Hello everyone! Sorry I couldn't hank each one of you for your wonderful reviews but show Choir and student council have been keeping me pretty occupied. I would like to send a quick shout out to my pre-beta FantomPhan33 and post-beta Judybear236 for catching all my mistakes and helping me make this story better! 8D On with the show…

Chapter 2

I had held my temper in check for as long as I could. Inspiration to compose like this did not strike me often, but when it did all I asked was for there to be silence and nothing to aggravate or disturb me; which was one and the same really. Now, however, there was a strange girl standing in the doorway of my music room, in my house, telling me how to raise my niece! The utter audacity!

When I turned around I saw realization cross her features as her eyes darted straight to my mask. Why did she think I refused to face her? I did not feel like being gawked at by a complete stranger! Well, no more Mr. Nice-Guy!

"That is enough!" I shouted, causing the woman to flinch. A small smile of satisfaction fought to be seen, but I kept it hidden. When the woman did nothing else but flinch I continued in my booming voice that would make even a grown man shake with fear, "You have absolutely no right to speak to me like that! None! Anya is my niece and I will not have some teenage girl, who probably can't even take care of herself, tell me how to raise her!"

The girl suddenly advanced on me and she screamed, "I am twenty-four for your information and have been living on my own since I was eighteen! Now, if you really think you're so superior then let's look at some facts, shall we?"

The tone of her voice and the fire in her eyes actually caused my left foot to take a rebellious step back, putting an inch or two of space between us. My anger rose as I realized what I had done, and my fingers flexed, wishing desperately that I could break or throw something. I began to actually look at the woman I was confronting, who surprisingly did look her age. She had long locks of curly honey-brown hair that ended at her waist, with chocolate brown eyes, and light freckles that peppered her petite nose. She was wearing a white sundress with white ballet flats. I suddenly realized why I had assumed she was a teenager, she was at least a head shorter than me. Yet here we were. This slip of a girl had me backing up in fear, not realizing what a strange sight this truly was, and how the tables could so quickly turn should I choose to do so. The situation was laughable, if I hadn't been the one she was screaming at.

She began to tick the facts off on her fingers, "Today you forget to pick Anya up at school, you did not show up for our first parent-teacher conference three weeks ago that we have once a month, you have never shown up for any school function Anya has been in, and on several occasions Anya has come to talk to me about some problem she was having in math because you were, apparently, 'too busy' to help her! That little girl loves you more than anything, though by the looks of it I'm sure you could care less, and ignore her when you're not scaring the daylights out of her. Now, have I left anything out, Mr. Destler?"

This woman shocked me, I couldn't say anything to defend myself. She was right. Dammit! That thought caused a bitter taste in my mouth. I opened my mouth to...apologize? I wasn't sure, because before I could even shape my first word she waved her hand and turned around, her voice returning to its normal soft tone as she sighed, "Save it. I'm sorry to barge in, but it had to be done. I don't care if you get me fired or not, go ahead; but what I said had to be said sooner rather than later. You need to be there for that little girl, whether you want to be or not. You're the one who saved her from a life at an orphanage and a foster home, the moment you did that was the moment you decided to become a parent."

Finally able to get a word in I scoffed, "Be a parent, Miss Daae? How do you expect me to be a proper parent with this?" I gestured to my mask then continued, "It isn't a fashion statement. I can't go around and have people see me with her."

The girl turned around to face me once again, her hip cocked with one hand resting on it as she shook her head aggravated, "That's irrelevant, and a poor excuse not to be there for a child."

I sneered, "Excuse me? What, may I ask, was your reaction when you first saw me? I remember you clearly looking shocked and staring at it."

The girl chuckled humorlessly, "I was staring at you because you finally had the decency to turn and talk to me. Don't let that paranoia of yours make you the fool, you do that enough on your own."

My vision turned red as I bellowed, "Out! I want you out of my house now! Get OUT!"

That damnable girl didn't even flinch! She just smirked, "Gladly. Goodbye, Mr. Destler."

I couldn't stand the way she said my name! Each time she said it, it was as if she was flinging an insult at me! For that reason I argued with myself, is why I followed her out the door, hanging on the frame as I reiterated, "And don't come back!"

The girl unlocked her car door, her back to me, but once she had opened it she turned once again, a strange look in her eye as she calmly said, "Trust me, I won't. As enchantingly beautiful as the house is, I find one of its occupants to be too bland and too bleak for my taste."

With that she shut her door and slowly pulled out of the driveway. I slammed the door shut and retreated back to my sanctuary. I sat at the piano bench as I fumed, bland! I've never been called bland in my entire life! Bleak, yes. Bleak I have heard too many times from the Persian, but bland? No. Why would she think I was bland anyway? Name one thing about me that is bland! My face; certainly not. My music; if you were better than Mozart, maybe. My...my...?

