Alone in the Darkness Known as School
Disclaimer: we do not own The Phantom of The Opera
A/N: This story was written with my friend Hannah( MimiAngelChica). This takes place in modern times but using the same characters and situations. Warning: Implied Child abuse.
Chapter 1: School's In!
"Pick it up, you useless lump! PICK IT UP!" Clarisse Destler screamed at her startled son. Erik had walked through the door just in time for his mother to accuse him of breaking a beautiful China vase.
"But I just got here" said Erik. "How could I break it?"
"How should I know? Anyway, you're the one who broke it, and you're the one who'll pay for it! NOW PICK IT UP!" She then raised her fist. Erik flinched and reached for a broom to sweep up the mess.
"I'm going out." His mother said. "Stay here and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!." She then left, slamming the door behind her.
Erik's sister Jamie walked in, laughing spitefully. "Like, thanks! For cleaning up that vase that I broke!" She then strode over to her mother's antique porcelain doll sitting on the fireplace. It was their mother's most prized possession. "Like, Oops! Silly me!" Jamie giggled as she knocked it over. "My mistake!" With that, she strode off.
Muttering angrily, Erik proceeded to clean up the smashed doll as well as the vase. After he was finished, he escaped to his room.
In reality, it was an attic. The room had no air conditioning or heat; it just took the temperature of outside. So in this case, the lukewarm September air was streaming into the tiny area. Nails hung down from the ceiling. And there was barely enough room for 4'10 Erik to stand up. The room was furnished only by a small bed, a bookcase with a few old books, a notebook full of music, a little mirror, and one light bulb hanging from the roof. The floors creaked and were splintering. The single window supplied the room's only fresh air. Spiders crawled under the floorboards, and occasionally Erik found one in his bed.
"Home sweet Home" Erik thought sarcastically. He looked into the dusty mirror with disgust. His horribly deformed face stared back at him, and dark bruises only enhanced his disfigurement. "I hate you" he whispered into the mirror. 'I hate you."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it" Jamie called. One minute later she called up the stairs. "It's for you, Erik" She said with surprise in her voice.
Surprised that anyone would want to see him, ( as far as he knew, his mother had told all of her friends that she had had a miscarriage), he walked down the steps to see and official looking man dressed in a dark suit.
"Erik, have you been going to school? "
"no". But he sure wished he had been. He was dying to know what the world was like. His mother didn't let him out of the house except to go shopping for her. He wanted knowledge. And he really wanted music. But most of all, he wanted friends. Jamie had gone in and out of the house with loads of giggling girls, always with someone else. She was never alone. Erik had tried to make friends with her, but she had pushed him away. She had told him that no one would ever want to be friends with a monster like him. In Jamie's circle of friends, the way you looked was very important. You had to have the right clothes and of course, you had to be a beautiful person. So Jamie didn't even speak to him, except to laugh.
And he also was jealous of the fact that every day, Jamie went to school and learned things. She complained about it all the time, but Erik thought she was extremely lucky. She got to take a music class, and was even in chorus. They even had a school musical that Jamie got to try out for every year. All she ever got was mediocre parts, because she had a terrible grating singing voice and acted like a mechanical robot. Erik knew that he could do better if he was just given a chance!
" Erik!" He snapped out of his thoughts. " As I was just saying, your parents are required by law to send you to school. You start in a week. I'll be in touch with you and your parents. ". With that he left the house.
Erik just couldn't believe it. He would finally get a chance to go to school! He was so excited! Then his thoughts were dampened by one thing.
His mother would not be too happy about this. She was purely ashamed of him. Neither, for that matter, would Jamie.
Just then the door opened.