10. The Phantom Never Came
"Genevieve! Where have you been all morning? Still in bed?" Meg approached Genevieve with a playful laugh.
"I'm so sorry, Meg. I overslept," she replied softly.
"Again?" Meg laughed.
"Yes, again," Genevieve forced a tired smile.
"Well come on, we've got a lot of rehearsing to do—the show goes up in two weeks!"
Meg dragged the torpid Genevieve away from her weary state of mind to backstage.
The rehearsal went well, yet it was terribly long. Genevieve felt every long moment, thinking of the Phantom and their first encounter last night. She wondered if she would meet him again tonight—would he teacher her more vocals from her dormitory, or would he take her back into the catacombs of the opera house? Genevieve couldn't get these thoughts out of her head, but finally, after painstakingly making her way through rehearsal, it ended. Feeling a bit lighter at heart, Genevieve made her way through the backstage and into the old music hallways to her piano room.
She took a seat at the bench and began plunking out a simple melody, slowly adding some chords and then finally the bass clef. It was just improvisation, but it sounded like something she might be able to add to her repertoire of original music. As she played, she began adding simple vocals to the melody on a simple "la", for she hadn't figured out the lyrics yet. Perhaps she could write a poem of some sort this evening.
By the time she finished this draft of the new song, dusk had fallen upon Paris as she peered out into the darkening hall. Taking the torch with her, she lit her way back to her dormitory, skipping her evening meal entirely.
Sitting on her bed, Genevieve waited for the Phantom. She wanted to hear his voice—and she waited; waited to hear his voice. Judging by the moon in the sky, she could tell night was getting later. Finally, remembering her song, she took out a piece of paper and began to write out some scrap lyrics. She read them over, and, feeling unsatisfied, tore them to pieces and threw them on the floor. As her eyes began to droop lower, she finally forced herself to bed. As her head hit the pillow, she fell instantly asleep; and the Phantom, never came.