Chapter 7- Round Two
"And here you are," Chris said with a smile while handing Christine a blue sheet of paper. "You've made it through to the next round!"
Christine smiled while thinking about three nights before, when she'd found out that her performance of Dove Sono had been a success. Meg had also made it through, so now the girls would be singing and dancing again.
And we perform today, she thought nervously while staring up at her hotel room ceiling. She'd just woken up, and as always, her mind was on Pulse.
Christine's outlook on the competition had changed after the brief but intense meeting with Erik. The more she thought about it, the more she truly did want to prove herself, especially in front of him. Maybe it wasn't right to want to look good in front of the 'mean judge', but then again, anyone else would and probably did feel the same way. She wanted to win, it couldn't be denied.
There was one thing she was beginning to be concerned about, though, and that was Meg. Her best friend more than likely wanted to win, too. And let's face it, she probably will. But, how will I feel? How will I feel if Meg beats me?
She wondered if Meg had given it any thought yet. Would their friendship change? Christine hadn't considered that until now. Of course, she would make every attempt not to let it happen, but deep down there would always be jealousy.
And, unlikely as it was, if she herself were to win, would Meg hate her? Christine knew she really had nothing to worry about there, since it would never happen, but, well, she was really good at worrying.
"I'm worried," Meg abruptly announced while sitting up in bed.
Christine blinked, not expecting the same word she was feeling to emerge from her friend's mouth. "About what?" she asked.
Meg stood up and approached the hotel room's closet. "About what I'll be wearing today. I don't think the color's right... But, I want to make a statement, you know?" She pulled her leotard out of the closet and held it out in front of her.
Christine knew for sure that Meg would be making a statement. First of all, she was going to be doing a ballet dance to a remix of a pop song. And second of all, she would be wearing a bright pink leotard with sparkles. It would definitely be memorable. "Meg, you're going to be great," she reassured.
"But, what if the whole thing turns out to be a disaster? I'll get kicked out without even having gotten anywhere."
"You aren't going to get kicked out. You're going to be the best one they see. Seriously. The fact that you're taking a risk is going to win the judges over."
Meg shook her head. "It's too risky. And you're wrong. You're going to be the best one they see."
Christine could only shake her head silently, not believing that for a second.
Nadir looked at Erik who had just emerged from his hotel suite bedroom looking sloppy, which was unusual. With a disapproving and annoyed tone, he asked, "Did you not get any sleep last night?"
Erik shrugged. "I suppose not. Why do you ask?"
"Why do I ask?" he repeated, now sounding highly annoyed. "I ask because I care. It's not good for you, Erik. Plus, you kept me awake with your incessant playing."
"Ah, as I thought. You only truly care for yourself."
Erik's voice was calm, but Nadir's most definitely was not. Not now, at least. "Erik, that isn't true! Good lord, man! I've been nothing but kind to you for almost two decades and this is what you think?" He waved his hands in frustration. "Forget it. Just get ready. I will meet you in the limousine."
Erik looked after him with eyes that seemed to say, 'Was it something I said?' Well, he couldn't care at the moment. Nadir was right, though. He needed to get ready. The competition was to continue today, and today she would be singing.
Eyes bright, Erik hurried to finish getting ready before meeting Nadir and Madame Giry in the limousine.
As I expected… They are all disappointments. This was becoming ridiculous, in Erik's humble opinion. Not one talented person. They'd been watching performances for over two hours now, and there was not one to catch his eye. He wondered if it would continue this way.
She will make this day better. She will. She has to.
Meg gulped while sitting backstage in her pink sparkling leotard. It was getting closer to her turn, and for the first time ever, she didn't feel ready. This is going to be really bad and so embarrassing…
She was beginning to wonder what had actually made her think she'd been talented and creative enough to create such a routine. It'd taken her a long time to make up the dance, and at first she'd been pleased.. But, now? The song can obviously only be pulled off by a professional, and even then it's iffy. And the dance… Oh God, I'm going to suck!
"Hey, Meg," came a whisper to her left.
Meg's head abruptly turned towards the person. Her eyes must have been a dead giveaway to how she was feeling, because the person –a male contestant- gave her a reassuring sort of smile.
"You're going to be great," he said.
His tone made it sound like he seriously knew what he was talking about. Meg blinked in surprise. "A-are you talking to me?"
He laughed in a laid back way, apparently not at all nervous about his own turn to perform. "Well, yeah. I saw your first audition on TV. I was also in the audience during your second audition. You're good. I mean… that's kind of an understatement. But, anyway, I can tell you're nervous, and I just want you to know that you don't need to be. And, well, I see that your friend isn't here to help you, so I wanted to try to. I'm Jake, by the way." He held out his hand.
By the way he was speaking, it sounded like talking to her was nerve wracking to him. As if he truly meant what he was saying. It was that observation that made Meg believe him. "I'm Meg," she said with a genuine smile, shaking his hand.
"I know," Jake pointed out, grinning. "Better?" he asked after a moment, still watching her.
"Actually, yeah. I'm feeling a lot better now." She blushed then. "The stress can just build up, you know?"
He nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely feeling it. Whereas you have absolutely nothing to worry about, I'm having to perform for three judges that only think I'm 'ok'. At least they love you." After a second, he quickly added, "I'm not trying to downplay your nerves. Every competitor has something to be nervous about."
Meg laughed. "No, it's ok. I understand." To keep her mind off her dance, she asked, "What do you do?"
"I'm a magician."
Her interest perked. "Wow, that's really cool." Magic had always been so fascinating to her.
Jake shrugged and said, "It'd be 'cool' if I were good enough to impress the judges."
It was obvious the competition meant a lot to him, Meg decided. Of course, it meant a lot to all of them.
Right then, Chris Roberts approached the pair with a camera guy right beside him. "Good morning!" he greeted, just as cheerfully as ever. "Meg, how are you feeling?"
She unconsciously stood while thinking, It's already my turn? She hadn't even noticed the girl contestant to her right get up. How did I manage to miss that? "I'm feeling pretty good," she replied, returning to reality and realizing that she wasn't nearly as nervous as she had been before talking to Jake.
"That's great, because it's your turn!" He led her away while saying, "By the looks of it, I'd say we're all in for a big surprise."
While walking away, Meg took the chance to glance behind her at the guy who'd been responsible for improving her spirits. He was giving her a 'thumb's up' sign and a big grin.
She smiled and continued to follow Chris to the stage.
Hopefully, she really was about to surprise them all.
Madame Giry, Nadir, and Erik flipped to the next contestant's sheet. It was a pleasant surprise to read Meg Gene's name. There hadn't been a single outstanding performance the entire day, and Madame Giry and Nadir were hoping that was about to change. In fact, they were expecting it to.
Not Erik, though. He forced himself to never have high expectations. Most of the time, disappointment was all it led to. Rarely, someone would surprise him. Rarely, as in only one time in eight years…
They waited knowing Chris was probably doing some long introductory greeting with the girl. Being familiar with Meg's personality, they had a feeling the wait probably wasn't affecting her nerves, as it did others. The girl was confident, and she had every reason to be.
Madame Giry was trying not to assume anything, though. Every competitor has a bad day, and who knows? This could be Meg Gene's bad day.
"Good luck, Ms. Gene," Chris said, opening the stage door and ushering her inside where three judges and a camera crew were waiting.
Meg took a deep breath and approached the middle of the stage, smiling appropriately.
The greeting between her and the judges was brief. Before she knew it, Meg was in her beginning pose. The music began, and she took off.
In actuality, it all felt like a bit of a blue to her. She did the ballet dance as she always had, performing each movement to the best of her ability. She felt great, alive and free. By the end, she was out of breath and feeling nearly dizzy with energy.
Then, the sound of applause reached her ears, and it was like music. Meg opened her eyes. Madame Giry was giving her a standing ovation, and Nadir was sitting and clapping loudly. Erik was merely sitting motionless.
Think of the other two, not Erik, she reminded herself. Her focus returned to the two obviously pleased judges, and she felt like dancing again.
