Miss! How many times do I have to tell you that the gala is in fact tonight?" Madame Giry glared at me.

"I'm sorry." I quickly mumbled. I hastily did a pirouette, and then a grand jeté. As I bent down to prepare for my next move, the hems of my dress were caught in a piece of wood, and I fell to the floor.

"I assume that you all need a break, as I can see that none of us have any spirit, energy, or passion today!" She glared at me yet again, and then looked away.

I ran over to a corner of the stage, and took off my pointe shoes. I redid the braid at the back of my hair, since it was loose and had hairpins sticking out from the ends. Then, I nervously fidgeted with one of the sequins of my garish costume. Somehow, I couldn't seem to focus properly. Was it because of the gala? I'd never been nervous around performances before, but Madame Giry said that we would have a special guest.

"Evelyn! Are you alright?" Christine rushed over to me, with a worried look on her countenance. Her curly brown locks bounced around her shoulders and waist. Her eyes conveyed sympathy.

"Oh! Christine! Yes, I'm okay. Just some jitters." I felt my shoulders tense when she leaned closer to me. She was so kind, yet I could feel that I was forever living in her shadow, and that I would never be able to outshine her. Still, I tried to treat her nicely, because she was sincerely friendly to everyone. She greeted everyone warmly, could chat with everyone, and never said one mean word. Her best friend, Meg, came to her side.

"I get it, Evelyn. It's hard not to be worried when Carlotta's singing nearly brings down the chandelier every time." Meg laughed. Christine smiled with her, but I saw a small frown come across her face.

"Christine here's amazing. She's been practicing since forever, and she's practically an angel now." She continued.

"Meg! How can you say that about me? You know that I simply enjoy singing."

"Don't act like you don't know that we've heard you every night!"

Christine stood up hastily. "I should be going. I hope you're fine!"

As she went, I saw her playfully scold Meg. "Meg Giry! What was that?" Then, her expression darkened.

"Don't say that about me next time, okay?" She looked down.

I wondered what that was about. But if it was true, then I had another reason to be annoyed by Christine.

Ever since I've been to the opera house, I've loved singing. True, dancing was my forte, but singing was one of my passions. It was an ongoing inside joke that Carlotta's singing could bring down the chandelier, but every time I heard it, an image of me in her place immediately popped up. The bright lights, everyone cheering, roses, my name on posters, ornate hairstyles, flowing gowns, glowing candles, gold statues, the red velvet lined seats. Then I shook it away.

I had to force myself out of the dream every time. It was just a Dream, nothing more!

"Alright, girls! Refocus!" Madame a Giry called. I slowly put my shoes back on, and straightened my braid.

"Evelyn, is there anything wrong?" Madame Giry saw me, and walked to me.

"It's just that... dancing has such a small role." It was partly the truth.

"I know how you feel, but the choreography has already been decided. I can try to arrange a bigger part, though. I'm sorry, Evelyn." She went into the distance. A few moments later, she came running back.

"Evelyn, we are arranging a bigger part. We are running it through to see if it works. Now remember, it's a chassé, jeté..." I listened to the whole choreography as she explained it to us all. I saw Christine excitedly chatting with Meg as she tried out each of the moves.

"Now, girls, let's begin." The music rang out, and we started dancing. Suddenly, Monsieur Lefevre walked across the stage, and interrupted us.

"M. Reyer, Mme. Giry, ladies and gentlemen, please, if I can have your attention, thank you. As you know, for some weeks there have been rumours of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true, and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire, M. Richard Firmin and M. Gilles Andre."

I inwardly smiled. A new chance to prove myself above Christine! He continued.

"I'm sure you've heard of their recent fortune in the junk business."

I groaned. I didn't like the sound of that. Beside me, two girls glanced at each other and giggled.

"They must be rich!"

I just stared, and hoped that a new beginning would do me well.

"And we're deeply honored to introduce our new patron, the Vicomte de Chagny!"

*He* certainly looked rich to me. This excited me. Maybe we could get more funding so that there could be more... singing positions? No, no, no. That would be impossible. But more funding could mean maybe singing lessons for everyone? Still, no, no, no. I gave up on thinking about what funding could do. If it could benefit the opera house, then I certainly had to be excited.

"If you please, monsieur." Madame Giry's voice startled me. Then I looked up to see that everyone was dancing already. I quickly fell into line, stumbling a little bit.

"We take a particular pride in the excellence of our ballets, monsieur." She looked at us, and beamed. I could see that her smile was genuine. I almost felt hopeful, then I saw where her gaze was directed at.

"I see why, especially that little blonde angel!" Thankfully I wasn't blond, or I would have had another disappointment.

"My daughter, Meg Giry." Meg danced harder when Madame Giry mentioned her name.

"Christine Daae. Promising talent, sir, very promising." I felt melancholy. I was supposed to be happy for her! But I wanted to keep ballet while I tried to achieve singing. After all, I had to at least be decent at one area in the Opera House. If I couldn't excel at singing, I at least wanted a role. Performing was really exciting.

"Who is that little girl over there?" This time, I was sure he meant me, me being the smallest girl in the Opera House.

"Evelyn Evadne Justice Sader. Her mother left her here to train. She is showing signs of improvement." Signs of improvement. That was how much my work was valued. I wondered why Christine didn't have to go through the _all Madame Giry does is scold you and say that you're improving once half a year_ stage. We kept on dancing as they moved away. As the song drew to an end and we did the final pose, Carlotta shouted.

"All they want to see is you dancing! I hope the Victomte is as excited for the dancing girls as your new managers, because I WILL NOT BE SINGING!"

We all rolled our eyes. Again? We really needed a new Prima Donna. It was getting old. Her tantrums weren't even taken as threats anymore. She still thought that she could scare us. The opera house managers ran over, presumably to grovel her into coming back. They were getting the hang of it! I saw no need, though. Let her go! Was she really that much of an asset? Anyone could replace her! Who couldn't shriek and squeal and paralyze any living person within a kilometer? But they succeeded.

"Think of me!" Carlotta's shrill voice rang out, shattering our ears as we averted our eyes as well.

Then, a flash of white fell.