Hey folks. I'm really sorry I haven't written in a long while, but I've
been here and there (Ireland) and lost my muse some where in Ballyvaghn.
And I am currently trying to pass my college course. So please don't kill
me! I hope this chapter makes up for that 6-month span where I didn't
write. ;P
Title: The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn
Author: IrishRavenX
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Nope. Any of the ones you recognize, at least. Ya know...the ones people made money off of. Money = Something I don't have. Sigh. Wish I owned Ewan McGregor, however I don't.... (!!!! Gets an idea of what to ask Santa for!!!!)
~*~
Christian set his briefcase down on the wood desk as Ms. