." Sandra said smoothly.

"That would be great; there is only so much I can do." Jim grinned at his girlfriend.

"What; no way! My mother taught me my manners just fine!" Leslie exclaimed, standing up.

"Young lady, you will apologies this instant!" Jim yelled at his daughter.

"No, I will not apologies! She has insulted my mother, and you! I hate her, and I will have nothing to do with her!" Leslie said as she ran up to her room.

"Get back here!" Jim called after her. "Leslie Alexa, if you don't get your tail in here in three seconds, you will be grounded; and you will not be allowed to perform in the play!"

"Jim, calm down. I think you are taking this too hard. I understand; she doesn't want me to take her mom's place." Sandra said, calming him down. "I'll go up and talk to her later. Grounding her was smart, just let her stay in the show, they have been practicing for too long."

"You're right, you always are." He said, getting up to clear Leslie's plate. "Dinner was marvelous by the way.