My hands slammed down on the keys of my piano, causing a God-awful screech to reverberate off the walls. Why was I still thinking about this? Something some girl said to me? Why should I care? She's one girl out of millions of people on planet Earth. I don't care what she thinks. Suddenly feeling calmer I straightened my posture, flexing my fingers once before returning to my music.

...

"He's insufferable! You were right!" I groaned as my head fell into my hands.

Raoul simply chuckled, "I'm always right... but just to clarify, what was I right about?"

I slowly lifted my head, letting my hair fall to the side as I said, "Erik. Destler."

Raoul quickly covered his mouth, stifling the fit of laughter that was currently shaking his entire being. I stared at him unamused, which simply made him laugh harder. I threw my hands up, slightly laughing, "Let it out for goodness sake, before you explode."

By the time he uncovered his mouth his laughter was nothing but a high pitched wheeze and he gasped out, "You met him. Oh gosh... what did you... you do Chris?"

I shook my head, "It's not funny! I drove Anya home, and do you know the first thing he said was, 'did you walk home again?' It's happened more than once? Are you kidding me? Who lets their kid walk home not once, but several times by the way it sounded."

Raoul shrugged as he took a sip of his ice tea, "She only lives a few blocks away, I mean yes, that is irresponsible to let a girl that young walk home, but school has been in for a little over a month. Maybe it only happened a few times; necessary times."

I sighed, then leaned over the table explaining, "Alright, but he got mad at her because he had his back to the door and didn't know I was there, when I spoke up he addressed her and asked why she hadn't told him I was there. It's not her job to do that, the man should bloody turn around when you're talking to someone! I have never been so frustrated in my life, and I had only been there two minutes! He deserved more than what I said to him."

Raoul's amused expression suddenly turned into a look of concern, but before he could say anything our waiter approached with our dinner. Raoul patiently waited, saying 'thank you' when he was handed his steak dinner and quietly handed me the pepper after I was served my chicken pasta. Beginning to cut into his meat after the waiter left Raoul asked, "Christine. What did you say to him? You could get fired, or sued if you said the wrong thing."

I stabbed at my chicken as I realized the true consequences of my actions. I let out a sigh before I confessed, "I don't think he's going to report me, or sue me. Though it is a possibility, it was strange. I just, don't think he will."

"Why?" Raoul asked as he mixed the gravy and his mashed potatoes together.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should say what I was thinking, I didn't want to jinx myself. I twirled some noodles on my fork and took a bite, quickly swallowing and explaining, "I think... I think he knew I was right. When I was talking to him I saw this small light come on in his eyes. I think he had an epiphany. I can only hope at least."

Raoul cut into his steak with greater force as he gritted out, "What did he say to you? The one time I confronted him about not being at Anya's play he made me feel like a six-year-old arguing with a class A lawyer. If he hurt your feelings I'll drive right to his house and deck him for you."

I laughed and shook my head, "Oh, Raoul. No, you don't have to do that; I think I was the one that made him feel like a six-year-old. I called him, oh my gosh, I can't believe I called him this. I said he was a... a self-absorbed, incompetent man that is the sorriest excuse for a father figure I have ever seen in my life."

Raoul's fork literally hit the plate as he stared at me, open mouth in shock. I smiled and shrugged nervously. Raoul put a hand on my arm and stated, "Chris, I'm saying this because I care about you... I have never been more proud of you in my entire life."

A smile spread across my face as I said, "Thank you Raoul; that means a lot."

Raoul shook his head, "I just wish I could have been there to see the look on his smug face. Hopefully Anya will have a slightly better guardian, or at least a more aware one."

I felt my smile suddenly falter, feeling like my chicken was going to re-visit me as I asked, "Raoul, what if he's worse?"

Raoul looked confused, "What do you mean, like take it out on her?"

I quickly shook my head, "No, no. I already talked to Anya, she told me Mr. Destler has never laid a hand on her in his life. I mean, what if he refuses to acknowledge her even more now? What if he isolates himself in his anger and therefor isolates her as well? All because of me, oh no. I don't want that to happen, maybe I should go back and apolo-"

"No." Raoul quickly interjected, pointing his fork at me, "That man has needed that wake-up call for far too long. You will not apologize for making him see what type of person he really is, though I'm sorry you were the one who had to do it. If it makes you feel any better you can always discuss it with Anya on Monday. I'm sure if anything has changed she will confide in you."

I smiled before I took another bite of chicken, "Thank you Raoul, you always know what to say."

Raoul dismissed me with a wave of his hand, "It's my job, no big deal. Besides, someone has to keep you sane. Let's talk about something else though, we're supposed to be celebrating!"

"True." I replied as I lifted my half full glass of ice tea, "Too the arts!"

