Nicholas stopped at the bottom of the stairs of the Palais Garnier and stared up at its beauty. She had come from America to Paris in hopes to find a better art community and culture than America's. She decided to try and get a job at the very opera house that Gaston Leroux based his Novel Phantom of the Opera. It is Nicholas favorite book, and to get a job doing anything at all in this opera house would be the most cherished of her life.
Nicholas walked up the stairs; she gripped her violin tighter and reached for the handle of the door. She paused right before her hand could touch the gorgeous brass handle, she chewed her bottom lip nervously, trying to decide whether or not to go in. 'What if I interrupt a rehearsal? What if no one is here? What if I get rejected?' She sighed and gabbed the door handle, it was freezing but she didn't let go, she also didn't open the door. Her heart was pounding; she frowned and mentally kicked herself.
"Let's goo Nichol...Just open the door..."
She gulped and pushed the door open as quietly as she could, she slipped inside and closed the door behind her just as quietly. She had her back to the stage and jumped clean out of her skin when a man's voice boomed around the room.
"NO! YOU CAN NOT HAVE A JOB HERE YOU UNGRATEFUL, SPOILED BRAT!"
Nicholas spun around with wide eyes and stared in horror believing the man was specking to her. She relaxed slightly when she saw that he was instead "talking" to another girl. This girl basically had a Shirley Temple hair style, so blond it seemed white. She was turned sideways to Nicholas and obviously had a large breast size, now then if they were real or not; Nicholas didn't know.
The girl stomped her foot and crossed her arms across her chest after the man had yelled at her. She made a whiny noise and stuck her bottom lip out at him. "But I'm JASON SAMPER'S DAUGHTER! I deserve to be given a job here!"
"I don't care WHOSE daughter you are! If you're terrible at acting, singing, and dancing and that's what you're trying to do here then I WON'T hire you!"
"ECH! YOU'RE AN IDIOT! I WOULDN'T WORK FOR YOU EVEN IF YOU BEGGED ME TO!" She stormed toward the door after yelling at him. As she got to the door Nicholas tried to move out of her way but before she could the Samper girl got to her. She glared at Nicholas, "GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU RAT!" She shoved Nicholas and slammed the door open and closed as she left.
Nicholas glared at the now closed door and shook her head angrily, her moment of ranting at the girl in her head was stopped abruptly as she heard the man's voice boom again, but this time she knew he was speaking to her.
"AND JUST WHY ARE YOU HERE!? ARE YOU ANOTHER SPOILED BRAT INTENDING TO USE THEIR DADDY AS A FREE TICKET TO A PLACE ON STAGE?!"
Nicholas turned toward the man and shook her head feverishly. "N..NO! NO sir!...I am in no position to demand a job from you." She stayed standing at the door, too nervous to come closer to the angry man.
"WELL THEN! IN THAT CASE! Please do come here and let me hear your case."
Nicholas looked at the man with wide eyes, and smiled brightly. She quickly went to the man and stopped in front of him. He sized her up and arched an eyebrow at her.
"Well, let's hear it then. What can you do?"
Nicholas's eye brows knitted together as she thought about how to respond to this question. The man seemed to be very stern and she didn't want to goof up on what could be her only chance at a job here. "Umm...Well monsieur I can do anything you need me to do."
The man smirked in a rather sinister way and sized Nicholas up again. "Ohh really!? Then if I needed you to replace my lead dancer you could?"
Nicholas stood up straighter and made her shoulders broader. "Yes sir I could."
His eye brows went up in a look of a mix of interest and disbelief. "If I needed you to replace my LEAD singer you could!?"
"Yes sir I COULD!"
"What if I needed a replacement for someone in my orchestra?" He placed his hands behind his back and smiled his creepy smile at her, as he began to walk around her in a circle.
"I can play any instrument you need me to." She followed him with her eyes, but didn't let her determined air fall.
"What if all I needed was a maid or a custodian?"
Nicholas felt her heart drop slightly but kept her head up and swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. "I can clean, if that is what you are asking sir."
He noted her delay in responding and nodded at her. "Then as far as I'm concerned you have a job here." Nicholas looked up at him with wide eyes. He smiled slightly at her and then continued, "For now you will be our new...maid. After I have evaluated your everyday attitude I will allow you to audition for any part in the next musical. Does that sound good to you?"
Nicholas couldn't stop herself from smiling, nor could she stop the tears that ran down her cheeks. She smiled up at him even with her tears and nodded her head at him. "Y-YES sir that sounds wonderful!" She curtsied low to him, hugged her violin to her chest, and covered her mouth to stop the few hick-ups from the tears. "THANK YOU MONSIEUR! THANK YOU!"
