Alrighty, aren't you all so happy I am here?
Yes, your enthusiasm is eminent.
I am very happy to announce that I had the MOST AWESOME time on my vacation! During my time in Florida, I went to Tallahassee for a few days, then went to St. Augustine. And OH MY! I now LOVE that city! Since it was founded in the 1500's (one of the oldest cities in the country) it is said to be super haunted, and boy was it creepy…wow. Let's just say if I didn't believe in ghosts before, I DO NOW! I went on the ghost tour of the city, and it was so creepy, and it was all at night. My group and I got to shout at passing cars "Unbelievers! BE DOOMED!" Ooooh, man, that was fun. St. Augustine is also on a beach, so I got to leap and frolic in the ocean as well. After my little escapade on burial grounds I returned to Tallahassee, then went to Atlanta, then back home to awesome Illinois! Don't laugh.
Although, I've been home for a whole week now, so you must be wondering how I could possibly take even LONGER to update? Well, just as I get home, my oh so wonderous computer decides that it wants to shut its hard drive down! Oh, and did I fail to mention that this deletes ALL of my saved Word documents (aka: EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WORKED ON THAT IS OR WILL BE ON Although my computer is all fixed now, it still leaves me with an almost empty saved drive. Yes, so whilst I was recovering from my increasing anger at my stupid computer, I also had to take the time to actually go to go to my stories, copy, paste onto a BLANK word document, and copy and paste until I have everything saved in my computer again! No, not very pleasant. Especially when your Word document starts asking you all these stupid questions EVERY time I go there!
Oh well, all is done, and I finally get my way with my computer (take THAT, you stupid excuse of a piece of technology! You help me in life in no way WHATSOEVER!).
I would also like to add that I revised chapter five (Phantom of the Opera and Music of the Night). Yeah, I reread over that chapter, and the loss of action and movement that I had put in there (compared to the amount of action in my head) is sickening. So I added quite a bit to it, more or less to make myself feel better. If any of you liked the first version (aka: the dull version, in my opinion), please tell me.
Okay….I'll bet most of you are hoping that this annoying girl will just cut to the chase already and answer reviews. And that I will certainly do.
RavensAngst-oh, no, it's never too late to review…especially with me, since I practically thrive off of other people's happiness. I explained it in BETTER depth than the movie? Wow. For that I thank you even more! I'm glad you liked my description of the way I put words…I feel so flattered…did I say I was a dork? I don't remember…did someone ELSE say I was a dork? How DARE they! Well, if they did, they wouldn't be very far off. I usually put myself under the "loser" category. Although my friend does call me a dork very often…
Slade's Downfall-I just love that movie! It is my favorite movie ever! Glad you like!
EmeraldShine-my writing is clever! YAY! I'm glad someone thinks so…
StarGazingMoonPrincess-OMG while I was on vacation, something screwy was happening with the site with ME too, and I couldn't review stories either! I couldn't even sign in! It made me so mad, I was about to throttle the computer. Thank you! And I am SO happy that you got to see the movie, it is just so much better when you see it for yourself…sigh…it's so beautiful…
TTHPfan-eek, you must have taken your finals later than I did…at least they're all over now! I HATE FINALS! THEY ARE STUPID!
Laurashrub-as you can see, you weren't the only one who had a computer of utter evilness. I don't know why I don't take GCSE's…I assume it's a bad thing…
Rose-yes…secrets are always fun…thank you very much and I am hoping your foul mood has improved since I FINALLY updated! Forgive me for that, by the way!
StakeMeSpike04-you live in Florida? Wow, that is a weird coincidence…if I saw you there that would be so cool, and not to mention unexpected…I wish you utter good luck on your future phics!
Lady of darkness055-I KNOW! SOPHOMORES RULE! I never got pennies thrown at me, but the phrase "you're a freshman?" with a stupid look on the speaker's face (apparently I look older than I am) still rings in my mind. Some people just never learn, do they?
StarfireFowl-you know, having that previous chapter as a chapter 13 never occurred to me…wow, that's weird…hope you like the next chapter!
Oh, really? I actually finished all I have to say…? WOW. This is amazing. Well, I shall continue, and thanks again to all of the AWESOME people who review me! I would never EVER write on fanfiction if it weren't for you guys!
It was now Gar's turn to pace again as he and his jocky friend stood in the empty hallways, once again contemplating yet another problem with the X-ed ghost. It was their first day back from Christmas break, aka: the worst Monday in the history of life itself. Seventh hour had just ended a mere twenty minutes ago, meaning most of the school's entity remained completely and thoroughly empty. The hallways were once again left to sit and wait for dust to cover it until the next day would arrive.
