Chapter 10: A Good Year?

The last of summer slipped too quickly from Christine's grasp. She'd run into Erik a few times while running errands around town, but they didn't give each other the smallest signs of recognition. Actually, the first time he'd nodded in her general direction, but Christine took no notice and passed him with her head held high, which Erik took as a warning, and he didn't make the impertinent gesture again.

When she wasn't avoiding Erik in the shops, Christine spent her spare time recovering from summer camp, and she had none left for fun before the school year was upon her. Though Christine was loath to admit it, she was nervous. Last year, she'd only been a long term substitute while everyone waited in hope for her father to recover from his terminal illness. Not only would this be Christine's first year as the official music teacher, but she'd be doing it entirely alone. Even though her father had been sick, he had listened patiently to Christine while she vented the frustrations of her day, and she soaked up every bit of wisdom he had from thirty-odd years on the job. Christine was not looking forward to returning to an empty house after a long day without anyone who could understand her exhaustion.

Christine tried to look on the bright side, however, just as she always did. There were things she enjoyed about her new job. Some of the children were annoying, but others were pleasant, and her heart swelled with pride when she taught a child who loved music as much as she and her father both did. It was a blessing to share her passion with the next generation of future musicians.

On the first day of school, Christine put on one of her colorful sundresses in an attempt to squeeze out the last dregs of summer. She took a deep breath before stepping out of her car and entering the elementary school. None of the children had arrived yet, but she greeted the teachers she passed in the hallways. At first, calling other teachers by their first names was weird. They'd been her father's colleagues, and a few of the older ones had even been there since Christine's days as an elementary schooler. The novelty had largely worn off, but Christine was still uncomfortable when she called her third grade teacher "Liz".

Christine wandered through hallways she'd thought she'd seen the last of until she reached the music classrooms. One classroom was set up with rows of chairs and music stands for band and orchestra rehearsals. The other was set up with risers and a piano for choir class, though Christine also taught the regular music classes in this room as well. The two rooms were connected by her father's-no, her office. She wasn't used to thinking of the small office as hers. It was still filled with her father's old things, and she hadn't cleared it out because why would she buy new desk supplies when there was a fully stocked desk right here? On one side of the wall, her father's portrait smiled down at her from its spot beside the few other long term music teachers at the elementary school. Maybe someday she'd be up on that wall too. Perhaps she would have a child who took over after her, and then it would be a Daae dynasty of elementary school music teachers.

The chatter of tiny voices in the next room alerted Christine that before-school orchestra rehearsal was scheduled to begin in only a few minutes. She walked into the classroom and greeted the children as they unpacked miniature violins, cellos, and violas from their black cases. The sword fighting with bows was bound to happen any minute now.

"Hi, Miss Daae! Did you have a good summer?" they asked cheerfully. She returned their greeting with equal enthusiasm. Some of them she hadn't seen since the end of last year, but there were a few children she'd seen in camp a few weeks prior.

A warm feeling crept into Christine's chest as she stood in front of the room, staring out onto a sea of eager, attentive faces. Last year this had all been her father's, but this year, it was her office, her classroom, her job. She had picked the repertoire for the concerts. She was going to spend countless hours with the children to perfect the music. For the first time, Christine felt a surging sense of pride, rather than terror, at the thought of conducting an ensemble. The ensemble was small, but with her help, they could become mighty. It was going to be a good year.

"So much for a good year…" Christine grumbled as she returned to her office to grab her lunch before trudging to the teacher's lounge to eat.

On the whole, her students were a good bunch of kids, but as Miss Daae had quickly learned on the job, all it took were a few instigators and pandemonium ensued. The string of bad luck had started in orchestra practice, before the school day had even officially begun. Luke Sorelli wouldn't stop talking, which of course, was a cue to the other children to begin chattering as well.

"Everyone quiet down please," Christine said in her sweet teacher voice. "Please stop talking. We can't rehearse if people are talking!"

The room descended into chaos.

Joey Buquet kept smacking the girl in front of him with his viola bow, which prompted the inevitable sword fights that Christine had been lucky to escape when everyone was unpacking and setting up. Little Lotte shrieked when a row of music stands tipped over, spewing sheet music across the floor. Some of the more good hearted kids attempted to pick it up, but all the pages were out of order and Christine was going to be asked for help in fixing the mess. The room was filled with giggles and screams and chatter.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" someone shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Who said that?" Christine scolded.. "We don't say that here!"

"But that's what Erik does!"

The baton in Christine's hand snapped along with her patience. Half the room questioned who Erik was, and the other half gave detailed explanations of the masked man from summer camp.

"You're lying!"

"No I swear it's the truth! Ask anyone who went to camp!"

"I want to meet Erik!"

"I'm going to take violin lessons with him too!" someone boasted.

"That's enough! Everyone sit down!" Christine shouted.

The mention of Erik was too much. She thought she'd heard the last of him! But of course she hadn't, because the children loved him. They blindly did whatever Erik said while she struggled to keep basic classroom control. Now that Christine had learned the masked man was teaching music lessons in town, she knew there were going to be many Erik stories in her future.

The school bell rang and the children rushed to collect their music and put away their instruments so they could make it to homeroom in time for daily attendance. Christine was left alone to straighten up the chairs and music stands, bending down every few feet to pick up a forgotten piece of sheet music. So much for her "good year."

Hello, and thank you again for all your support of this story! Since I've been trying to update regularly, I wanted to give a heads up that this story will be going on a brief hiatus. This last chapter was a bit of a transition chapter, but I promise there is more fun in store! In fact we're heading into my favorite territory...

In the meantime, I have some shorter Modern AUs I finished awhile back and planned to upload someday, so I might resurrect one of those from the depths of my computer. If you're interested, please feel free to turn on author updates!

Until we meet again, take care! :D