Katie shouldered the back door of the diner open, dark circles under her eyes. She hated the night shift, but in times like these she would take anything. Shrugging her bag further up onto her shoulder she walked over to the lockers, more like cubbies, and pulled her jacket off. Throwing her bag to the floor as well, she tied her apron around her neck, the bob of chocolate curls ticking her fingers. The idea of long hair seemed romantic and thrilling to her but every time she tried, the curly creatures rebelled, rising higher above her shoulders. So she settled for a classy 20's bob.
"Katie!"
Katie let out a small yell as Meagan burst through the double doors, having run through the kitchen and into the back room at hearing her arrival. "Meagan! Don't do that!" she said, clutching her chest but laughing at the same time. It was way too late and she was on an emotional rollercoaster do to the late hour. She wondered how Meagan had so much energy. Meagan grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the door.
"You have to come to the front!" she squealed, stepping all over Katie's feet. Groaning, she fought against her insistent friend.
"Just give me a moment!" she said, pulling her arm out of Meagan's death grip. Meagan danced impatiently as she sat down and pulled off her sneakers to replace them with some worn out black flats.
"Now?" she whined. Katie gave her an exasperated look. Either there was a huge mess in the front or a cute boy. Both of which Katie didn't want to deal with at midnight.
"You don't need to be so excited about leaving," she said, standing and following Meagan out into the kitchen. "Unlike you I have six hours of work to look forward to. And Bill needs me at the restaurant early today because Parker is sick again." Meagan wasn't listening, she was poking and prodding her to move faster, making Katie move purposely slower.
"Just hurry up! The suspense is killing me!"
Katie stopped right in front of the doors leading out to the front of the diner. Turning to face Meagan, she gave her 'the look'. It was the look she gave anyone who was obviously up to something. It encompassed everything from 'do I need to call the police' to 'did you think before you acted'? "I'm not going out there until to tell me what's going on." She said, folding her arms in an attempt to seem stern, but her eyes were pleading. Meagan clapped her hands, her hair bouncing around in equal excitement.
"Look who's out there! Just take a peek!"
Katie sighed and stood on her tip toes to look out the round window to see two men in one of the booths. She instantly recognized the one with the handsome face and blonde hair. She shot back down, doubled over, face red.
"Oh my God!" she whispered, hand clamped over her mouth. Meagan laughed, jumping up and down.
"I know!" she squealed. Katie looked up at her, eyes wide.
"Is that Ron Chandler?" she whispered as if they could hear them.
"Yes!" Meagan screamed.
"What is he doing here?" she asked, not able to stop herself from taking another look.
"Late night snack? Who knows! But you won't believe what they are talking about!" she said, spinning around and giving Katie a huge grin. Katie tilted her head, looking at her friend pleadingly. Meagan had something of a habit when it came to listening to costumer's conversations. But this time, Katie couldn't help what want to know what they were saying. "He's reopening Phantom of the Opera!" she yelled. Katie froze mouth open.
She had only ever heard about the musical. Her own mother had seen Michael Crawford as the Phantom three times in a row. Her heart started pounding with excitement and she wrung her hands together, dreams filling her head. She had always wanted to be on stage, to act, to sing, to tell an audience a story, but when the world hit an all time low, all those dreams faded away. And yet she couldn't stop herself from moving to New York, earning a job as a waitress and waiting for the world to perk up and tell her that it was time! Was it time now?
"They want to see you!" Meagan said. This comment shook Katie from her stunned state.
"What?" she hissed, cowering in fear. "Why?"
"They are trying to find a Christine!" she said; hand on the door, ready to open it at any moment. Katie suddenly realized what Meagan had done.
"Meagan! You didn't!" she squeaked, inching away from the door.
"Katie! Come on! You came here to be an actress! And a producer is sitting right in front of you!"
"Who's the other guy?" she asked nervously. Meagan's expression turned from excited to disgust.
"A friend of Chandler's I guess. The guy's an ass. Total jerk. But he's not important!" she said, grabbing Katie wrist. By the death grip she was in, Katie could tell there was no way Meagan was letting go until she was standing in front of Ron Chandler himself.
"Wait Meagan! No! I'm not ready-!" But it was too late. Meagan had kicked open the door and marched towards the booth, dragging Katie behind her. She could have sworn that her heart had stopped completely. Face white as a sheet, she found herself standing next to Meagan in front of the two men. Her mind told her to run like hell, but Meagan still had a firm grip on her.
