Author's Note: This chapter is going to be a little shorter, just because I want to get this part out of the way. Next chapter will be longer...I promise. Nothing else to say here... I hope you enjoy!
Let's play a game of Simon says; Simon says REVIEW!... do it NOW!
The next day, Erik sat again at the shiny piano, rehearsing with the singers in the musical. This time though, he was in a better mood than they had ever seen him.
Or at least he had been in a good mood when he came into the auditorium.
Erik's thoughts were not on the singers at all...well they were on one singer, but she wasn't standing onstage with him, in fact, he didn't know where Christine was. He had spent the rest of the night before trying to recreate the sound of her voice in his head, and while he felt that he could almost hear it, he knew that his memory was nothing like the real sound of her voice.
Regardless, Erik had woken up the next day feeling hopeful and content. Just thinking about her put him in a good mood. He could already see an attachment growing.
He was playing the notes on the piano lazily, listening to the students warm up with his accompaniment. Suddenly, he was pulled from his cheerful mood, and thrown into a sour disposition when he heard one sound... the sound of Carlotta's voice.
Carlotta Ranciada was one of the three singers that Erik rehearsed with daily. She was a junior in the school, and believed that she was the greatest singer that had ever lived. The truth was, that while she had a good range, her vocals were croaky and screechy, and altogether not good.
Unfortunately for Erik, she had passed the auditions into the musical, mainly based on the fact that her father paid a lot of extra money towards the school, and Erik was stuck with her.
He knew that with the way she had been singing lately, they might not be ready in time for the musical. She just wasn't improving.
Erik dismissed the singers, once again disappointed in their lack of talent, and stared glumly down at the piano keys. He needed to find a new singer to take the place of Carlotta's role, or the musical was going to sound awful!
Just then, Erik heard the door at the back of the auditorium open and close gently. He looked up, expecting to see Madame Giry who would be leading the ballet rehearsal scheduled for this time, but instead he saw Christine Daae enter with Giry's daughter.
Erik's bad mood was blown away as he watched Christine walk gracefully down the aisle towards the stage. Neither of the girls seemed to notice Erik, as they were engaged in a lively conversation, so Erik took the opportunity to jump back into the shadows to watch unnoticed. He edged along the side of the stage, and down the stairs opposite the girls, heading for a seat in the back where the shadows were the darkest.
Once seated, Erik took the chance to evaluate Christine unseen.
She was wearing the school uniform which consisted of a pleated skirt in gray, and a white blouse. She wore gray Mary Jane high heels, and her curly hair was half up, tied back with a pink ribbon. She looked charming as always.
Neither of the girls were dressed to dance, and Erik assumed they must have come from classes. They went backstage with bags in hand, and came back minutes later, both in black leotards and pink stockings. Erik then watched as Christine sat on the edge of the stage gracefully and tied her ballet slippers. He also watched as she removed the ribbon from her hair to tie it up in a bun. In those few minutes of her hair down, Erik could tell for sure that Christine had the most beautiful curls he had ever seen. Despite their volume, they seemed to frame her face perfectly when down.
Within ten minutes, the rest of the ballet department had arrived, including Madame Giry, and practice had begun. Erik was so engrossed in watching Christine, that his thoughts didn't drift back to his own problems until the ballerinas were taking off their shoes and packing up to go home.
Then it struck Erik. Christine was one of the best singers he had ever heard, and she hadn't even been trained. What if she took Carlotta's spot?!
Erik was so excited by this idea that he completely forgot about Christine's commitment to the ballet portion of the musical. He could only think of one thing... Christine must be his. His to train, and to teach, and to mold into the perfect singer... and he would have her.
He slipped out of the auditorium after everyone else had left, and headed for Madame Giry's house that was located on the campus. He knew what he had to do.
...
Erik arrived at the house within minutes, fueled by his excitement and eagerness to talk with the woman.
Normally, he made it a habit to avoid other staff and faculty, Barbara Giry in particular. While it was true that she was probably the closest thing he had to a friend on the campus with one exception, she was also the most meddlesome woman he had ever met, and he knew this discussion could be very difficult.
Erik took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell of the small two story house.
His sensitive ears picked up movement within, and seconds later, Barbara Giry was opening the door.
"Erik!" Giry exclaimed, "what on earth are you doing here so late?"
"Madame" Erik greeted coolly. He was never one for pleasantries. "I would like to talk with you about one of your students."
"One of the ballerinas? Whatever for?" asked Giry in a calmer tone, ushering Erik into the sitting room.
Erik took a moment to situate himself on a hard backed chair in the corner of the room, after eyeing the lumpy sofa and moving past it. He waited until Barbara had done the same before beginning.
"It has come to my attention that one of your dancers is an exceptional singer. While that may not mean much to you," Erik started eyeing her with slight contempt, "to me it holds great importance. I trust you have heard of the lack of progress the singers are making on the musical?"
Madame Giry slowly nodded her head, making sure not to insult Erik. She had heard rumors from other instructors at Springmore that the singers this year were looking less than promising, but she hadn't been sure how much of the rumors had been true.
Erik took her nod as a signal to keep going. "Obviously with the singers being as poor as they are, I am looking to make a few changes. I have been looking for a new lead female voice, and I believe I have found it in your ballet group."
Madame Giry eyed Erik skeptically. She did not support him taking one of her ballerinas and turning them into a singing diva. "Which girl, sir?" she asked politely.
"Christine Daae." Erik replied, straining to make himself sound detached and uninterested in the girl, other than her voice. He could see Madame Giry grow upset when he said Christine's name.
"You want Christine to be the lead singer? But why?! When have you ever heard her sing?" Barbara asked, worried that her best dancer besides her own daughter was going to be pulled from the group.
"Madame, the when is not as important as the why, and the why is because she is exactly the kind of talent the world deserves to hear. Have you ever heard her sing?" Erik asked boldly.
Giry blanched. Of course she hadn't heard Christine sing. Christine was such a quiet girl as it was, and she was a dancer! Since when had she been interested in singing?
"No sir, I have not, but if she were so interested in singing, then why hasn't she signed up for singing lessons? What makes you think that she would want to do this?" she finished.
Erik hadn't prepared for this. He knew there would be some hesitation on Giry's part, it was only to be expected, but why did he think Christine would want to be a singer anyways? He thought about it, picturing Christine on the stage singing that beautifully sad song.
"Madame, you are right that she has not been interested in singing before now, and maybe she doesn't believe that she is a good singer, and what with her being so good at dance, there is no need for her to switch to singing. However, I can assure you, if you had seen the look on her face while she sang, the complete joy and peace that she seemed to feel, you would know that she wants to sing." Erik said feeling empowered.
Barbara Giry just looked at Erik in shock. The whole situation was bizarre! When had he seen Christine sing, and why did he feel so strongly about it? Then again, if he thought that Christine truly felt that way, then what was the risk in at least talking with Christine about it?
"Alright Erik, if you feel that strongly, then you can talk with Christine about it. I'm not guaranteeing that she will agree, after all she has been dancing since she can remember, but I will set up a meeting and the three of us can discuss it."
"Good," Erik said gruffly. He did not want to let his emotions show, but inside he was very excited about this turn of events. "Contact me when you have a meeting scheduled."
"Yes, yes," muttered Madame Giry distractedly. She was deep in her own thoughts, and watched as Erik rose from his seat. She led him to the door, and said goodbye to her bizarre friend.
She walked back into her living room, glaring at the chair Erik had been sitting in as if it had personally offended her.
Shaking her head resignedly, she walked from the room, and went upstairs to her office to work out a time for a meeting between herself, Erik, and poor Christine Daae.