"Meg, that was so unexpected!" Madame Giry exclaimed while sitting down. "It was wonderful! Your taking a risk paid off beautifully!" Her concluding statement was, "You should be very proud of yourself."
Nadir went next. "Brilliant! Exactly what this day needed."
He turned to Erik waiting for whatever odd, critical comment he would come up with.
"That was very…bold."
He wasn't going to say anything else. Well, whatever, I'll take it! Meg thought optimistically.
After giving Erik a frustrated look, Madame Giry turned back to Meg. "Thank you very much."
Taking that as her cue to leave, Meg smiled, thanked them, and practically skipped to the door. She was elated. I can't wait to talk to Christine! I hope she's not getting overly nervous about her turn…
Christine settled into her seat against a wall and looked from left to right. There were about 25 people sitting around her. She counted how many people there were ahead of her. Twenty. So, I'm number 21. Almost last. Typical. Well, she was actually more like number 46, as 25 other contestants had already performed before them. Meg had been a part of that group. At least I'm not having to be part of the 50 who compete tomorrow, I guess.
Well, now that 'that' was settled in her mind, it was time to return to being nervous. You're going to be waiting here for God knows how long, and Meg's not here to calm you down, she told herself.
But, I've been practicing today! I know 'Vissi d'arte' from "Tosca" well enough to sing it backwards. I need to be focusing, not worrying.
Easier said than done.
Two hours passed in the same way. Christine was having conflicting thoughts as Chris and a camera guy went down the line of chairs, contestant after contestant taking their individual turns.
It was quiet in the room, too, which added to Christine's apprehension. The contestants around her seemed to be just as nervous as she was. It wasn't encouraging.
Finally, the person to her right was taken to the stage area. Christine's heart was pounding.
You're going to screw up.
I've performed in front of the judges before, so maybe this will go as well as the previous two times.
You're not that lucky.
Well, this isn't about luck. This is about talent-..
Chris was approaching with the camera guy. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously and attempted a polite smile.
"Good afternoon, Christine," Chris greeted, now right in front of her.
She stood and said, "Hi." The sound of her voice made her freeze, though. It'd been over two hours since she'd spoken a word. Oh no, I should have talked to someone… My voice doesn't feel as warmed up as it was. Damn..
Chris was definitely looking at the most nervous contestant in the room. She was also the contestant with the least to worry about. "Ready to win the judges over again?" he asked with an encouraging smile.
Stop being stupid! Christine finally inwardly exclaimed. Just try your best. If that's not good enough, then, well, this was a great experience and I'll be ok. With as much confidence as she could muster, she brightly said, "Well, I'm going to try to." Try. Yeah, just try.
All three judges were excited to see who was next. Christine Daae. Madame Giry and Nadir smiled at each other, both of them on the same page about the singer.
Unknown to them, Erik was just as excited as they were. More so, actually. Of course, he would hold no expectations, but just seeing her again would be nice.
He remembered their conversation vividly, even if it had been short and cut off by his ridiculous bodyguard.
Erik was going to disregard the possibility that his thoughts were turning personal. So what if he now knew her as something more than a competitor? And so what that this had never happened for him before? Even less important was the fact that getting to know her could be crossing the boundaries between competitor and judge. He'd never been one to follow rules.
It was when she walked onstage that all of his previous 'so what?' thoughts turned into 'it matters' thoughts. He actually smiled at the sight of her. He could sense her feelings. She was obviously nervous, she probably felt like she wasn't prepared… But, if appearances were worth anything, she certainly looked ready. Alright, thinking of her appearance is too personal, Erik warned himself, his small smile fading.
Christine took her place in the middle of the stage.
"Hello, Ms. Daae," Nadir greeted.
"Hi." She looked at them in turn, her eyes falling on Erik last. He looked alert, ready for her performance. Madame Giry and Nadir looked alert, too.
"Whenever you're ready," Madame Giry said with a kind smile.
All three judges were silently begging her not to be so nervous.
Christine needed to find a sense of peace, or she really was going to mess things up.