"May I introduce Katherine Deyling!" Meagan said, flipping her hand in Katie's direction as if it was a grand reveal and not a forced audition in a rundown diner. Ron looked at Meagan with a scowl then turned to look at Katie. His expression changed to one of surprise. Katie could feel her face turning red and she tried to swallow a pitiful squeak of fear. The other man did not turn his head from the window.
"Katherine," Ron said, standing and reaching for her hand. She gave it and they shook.
"Most people call me…Katie." She said, thanking God that she didn't stutter out of sheer fear. Ron smiled, his pearly white teeth shinning, conquering a smile from Katie who hated meeting new people.
"Katie. Would you like to join us?" he asked.
"Uh," she looked at Meagan as if to ask 'what do I do'. Meagan gave her an encouraging smile and pushed her towards the seat across Ron next to his friend. "Sure. Yes, thank you." She said, nervously sitting down next to the other man. Ron, who had not been at all excited about this little 'audition', seeing as it was a result of blackmail, had changed completely in his attitude. Perhaps it because Katie was stunning even in her waitress uniform or because Erik looked so utterly irritated. Meagan smiled at the group and clapped her hands.
"I'll just be off back to the kitchen," she said in a singsong voice. Katie looked at her with a terrified expression, but Meagan skipped back into the back, only to peek every now and then through the windows to see how it was going.
Katie looked back at Ron; her hands pressed in her lap from fright. Ron pressed his hands together, looking at her curiously from across the table. There was no sound except for the rain pounding outside. Katie's hair was still wet from running to the diner through the darn rain, something that she was trying not to think about.
"How old are you Katie?" Ron suddenly asked. Jumping a little she felt stupid as she tried to remember.
"Nineteen," she replied quickly, heart racing around in her chest.
"Nineteen. And you are living in New York by yourself?" She nodded her head. Erik tried to ignore their conversation, tapping his fingers against the table to Bach's Symphony in D minor to drown out their voices. "Meagan mentioned that you have been looking forward to the Phantom's reappearance." Ron said, smirking a little at Erik who glared at his reflection in the window.
"My mother talked about it a lot. She saw it a few times before the depression." She said, feeling a little more comfortable.
"How long have you been singing?" he asked next, finding himself unable to stop smiling at her. She blushed, smiling as well, looking down at her hands.
"For a couple of years. Since High School I think." She said.
Erik scoffed, earning a glare from Ron and an offended blush from Katie.
"That's good to hear." Ron said, giving her an apologetic smile. Katie once again felt the need to run but remained glued to her seat. "And do you have anything to say on how you might interpret Christine if you were her?" At this question, Erik rounded on the two, irritation and fury claiming his expression.
"Enough with these questions." He snapped, shooting a hated glance at Katie. "Monsieur Chandler, you are interviewing her as if she had a chance!" he said, his anger filling the booth like a black fog. "She is a waitress working in one of the most hideous cities I have ever seen! Every girl in this god forsaken place wants to be on stage and none of them possess any more talent than a virgin does as a whore! Do not sit here and insult me by playing with the idea that this, this girl could possible play the part of Christine Daae. Experience? She has none! Talent? I highly doubt it or she wouldn't be working here! And as for personality, I daresay she has said nothing memorable and she herself is not memorable at all! I already have completely forgotten her presence!"
Katie starred horrified at this outburst, each of his words striking her in the chest like a knife. How could anyone be so horrible? Tears welled in her eyes and her shoulders started shaking. Erik shot her a look of irritation and stood, straightening his collar and pushing past her out of the booth.
"I will see you in Paris Monsieur Chandler. No sooner than that. That is where we will find Christine." And with that, he left the diner, vanishing into the night. It wasn't until he had left that Katie broke out into sobs, hating herself for it. Ron had not expected Erik to do such a thing. Sure, he had not experienced human interaction with anyone besides himself for who knows how long, but that was no reason to attack the girl.
He reached across and nervously placed his hand on top of Katie's, which was clenched in a fist as she suffered from a wave of harsh tears. He waited for her to calm down before beginning the most sincere apology he could give.
"I am so sorry Katie," he said, really meaning it, which meant something. "He had no right to say those things to you."
"But he's right," she said, removing her hand from Ron's to wipe away the salty tears, sniffing. "I can't believe I even thought- I have no experience and you probably are used to getting agents and stuff but I'm just a waitress-" At this, Ron sat up straighter, eyes growing cold.