Victor sat on a near windowsill, right leg propped up onto it and leaving the other dangling. He had a confuzzled look of impatience splashed onto his dark face. Gar continued to pace, taking every second glance he could at the giant manuscript held firmly in the hands of the senior, who was flipping through it with annoyance.
Before Victor could say a word, Gar finally had to speak.
"How can he expect us to do that…play thing that he wrote…?"
"I don't know man…"
"And neither do I," Gar slammed his foot into the hard tile floor.
"I mean," the joking junior said with uneasiness, "We are able to do it, right?"
"Again, I dunno," Victor said, worry now slightly tugging on his expression, "We have done opera before, but this is a really difficult piece of musical."
"It is?" Gar said, raising an eyebrow, "I just figured that we would be against it, seeing as some freaky psycho dude wrote it, but…" he said, taking another look at the manuscript, "whatever floats your boat…"
"I'm serious, man," he said, gently leaping off his stoop and bringing the huge assemble of music to the oblivious boy, "Look at that."
Gar stared. Some people like to linger in their sight at seeing something, but Gar just let loose an all out gawk. The musical notes were scribbled neatly from left to right all the way across page after page. The notes looked extremely hard to achieve, and all in one sitting, along with acting altogether. Gar stuttered.
"That," Victor said, with an edginess in his tone that Gar knew would lead to frustration, "Is the most complicated piece of music I have ever seen introduced to a high school level!"
He brought the manuscript down, and flipped through more pages.
"And that's only one song!" he said, raising his tone even more, "All this time I have been looking over ONE song! The rest of this thing is probably even harder!"
"Vic," he said, almost sadly, "maybe we will find a way to work it out. Maybe the cast just needs some more advanced opera lessons. They know the stuff pretty well, all you have to do is…"
But Victor did not listen to his suggestion.
Gar knew that when Victor got really mad, he would let it out in formal words. Not many people knew this, but Gar did, and he knew very well not to contradict him when he started shooting off the big 'smart' words. Usually in these situations, to prevent himself from being caught in Victor's own crossfire, Gar would use some of the few big words that he knew as well, just to help calm him down. Usually, on these occasions, when under the influence of anger, these two boys would actually sound…smart.
Before Gar could think, Victor burst out in a formal eruption.
"Ludicrous!
Have you seen the score?"
Gar knew his cue, and took it.
"Simply ludicrous!"
Victor didn't notice the formal war beginning, and continued.
"It's the final straw!"
Gar was finally able to come up with a word he had learned in a previous vocabulary class.
"This is lunacy!
Well, you know my views…"
Victor was beginning to walk in circles.
"Utter lunacy!"
Gar then looked to the floor, where the manuscript had been mercilessly thrown by the jock. He looked back up to his friend helplessly.
"But we can't refuse…"
Victor slumped into a chair and groaned, sinking the palms of his hands into his face.
"Not another chandelier…"
Gar then noticed two sealed envelopes on the windowsill where Victor had been sitting minutes before. Gar suddenly felt a very cold rush breeze past him as he saw the notes, but he ignored his oh so intelligent intuition and picked them up.
"Look, Victor,
What we have here…"
Victor's exasperated expression made up for any argument Gar could ever start with him. The both took their assigned letters cordially, almost afraid to open them. Victor was first to read his aloud.
"Dear Victor,
Re my orchestrations:
We need another first bassoon.
Get a player with tone
And that third trombone
Has to go!
The boy could not be deafer,
So please preferably
One who plays in tune!"
Victor snorted.
"The dude's got all this power, and yet he still manages to nitpick at the poor band kids."
"Yeah, I know," Gar said defiantly, "Look what he wrote ME!"
Victor listened and read along as Gar gave his friend view of the letter as he read.
"Dear Garfield,
Vis a vis my opera:
Some chorus members must be sacked.
If you could, find out which
Has a sense of pitch…
Wisely, though,
I've manage to assign
A rather miner role
To those who cannot act!"
"Ouch…" Gar stated, "that was a definite burn to someone we know…"
"Aw, MAN…" Victor threw his hands in the air, "When that girl sees what he said, she's gonna pop her overly pruned lid!"
Before the two could even try to get another word in edgewise, the hallway doors swung open, striking eminent fear into the boys' hearts at the sight of Kiona. She stormed towards the boys, Steven at her heels, each holding a similar note to the ones Gar and Victor had received.
"Outrage!"
She screamed at them, causing all three boys to flinch. Victor quickly contained his composure and shot back at the brunette with full force, she shouldn't have caught him at such a bad time in such a rude way. He retaliated at the girl with sour venom.
"What is it now?"