Raoul raised his glass and tapped it with mine replying, "To the arts... and to the future."

...

I arrived on Monday early, anxious for class to start. I had graded everyone's spelling test, slightly disappointed that only eight out of the twenty-one received a twenty-three or higher. The words were not challenging for me, but I had to remember that all of my kids were either seven or eight-years-old, and the words I was giving them were not all second grade words; in fact most bordered between third and fourth grade. My teacher had done the same with me, the second grade words we were supposed to give the kids were words they already knew how to spell fluently. School was meant to prepare you for your future, as well as challenge you, if the kids weren't learning anything they didn't already know, then I wasn't doing my job.

I looked up to the white-board, staring at the section I had kept from the first day of school. I chuckled as I gazed at Raoul's name written in green beside mine, he had become the class' unofficial co-teacher. He would pop in when he didn't have a block of theatre to teach to check up on me and the kids, helping us with our projects or making jokes as we would play one of our learning games. He seemed to like teaching kids tricks to remember their multiplication or spelling, which I just loved. He would never admit it, but Raoul did love kids and I'm sure he would be an excellent father one day.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the bell rang and I saw kids walking through the door. I instantly knew today was going to be one of those days; trouble. As the kids filed in they were talking loudly, the boys were poking and pinching the girls who would in turn try to swat at them or chase them around the room, and Candice was gossiping with her friends over by the coat rack. I was immediately on my toes, if I could avoid any major disasters today it would surely be a miracle.

"Alright class," I started. "Settle down and take your seats now. I'm going to be passing back your spelling tests. Don't forget, even if you didn't get a twenty-three out of twenty-five you still received a B as long as you spelled at least twenty right, which I'm ecstatic to say that you all did."

Everyone laughed at my choice of word, it being one of our words last week. As I passed the papers down the row I noticed Anya was scribbling away happily in her book, a smile on her face. That calmed my worries instantly, she only writes when she's happy, or at least in a casual mood. I fought back a chuckle as I placed her perfect score paper on her desk, she didn't even glance at it. I began to wonder if she ever studies, she seemed to already know the words each week.

I pulled the jar of gum out of my drawer and put it on top of my desk, calling, "The eight of you that got an A come and get your reward."

I saw Anya and the other seven children leave their desks, quickly grabbing a piece of gum while I wrote the lesson plan for today up on the board. I should have known better than to have turned my back.

"Give it back!"

I immediately turned to see Anya's brown notebook being tossed from one student to the next, everyone making sure to keep it away from her, Casey and Taylor, who would surely give it back to her.

"Class, settle down and return Anya's notebook." I ordered as I remained up at the board, hoping it would be that simple. It never was that simple though.

Candice caught it and jumped up from her desk, Anya chasing after her. Candice began to flip through the pages as she put a desk between her and Anya, beginning a game of round and round should Anya try to grab it.

"So, what is this even about?" Candice goaded as she stared at a page in particular, "Come on Anya; who are you writing about?"

Anya gripped the small science book that was sitting on the desk, without Candice noticing. Knowing this was going to turn violent I began to run over to where the two girls were as Anya screamed, "Put it down!"

Candice ignored her as she flipped through the book to the last page Anya had written on. Anya, apparently snapping, picked up the book and threw it at Candice, hitting her square in the face. Luckily the book was small enough to where it wouldn't hurt Candice, just stun her long enough so Anya could grab her notebook out of her hands and back up. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of it.

Candice launched herself over the desk, trying to get at Anya. Anya frantically backed up, trying to escape Candice but tripping and falling at the last second. Luckily, Raoul chose that moment to walk in the door. Just as I reached the two girls, telling them to 'break it up' and helping Anya up Raoul stepped in. Candice had raised her fist to hit Anya, but Raoul had picked her up and pulled her away kicking and screaming.

"I will speak to the two of you out in the hallway," I hissed. "Class, pull out your silent reading books. I don't want to hear a peep come out of this room, am I understood?"

Everyone nodded as Raoul pulled Candice outside and Anya followed behind me, her head bowed with her book clutched tightly to her chest. I noticed Casey and Taylor looked worried, staring at each other as if they were planning something. I could only pray they weren't.

Once I stepped out in the hallway I noticed Candice was huffing, trying to catch her breath after her struggle with Raoul, and Anya was leaning up against the wall with her head still bowed. I placed a hand over my eyes, first saying, "Thank you Raoul."

He sounded slightly winded as he replied, "Don't mention it. Glad I was there."

I finally looked at the two again and asked, "What was that? Candice, when I tell you or the class to do something you do not ignore me and do what you want to do. This has got to stop, for the past month you are the one I see out here the most. Do you think you are cool, acting like this? I'm here to tell you, you're not. If I was any other teacher I would have sent you down to the principal's office and you would have been suspended by now."