For some reason, her thoughts, which had been confusing and frustrating all day, suddenly instructed her to look at Erik. Without pause, her eyes found his, and the following second, her nervous, stressed, worried mind focused on one thing- to prove herself.
Finally feeling ready, she blinked, briefly looked down at the stage floor, raised her head, nodded once, and waited for the music to start.
It was all too easy after that.
Christine just sang the song as she normally would. Before now, she'd been thinking that she had to be different, that this performance had to have 'change'. But, that wasn't right, was it? Wasn't it entirely possible that she'd been doing it right all along?
'Vissi d'arte' ended, and Christine was left without an answer to her question.
The answer came quickly.
She heard clapping and looked out, and what she saw was Erik. He's clapping. He's actually clapping. Whoa. Not only that, but he was smiling. He appeared to be proud, although she couldn't be sure for the mask. Christine looked just in time to see Madame Giry and Nadir sit down. So, they'd given her a standing ovation?
Really, she didn't think it was possible to feel happier than she currently felt.
"Well done, Ms. Daae!" Nadir congratulated with utmost enthusiasm. "That was incredible."
Madame Giry nodded. "I know how nervous you were, but my goodness, when you sing, the confidence I see is extraordinary. You have such a gift."
Christine couldn't help but show a silly grin. Wow, wow, wow! Well, two comments down, one to go… Her eyes returned to Erik, as they seemed to like to do. She wasn't expecting much. Perhaps a nod?
She got more than that.
Erik studied her for a moment. He knew what he wanted to say, he only wondered if saying it would be too much. Finally, though, it was decided. Rules be damned. "Christine, that was absolutely stunning. Your expression, tonality, breath support, and the amount of feeling you put into what you were singing was worthy of professional standards. Puccini would be proud." As am I.
Both of Christine's eyebrows rose. She wasn't expecting anything like that. Is this seriously happening? She had a feeling she couldn't feel happier if she were to win the entire competition. Dazedly, she nodded and left the stage. Thank you for helping me get through that, Erik, she thought distantly while reaching for the door handle. Then, she shook her head lightly and sighed before opening the door and walking away.
Just as Christine's eyebrows rose after Erik's compliments, so did Nadir's and Madame Giry's. When the girl was gone, they immediately tried to get to the bottom of it.
"What was that?" Madame Giry asked, leaning over to look past Nadir at the strange man in the mask, who had just officially gotten stranger.
"What was what?" Erik asked, as if what he'd said was nothing out of the ordinary. He frowned at Nadir's quizzical stare. "Am I not allowed to make a comment?"
"It's not that," Nadir replied seriously, skeptically. "We want you to make comments. It's just, well, you have never made a comment quite so… grandiose. Why now?" Why her? he wanted to ask. Nadir wasn't deaf. He'd heard their bodyguards talking the other day about Erik speaking to a contestant. And he wasn't stupid. The contestant was undoubtedly Christine Daae.
He had been thinking that he would forget the conversation between Erik and the girl, but he couldn't take it lightly now. Erik's elaborate compliment changed everything.
"Do you deny that she was the best we have seen today?" Erik wasn't about to falter under Nadir' pathetic attempt at being intimidating.
"Hmmm," Nadir mused.
"What?" Erik growled.
"That's enough," Madame Giry announced, stepping in. "The next performer will be here any second. He deserves our full attention."
Erik glared one last time at Nadir. Do not even dare to meddle in matters that have nothing to do with you, Kahn. There would be hell to pay if he did.
Little did Erik know, if things were to continue the way they were, it was going to attract more than just his two fellow judges' attention.
Pulse was a famous show, Erik was a famous judge, and Christine was sure to become a famous contestant. Fame attracted many things, 'gossip' being one of those things. With 'gossip' came 'news'. With 'news' came 'beliefs'. With 'beliefs' came 'truths'.
And the truth could be told very brutally indeed.
I promise the story is going to pick up soon..
Sorry it's been such a long time since an update. My life has been pretty busy lately.
But, I hope this was at least kind of enjoyable. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as always!
And thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter. You all are the best!
-Lauren
