Disclaimer- I probably need to fix the title, but I still need to
talk to my friend and co-writer about it. My friend and I had an idea in 8th
grade for writing a story on one of the many obsessions we share: Phantom of
the Opera. In which we dragged many of our friends as characters for our story.
However, not all of these characters are from our own twisted imaginations.
They belong to a man named Gaston Leroux, who has long since passed on, but his
memory lives on in his story….We also do not own Mandy Moore, or her music.
Ok. The story is a narrative, with Caelie and Becca switching off
every chapter or so. So far there are only 3 chapters, but if we get enough
reviews and encouragement, we'll finish some more chapters and post them up.
It begins with Caelie, on
a normal day…..
"Shit, shit, shit!" The day started out as normal as I scrambled around the room looking for a lost pair of pants. Z100 blared through the radio in the corner.
"Watch out if you decide to have an Eggo waffle. Before I started using it for food, it used to be able to flip a finger into the air, and I would catch it in my mouth." Nelson, one of the DJs, explained.
Finally I checked under my pillow, and low and behold, a pair of white cargo pants! Why hadn't I checked there before?
"No, I would never sew you into the bed sheets and beat you with a tire iron!" Having enough of the Crazy Egyptian Woman, I switched CDs. Mandy Moore blared out, the bass shaking my room. Now where was that house key? Now I was really in a panic. Mallory and Ena would be arriving at my door if I didn't hurry.
"Some boys are
full of noise,
But boy, you
caught my ear.
I want to see if
you've got something to say.
No lies or
alibis
The nonsense
stops here.
Be my friend or
you can be on your way."
And I was on my way, turning off my CD player, barreling out the door and locking it behind me, I ran down the street.
* * * * *
"Shut up, Ralon!" I reached out to smack him, narrowly missing his shoulder. He smiled, laughed, and ran, hell bent for leather down the hall. I dropped my binder on the nearest desk and shoved my way through the crowded hall, only stopping to tie my unruly hair in a rubber band. I walked into Mrs. Leyden's room- no one there; Mrs. Ervin's room, empty.
Yep, normal day at school.
"Caelie!" The morning ritual was back on track as Becca walked in, hair braided and held back. She opened her locker. Freddy Prinz Jr. glared at me from inside. I congenially punched him in the face.
"Becca Boo!" She turned. "Are we practicing after school?" She nodded yes and shoved the rest of her stuff in her locker. I sighed. Ms. Titus had us practicing nonstop. Everyone in the cast had grades dropping and we were almost to the point of exhaustion. Not including that we were starved to the point of insanity. I briefly thought about skipping but decided against it…I was the lead!
Yes, I know what you're saying…Ha! Maybe it was because I was one of the only people to try out for the part, but, hey, what do you expect? Not many people know "The Phantom of the Opera". But I thought, hey, what the heck. Take the opportunity while you can, I say.
Becca had taken the role of Meg, a very sought for position in the play. You know, Meg: quick and cute, sweet and innocent…not exactly Becca or anyone I know, but, hey, we all had parts!
If you weren't an actor, you were a technician. Ralon, Tyler, 'Nessa, and Maddy had chosen that job. Kevin played André, Mallory was a dancer, and Jamie was Madam Giry. Apart from all the grumbling about play practice, we had a blast! You wouldn't believe the kinds of pranks going on on that stage! Needless to say, we were driving Ms. Titus crazy!
* * * * *
Ok, so it was the end of the school day, and we were all gathered around in a little circle reading our scripts. The multi-colored light flickered on, illuminating the newly painted set.
"That's amazing!" Becca and I laughed like we did every time Ralon goofed off, and ran up to where he was working the lights. We snuck up behind him.
"So whatcha doin'?"
"Working with the lights…" He started flipping switches like a maniac, creating an eerie glow on the stage. "Lair scene," He flicked some more. "Roof scene," again, "Ballet scene."
"Whats this one do?" I reached over to a dark red switch and flipped it.
"Don't do that!" Ralon warned, but too late- it was done. Sparks started flying everywhere and smoke filled the small space…blue smoke. "Lake scene," Ralon coughed. I started feeling a little dizzy and sat down on the soft ground while Becca battled with the offending special effect, 'accidentally' hitting Ralon in the head with a waving fist.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, want me to kiss it all better?" Becca joked.
"No!!!"
I looked down at my hand. Soft ground…wasn't the drama department made of wood? "You guys…I think we may have a bit of a problem here!"
Yes, I admit I was getting a bit frantic, but hey…we were standing in the middle of a park! People were standing around with parasols, little poodles played with little children. It was like walking into a painting! And here we were, all nine of us standing here……
Luckily no one had noticed us yet.
"Ok, we can handle this," Ralon began. We all just stared at him dumbfoundedly. "Yes there are people walking around in tuxes and dress coats, yes that is a carriage on a cobblestone street…but this means nothing. This is a dream, all a dream…okay, somebody pinch me, I'm ready to wake up!" Becca stood up and whacked him on the head.
"Ow!"
* * * * *
After walking around for about an hour, we realized that no one spoke English. Fun. We did find out, however, that everyone did speak French.
"Ok, so we're either in Canada or France," Mallory reasoned as we walked down the avenue.
"Or else this is someone's really sick joke," Maddy commented.
"Well I think we've all died and gone to hell," Kevin added.
"I doubt that the weather in hell is this nice, and besides, I doubt that everyone would speak French…" Everyone suddenly stopped walking.
"Oh my god," Becca looked up. "What building is that?"
I looked up and almost died. "Becca, is that?"
"Yes it is…"
"Paris Opera!!" we said in unison.
"Wow, surround sound!!"
* * * * *
I kept thinking, wondering, how was it that we were here? Was it some wonderful dream, were we here for a purpose? The stone gargoyles of the Paris Opera House looked down on us menacingly. How long had Garnier's precious palace been standing at this point of time? Was Erik alive? Had Christine and Raoul confessed their love for each other? There was only one way to find out…
'Curiosity killed the cat' a small voice reminded me in the back of my mind.
Who cares about a stinkin' cat when the Phantom could be lurking about?