"Then why don't you?" Candice asked as she glared at me.

I placed my hands on my hips as I challenged, "Is that what you want? If that's why you're acting like a complete and total brat then I'll do it. I've refrained from doing so this long because I don't believe you really want to be like this." Candice didn't reply, and I asked again, "Well, do you want to be suspended?"

She shook her head, "No, Miss Christine."

"I didn't think so." I replied, "And Anya. You never solve a problem with violence! What were you thinking? If that book had been thicker or had been something else how would you have felt if you hurt Candice? Broken her nose even?"

"I would have felt really bad," Anya whispered, head still lowered.

"That's right. Now, promise me you will never result to violence again, unless of course it is in self-defense." I ordered.

Anya looked up at me and confidently replied, "I promise."

"Good," I sighed. "Now, both of you apologize."

"Wait!" Candice shrieked, "That's it? All she gets is a 'don't do it again' when I was threatened with being suspended?"

I turned to Candice as I explained, "This is the first time Anya has been in trouble. As I said earlier, this is not the first time I've called you out here."

"Fine." Candice mumbled, "I'm sorry I took your stupid book."

Anya glared at Candice for a moment before she took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry I hit you in the face with a book."

I nodded, "Good. Now Anya, as much as I hate to do it I'm going to have to take your notebook until the end of the day."

Anya clutched her notebook to her chest as tears began to well up in her eyes. I sighed as I explained, "It was a distraction to the class and the rules are I have to confiscate it."

Candice smiled triumphantly as she asked, "Can I go back in the classroom now?"

"Yes, you can." I replied, "I want a moment to talk to Anya alone."

Candice opened the door and flounced through. While I was waiting for it to close Raoul leaned over and whispered, "That was a little harsh Chris, don't you think you could have let her keep it?"

I shook my head, leaning down to Anya's level as I explained, "If I don't do something to satisfy Candice I'm afraid she'll report the incident and both of you will get suspended... if not just you. Anya, you 'threw the first punch,' so to speak. That's automatic suspension, and this is the only way I can keep that from happening. I'm sorry, but I promise you that you will get your book back at the end of the day and nobody else will touch it. I'll keep it locked in my desk."

Anya nodded as she threw her arms around me and hugged me, gasping slightly as she tried not to cry. I wrapped my arms around her, shushing her and trying to calm her as I rocked back on my heels a few times. Raoul touched me on my shoulder and pointed up, signaling that he had to go. I nodded as he waved, turning on his heel and walking down the hallway.

When Anya calmed she mumbled, "I don't want to get suspended."

I slowly let go, replying, "You won't, I promise."

Anya nodded and slowly handed me her notebook. She took a few deep breaths and wiped the wetness from her cheeks as she gasped, "Thank you."

I gave her hand a slight squeeze and smiled, "You're welcome. Come on, let's go enjoy some silent reading. I'm sure everyone needs some quiet after that."

Anya laughed, muttering, "Yeah, I'll bet."

I opened the door and let Anya walk in first, watching everyone as I dared them to make a comment. Once Anya was seated and pulled out her book from her desk I announced, "We'll be having silent reading for the next half hour. After that we'll be going over our history lesson, so make sure you have your book."

...

By the end of the day everyone was ready to go home. Before and after lunch I had kept everyone busy with work to do so no one had a chance to cause another outburst. It was the only thing I could do really, what else can you do with second graders? If they're not occupied they're going to be mischievous.

The bell rang and everyone bolted out of their seats, grabbing their bags and leaving as I called out, "I'll see you tomorrow, study your times six tables for Thursday's test!"

Anya was the last one to leave as she stood by my desk, waiting for her notebook. I unlocked my top desk drawer and handed it to her, saying, "Have a good day Anya, go home and relax, okay?"

She nodded and replied, "Thank you again, Miss Christine."

I shook my head, "You don't have to thank me, I'm just sorry I had to do it in the first place."

Anya nodded guiltily as she said, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Anya," I smiled.

As she walked out I began to straighten up the classroom, replacing books on the shelves and checking to make sure everyone took home their math books. A few didn't but I didn't get upset, I couldn't make them take their books home, and they still had till Thursday to study, so no biggie. I began to sing 'The Wizard and I' softly to myself as I began to pack my ungraded papers in my satchel and put the graded ones in my desk drawer.

Suddenly I heard the door open, and thinking it was one of the students I asked, "Did you forget something?"

"No. I came to talk to you."

When I heard that voice my head shot up from my desk, only to see none other than Anya's uncle, Mr. Destler, standing there.

Well, I wonder who that could be? Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of…

Erik's introduction to the story?

His reaction to Christine?

Raoul and Christine at dinner?

The fight Christine and Raoul broke up?