"Stop."
Katie blinked, his harsh tone turning off the faucet that controlled her tears. "What?" she said weakly.
"I said stop." He repeated. Katie sat there, having done what he said, remaining silent, no longer crying.
"I know that Erik was harsh, much harsher than most actually. But I think he wanted to prove something." Ron said, crossing his arms. He looked disappointed. Katie was so confused. She began opening her mouth to talk but Ron held up a hand to stop her. "Actresses, especially ones as young and inexperienced as you, hear criticisms all the time. It's a part of the business. But you don't want to give into the negatives you are told you have. You want to learn from them. Erik said you had no experience. Then get some. He said that you couldn't get anywhere in New York, where every other girl is hunting the same dream. Then leave New York."
Katie just stared at him. It was like a language professor was decoding last night's homework, and it was now all making sense. Sort of. Ron continued.
"You didn't really hear what he was really trying to say. Instead you burst into tears and downgraded yourself. Anyone who wants to be in this production can't do that." Katie bowed her head, her face practically glowing red. She had made a mockery of herself. "I'm not saying that Erik was right to say the things he did, in fact he's a bastard." Ron said, lips twitching into a small smile in order to make Katie look up. "But he's a bastard who also happens to be a genius."
There was a long amount of time where they sat there, silent. Katie thought over what Ron and Erik had said. Looking up, she inhaled to calm herself down completely. Ron could see she was trying and smiled.
"There we go. You are already learning." He said, leaning back in his seat more comfortably now that he had gotten over the more intense part of the conversation. Katie played with the hem of her apron under the table, her nerves eating away at her.
"Would it be too much to ask you not to tell your friend how I reacted?" she said quietly. Ron threw back his head and laughed, making Katie even more embarrassed until he looked at her again and offered some explanation.
"Erik and I are not 'friends'. Not even close," he said, still chuckling darkly. Katie tilted her head.
"Then what are you?" she asked. Ron's smile vanished and he looked into the girl's stormy blue eyes. He couldn't explain it, but something about her kept him from dismissing this as a forced audition. He felt genuinely drawn to her. He wasn't sure if she could sing, but he felt like she had some talent that she had yet to tap into. He sighed, paying with his fork.
"Co-workers." He said after a long pause.
"Is he in charge of the production to?" Katie asked. Ron looked at her for a long while. He didn't want to admit that he was. She knew too much about his project already. Erik wasn't another thing she could be let in on. Ignoring the question, he pulled a business card out of his pocket as well as a pen. Flipping it over, he started scribbling something down. Katie used her hands to push herself higher up to try and see what he was writing.
"This," he said, finishing and holding it up, "Is my card. You can reach me at this number at anytime. And this," he flipped the card over, "Is the date, time, and location where we will begin auditions and working on the production." Katie heart did a flip flop as she took the card from his hand to stare down at the address. She looked up, eyes wide.
"Paris, France?" she asked. Ron nodded.
"I fly out tomorrow to get everything ready." He said. "There will be a hotel where we will have all the 'contestant' stay as well as the crew, paid for by my company. The process is going to be…well, a little different considering the circumstances."
Katie looked back down at the card, fingering the sides nervously. A ticket to Paris would cost a lot. All her savings would go into a one way ticket. One way there, and no way home. Ron couldn't stand the silence any longer and leaned forward to catch her eye.
"I'm not promising anything Katie," he said gently. "But if you don't get out of here now, you won't get anywhere. And hey, if you don't make it, we always need chorus members," he said with a wink. Katie turned pink and leaned in as well, eyes questioning. Ron had never seen such eyes. They were like a storm, raging and moving and holding back a force like no one had ever seen. He drowned in them, but what unnerved him more was how she seemed completely oblivious to what she was capable of.
"Why?" she whispered, eye brows knitting together. Ron was lost for words, then quickly pulled back to break the spell.
"Why?" he repeated, forcing a laugh. "Maybe it's because you've got something that I think I can put to use! Or maybe it's because I want to annoy Erik by taking you on. Or maybe it's because if I don't, that friend of yours will blab about this entire thing and blow my cover." Katie's head turned abruptly to glare at Meagan, who squeaked and disappeared from the kitchen door window. Ron stood, making Katie's attention return back to him.
"I hope I see you again Katie." He said, tossing a few dollars onto the table. He nodded his head and walked past her, looking back at her before opening the door and walking out into the rain.