She took no heed of his foul mood, but proceeded with her own.
"This whole affair is an outrage!"
Gar was feeling a bit calmer than Victor, and tried to take a different route.
"Kiona, please…"
This didn't stop Victor.
"Now what's the matter?"
Kiona violently thrust open her letter and flew it in front of Victor's vision. She held it about two inches from his nose, which to this Victor returned with a snort and a glare. She brought back the paper haughtily and pointed to it.
"Have you seen the size of my part?"
Gar scuttled to her side, a forced worry etched on his face.
"Kiona, listen…"
Steven interrupted all of them, suddenly bursting out in an angry voice.
"It's an insult!"
Victor was almost past his boiling point. He spun around from Kiona's view and glared menacingly at Steven.
"Not you as well!"
Steven only got up in his face, shoving his own letter in front of him to meet Victor's impatient eyes. Neither of the boys had seen Steven so angry. Apparently no one should mingle with his popularity, lest this be the price. Steven continued on his rampage.
"Just look at this,
It's an insult!"
Gar lowered Steven's arm.
"Please understand…"
Victor spun back around to yell at the diva, who was now staring angrily out the window, annoyingly tapping her heel.
"Kiona! Kiona!"
She turned snobbishly to Victor at hearing his retaliation. She stomped over to them, leaning her weight on one leg, bending the other. She brought her hand to her chest and rolled her eyes.
"The things I have to do for my art!"
Steven rolled his eyes as well, and pointed to the menacing manuscript, still on the floor.
"If you can call that gibberish 'art'!"
A thought of complete and full reason swelled into Gar's mind. He ran up to the manuscript and picked it up gingerly. He gave Victor a look saying that they both knew well to treat this man's 'work' with respect, no matter how foul their mood was.
A short silence followed, with all staring at the manuscript held in Gar's hands. Suddenly the doors swooped quietly open, revealing Kori and Richard on the other side. They walked slowly toward the group, both with an expression none could define. But on Kori's face stood a tinge of embarrassment; she knew if she wasn't being discussed yet, she would be soon.
As if predicting the obvious future, Kiona tossed her head at the sight of her younger sister. She stared her sister down, malice dripping from every fiber in her being. She scoffed at Kori dryly, turning to the others.
"Ah! Here's our little flower!"
Gar seemed a little brighter after seeing Kori and Richard…then again, anything makes you brighter when you're dealing with two angry popular seniors and one frazzled jock. Gar smiled, relieved to find at least someone who wasn't mad. Besides, he knew the two and they all got along quite well otherwise. He noticed that Victor seemed to lighten up as well at the sight of the couple. His face softened, and he looked more at ease. Gar, on the other hand, walked up to them and greeted them warmly yet cautiously.
"Ah, Miss Anders,
Quite the lady of the hour!"
Victor, now much more recovered from his bad mood, walked over to them as well, addressing Kori also.
"You have secured
The largest role
In this 'Don Juan'".
As a crude interruption to their attempt to peace, Kiona only snuffed to 'herself', so that all could hear.
"Kori Anders?
She doesn't have the voice…!"
Victor spun around, fully fed up with the girl.
"Kiona, PLEASE!"
Richard approached Victor, a curious look on his face.
"Then I take it you're agreeing…"
Kiona ignored them both, murmuring loudly to Steven.
"She's behind this…"
Most heard, but none listened. A more important issue was at hand. Gar walked over to Victor and stood next to him, his own expression becoming exasperated.
"It appears we have no choice."
All of a sudden, Kiona burst out overpowering all of them, pointing an accusing finger at her sister.
"She's the one behind this!
Kori Anders!"
And for the first time that night, all heard Kori speak. Although meek and sweet on the outside, most had never seen her angry. Her returning outburst to her older sibling made the entire group jump, including Kiona. It took an extreme source to make this girl mad, but when she was off, she was just a stick of dynamite waiting to explode.
"How DARE you!"
Kiona fully recovered within a second and shot back.
"I'm not a fool!"
Kori stormed closer and closer to her sister, steam raising from the ground wherever she walked.
"You evil woman!
How DARE you!"
Kiona glared and moved her head slightly to the side, letting her envious rage fly from her tongue.
"You think I'm blind?"
Kori widened her eyes in frustration, but continued to yell.
"This isn't my fault!
I don't want any part in this plot!"
Gar swooped over to Kori and put a hand on her raised arm.
"Kori, of course…"
Victor scooted out of the group and got in front of Kori, so that he stood in between the feuding sisters.
"But WHY not?"
Steven looked utterly appalled at the thought of someone else playing his girlfriend's part. He popped his head out from behind Kiona's steaming head.
"What does she say?"
