Hello! Apologies that this update took longer than the others, but I am back. Hope you are all well, and thank you for all your support of my story! :)
Chapter 9: An Uncanny Coincidence
The last day of summer camp arrived much sooner than everyone would've liked. On the evening of the performance, Mr. Richard took to the stage with a microphone in hand to introduce the show. The microphone emitted a piercing squeal, and the audience hissed and covered their ears as Christine rushed onstage to help the technically challenged old man.
"Thanks, Christine," Mr. Richard said with a chuckle.
After his brief introduction, he surrendered the microphone to Christine once more. From the wings, Erik watched her speak effortlessly to the audience. He'd refused to speak; Erik evidently had a dreadful case of stage fright himself, but, according to Christine, she'd done most of the work anyway, so she deserved the small honor of introducing the show.
"Welcome, everyone," Christine announced. "Thank you for coming to our performance of our original play The Scorpion and the Grasshopper."
The title wasn't the most creative, but it was better than the ones Erik had come up with. She'd sent him off with his stage crew to title the show, and he'd returned with a list chock-full of innuendos that went straight over the kids' little heads. She couldn't trust him to do anything properly.
"Erik and I are so proud of all the kids' hard work," Christine continued, "so, without any further ado, let the show begin!"
As the theater lights dimmed, Christine shut off the microphone and hurried past Erik lurking in the wings. While he managed the stage crew he'd insisted on starting, Christine stayed in the dressing rooms, keeping the children quiet and helping them into their costumes of scorpions, grasshoppers, and other critters, so they'd be ready to go on stage when it was their time to shine.
There were a few botched lines and other small hiccups along the way: a set tipped over as the children rushed off stage, and one of the lead's costumes was already falling apart, but much to Christine's relief, the performance ran smoothly enough given the circumstances.
Afterwards, there was a party in the lobby of the theater, nothing fancy, but it was an enjoyable affair to celebrate the culmination of weeks of hard work. Each of the families volunteered to bring a dish or baked good to share, and there was plenty of food for everyone. The children made a beeline for the cooler filled with juice boxes and the table stocked with treats, as if they needed any more sugar. Christine made idle chit-chat with parents while Erik stayed as far from the center of the action as possible. He took a seat on a bench in the farthest corner of the room, a plate of food in hand. Children eagerly tugged their parents to meet him, and the parents were dumbfounded at being so close to the mysterious masked man who'd moved into the local haunted house.
"Hi, Christine!" said an excited Mrs. Valerius as she wrapped her favorite neighbor in a one-armed hug. Her other hand was carrying a plate of kanelbullar, and Christine's mouth was already watering.
"Mrs. Valerius! I'm so glad you came! Did you enjoy the show?"
"Oh, yes. Very much. I'm sure you put in a great deal of work, Christine!" Mrs. Valerius had heard weeks' worth of complaints from her young friend during their teas.
"Yes. A great deal."
Mrs. Valerius didn't respond; she was distracted by a tall figure across the room.
"Is that Erik?" she asked in a dramatic whisper.
"Yes, that's him," Christine replied politely. No, Mrs. Valerius, a second masked man showed up when you weren't looking.
"Hmph," Mrs. Valerius sniffed. The old woman scowled at Erik and walked over to the table of baked goods to set down her plate of kanelbullar as far away from Erik as possible. Christine followed her, hoping to snag a few of the treats before another audience member cornered her, but a familiar face beat her to it.
"Hi, Christine!"
Through a mouthful of kanelbulle, Christine smiled and waved at Mrs. de Chagny, the mother of her childhood best friend, Raoul. The kindly woman wrapped Christine in a maternal hug. Mrs. de Chagny had four children, but she had room in her heart for everyone, especially for the best friends of her kids.
"Hi, Mrs. de Chagny!" Christine exclaimed after she'd swallowed her bite kanelbulle.
"Wonderful job with the play, Christine. It was absolutely adorable!" Mrs. de Chagny gushed. If it had been anyone else, Christine would have doubted the sincerity of the compliment, but Mrs. de Chagny was not one for false flattery. Every word from her mouth exuded honesty.
"Thank you very much! It's so nice of you to come tonight!"
"Of course! How have you been doing lately?" Mrs. de Chagny asked. She knew Christine hadn't been herself since her father's passing a few months prior.
"I'm doing better." Christine sighed. "Thank you."
The two women made pleasant small talk with each other, and Raoul's father came over and joined the conversation briefly before the couple excused themselves to head home.
"See you later, Christine!" said Mrs. de Changy.
"Bye, Mrs. de Chagny! Say hi to Raoul for me!" Christine called as they waved goodbye to each other.
Christine jumped when Erik tapped her on the shoulder. Why did he gain such enjoyment from startling her?
"Sorry...but did you say de Chagny?" Erik asked.
"Yeah...why?"
"Because I've heard the name before…"
"Oh, yeah they're a pretty big family around here," Christine explained. "You know, been here for generations, live in that big old house on the edge of town. Maybe you saw their name on a sign somewhere?"
"No," said Erik firmly. "I knew a de Chagny once-Well, not knew him personally, just knew of him." The look on Erik's face and the tone of his voice indicated the acquaintance of a de Chagny brought Erik great displeasure.
"Really? Was it Raoul de Chagny by any chance? He's a close friend of mine," Christine inquired with a feigned curiosity. It was unlikely, but Raoul was currently living in the city of Persepolis. Maybe Erik crossed paths with him at some point?
"Actually, yeah...I think it was…" Erik furrowed his brow, deep in thought. "Did he go to Persepolis University by any chance?"
"Yeah! He and I both went there. So! The three of us went to college together. It's a small world isn't it?" Christine smiled, hoping this odd coincidence could begin a reconciliation between them, but Erik wasn't interested.
"Yeah. Too small."
He stormed off, and Christine rolled her eyes when he muttered something about "this stupid little town." Why did she bother being nice to Erik? He must be absolutely miserable if he hated a sweetheart like Raoul de Chagny. How could Erik hate any member in the de Chagny family? They were from old noble stock, but they were some of the kindest people one could ever hope to meet. The de Chagny Erik knew couldn't be any relation to the Gothenburg de Chagnys.
Finally alone, Christine was about to reach for another one of Mrs. Valerius' kanelbulle, but her peace was cut short when she was accosted by Luke Sorelli and his mother. Christine hoped she could make an escape by pretending not to see them, but she was not so lucky tonight.
"Miss Daae!" Luke shouted as he broke free from his mother's grasp and ran to his music teacher.
His mother followed shortly behind. These were the last two people Christine wanted to speak to at the moment, but thankfully the two Sorellis could speak for three, and probably even more if they were put to the task.
While in the middle of being talked to death by Luke, Christine glanced up. Erik was staring at her. They made eye contact before the masked man turned away and silently sulked across the lobby and out of the theater. He'd had enough of being trapped in the crowded room, surrounded by the deafening noise and stares of parents, but Christine was outraged by his behavior. The room was filled with children and their parents, and Erik had left her alone to fend for herself. Thank goodness the camp was over and she was no longer obligated to spend time with that man, because Christine was fed up with Erik.
Of course, I couldn't forget about our boy Raoul. He'll be making an appearance soon enough ;)