He smiled again at her and turned to a lady that seemed to be in her late 40's and motioned for her to come to him. The lady walked to him with a bored expression and waited for her orders. "Take..." He stopped and looked back at Nickolas with a slightly confused look. "I'm sorry Mademoiselle, but I do not believe I caught your name."
"It's Nicholas sir." She blushed slightly at her name, being as it is mostly given to boys she often hatted it when she had to tell people her name. He kept looking at her as if expecting her to go on, Nicholas look of embarrassment turned to one of confusion.
He returned her look. "Your last name dear, what is it?" A few of the people around her giggled at her.
Nicholas blushed again and looked down. "I'm sorry sir, but I do not have a last name." This instantly stopped the giggling. "I am an orphan and my parents left me with no name other than Nicholas."
He nodded and turned back to the lady. "Madame Gery, if you would please show mademoiselle Nicholas to a room. Not the one the old custodian used. But maybe the old costume room? I believe it could be turned into a door room if need be."
Madame Gery nodded and looked at Nicholas. "Follow me mademoiselle, I will show you too your room."
Nicholas smiled sheepishly at Madame Gery, and began to follow her, but stopped to curtsy in front of her new employer. "Thank you again Monsieur. I hope I can repay your generosity."
He smiled at her. "Just do as you are told and cause no trouble and my generosity will be repaid, also please refer to me as John."
Nicholas smiled brightly up at him and nodded, "Yes sir, I will do my best and try my hardest. Thank you monsieur John." He smiled back at her and then turned back to the stage to continue with what seemed to be either auditions or rehearsals for the next play. Nicholas took this as her cue to leave and follow Madame Gery.
Madam Gery led Nicholas through the back stage of the opera house and down a hall to what seemed to be the only unoccupied room. All the others had light, laughter, and chitchat spilling from their doors. Nicholas looked at all the rooms in wonder, and amazement. She then looked at Madame Gery who seemed to ignore all the chaos around her.
"Umm Madame Gery?" Nicholas looked down nervously as she called out to her.
"Yes?" She stopped and looked back at Nicholas.
"Why is it that this is the only room with no one in it?"
Madame Gery looked around and then turned back and continued walking; Nicholas frowned but followed her none the less. Once at the room Madame Gery turned back around to Nicholas. "I will tell you why but I would rather it be inside the room." Nicholas nodded and followed her inside the room. After Nicholas was inside Madame Gery closed the door and turned back to her.
"The reason for this room being unoccupied is because everyone seems to believe it is haunted. You see this is Costume Room Number 5, and the Phantom always takes Box 5. So of course everyone instantly deems this his room as it is room number 5."
Nicholas nodded and smiled looking around the room. There was already a bed and a dresser, but it seemed that, that was all there was. She turned back to Madame Gery, "I presume they are referencing the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera play with the whole Box 5 thing?" Madame Gery's expression of boredom never changed as she stared right back at Nicholas.
Nicholas's smile slowly fell as she realized what Madame Gery was implying. "No...No you can't tell me that THIS opera house actually HAS a PHANTOM!" Madame Gery only nodded. Nicholas shook her head and rubbed at her left eye, and walked to the bed. She set her violin down and sat onto the bed letting her head fall into her hands. She continued to rub at her left eye and sighed angrily when she felt her contact pop out. She looked back up at Madame Gery, whose eyes widened when Nicholas looked up at her, smiling sadly at her.
"Please don't tell monsieur John, he doesn't...no one needs to know that I'm blind in one eye."
Madame Gery nodded and returned Nicholas's sad smile. "Don't worry Mademoiselle Nicholas your secret is safe with me."
Nicholas smiled at her, "Please Madame just call me Nicholas."
Madame Gery nodded at her again smiling slightly; she then turned and walked toward the door, but stopped right before she opened it. "Oh Nicholas, please if you ever get a letter from the phantom do as it says...no matter what. While this may seem to be stuff of stories, the phantom here is real, and so are his consequences...Also there are 15 other people that live on this floor with you, if you need anything I recommend going to Claire. She seems to be the most...patient with the newbies."
"Umm y...yes Madame Gery. Thank you." And with that Madame Gery left the room and Nicholas to her thoughts.
Nicholas sighed and lied down on the bed letting the fact that the opera house known for the story of the Phantom actually has a Phantom. She shook her head and rubbed at her eyes, it was a force of habit from the contact she would wear to hid the fact that she is blind in her left eye. Nicholas sat up and looked around the room, her eyes fell on the mirror and her heart skipped a beat. The phantom she knew of used two sided mirrors, could this mirror be like that too? She shook her head and laid back down curling up on her side.
'Not now Nichol...You just got your dream job...Don't go and ruin it by fretting over a Phantom.' She eventually fell into a restless sleep, dreaming of masked faces and beautiful opera songs.