Victor ignored him, and proceeded to consult Kori. He spoke a bit calmer, with a tinge more of understanding.
"It's your decision…"
He paused for a moment, then burst out with tensions high.
"…but WHY not!"
Before Kori could answer, Kiona pointed at her again, with the obvious fires of jealousy burning her alive.
"She's backing out!"
Gar came on Kori's other side, sounding half reassuring and half demanding.
"You have a duty!"
Kori interrupted him before he could continue, her own face showing signs of fear and refusal.
"I cannot sing it,
Duty or not!"
She looked positively flustered; with the two most powerful thespians breathing down her neck to do what she knows would lead to her doom. She began to back away as the boys walked closer to persuade her further. Richard caught her shoulders from behind, nudging her to his side, with his arm protectively held around her. He looked into her nervous eyes, almost immediately calming them.
"Kori…Kori…
You don't have to…
They can't make you…"
At that very moment, everyone turned to their right to see Raven standing next to them all, a note in her pale hands. Not a soul had seen or heard her enter, and most took a second or so to comprehend how she had gotten there without being noticed.
Gar's eyes widened in happiness at the sight of the Goth as he struggled to keep his balance on absolutely nothing. He almost tripped on himself before he just decided to stay still and listen to what Raven had to say. He turned and gave Victor a nervous look and mouthed inaudibly "When did she get here?"
Victor just smiled evilly at Gar and was pondering whether he should push him at her or not. He innocently looked the other way and was about to shove him when Raven spoke to Richard.
"Please, Richard, another note."
As Raven held out the letter to read, everyone in the room let out a loud groan. Victor put his hands to his head, and Gar looked as if he were about to pull out his own hair. If some of them weren't both tired and exhausted from this ordeal, they definitely were now. Several of them make complains with other means of body language. After a few long seconds of, to be blunt, downright whining, Raven looked up from her note.
She stood poised, letter outstretched, prepared to read. She looked about her, as if waiting for them to shut up. They soon diverted their attention to her, all becoming tense and focused, waiting to hear. The room became so silent that when Raven spoke, her deadpanned monotone echoed ghastily off the halls as she read aloud slowly.
"Fondest greetings to you all!
A few instructions just before rehearsal starts."
Raven then looked over to face Kiona.
"Kiona must be taught to act,
Not her normal trick of strutting 'round the stage."
Kiona's large jaw suddenly dropped. A huge frown appeared on her features as she tried to find a way to retaliate, and failed. As she was about to yell out, Victor silenced her with a raise of his hand; they all knew that the Phantom was nowhere near fond of her or her voice. It was honestly all too obvious to them; they all wanted to hear what else was written. Raven continued.
"Our Don Juan must gain some weight,
It's not healthy in a boy of Steven's age."
Steven looked down at his stomach.
"I'm not that skinny!"
No one responded to this. Most of them just looked away, innocently refusing to say anything.
"HEY!"
"Just keep reading," Richard said, eager to change the subject. Raven obliged and went on.
"…And my managers must learn
That their place is in an office, not the arts."
"HEY!" both Gar and Victor yelled in unison.
"I SO know how to do the...arts," Gar stuttered as Raven looked at him for a split second. She read on, as if they had said nothing. But before she read the next line, she stood frozen for a moment, but read anyway, her voice a bit more shakily.
"As for Miss Kori Anders,"
All eyes landed on the vibrant redhead as her eyes went big. She clutched Richard's arm with such force that Richard himself had to suppress a yell of pain. Raven continued, but her voice got more nervous, and she stuttered with every couple of words that was being taken out of her mouth.
"…No doubt she'll do her best, it's true,
Her voice is good. She knows,
Though should she wish to excel
She has much still to learn.
If pride will let her return to me,
Her teacher…"
The only thing that the group could do was stand deathly still as Raven suddenly cut off her strain of speech. A cold chill swept through all of them, stinging every spine as Raven shakily uttered the last two words of the letter.
"Her teacher…"
Raven seemed to regain her composure in the awkward silence that followed, most staring at Kori. Gar and Victor had a look of utter shock on their faces. And in their teenage heads did they ponder the horrible mental pictures that would require the twisted relationship Kori and the Phantom had.
Victor shook slightly from his mental picture, but Gar simply whispered a "you go girl" in Kori's direction. At that comment Richard stepped in front of the girl defensively. Gar immediately got the picture and scooted away from her. All relations were lost with Raven's continuing voice.
"…Your Obedient Friend,"
There was a short pause.
"…and Angel."
OH MY GOODNESS! For the umpteenth time, everyone, I am super super HUMUNGOUSLY SORRY for taking this long to update! Please forgive me…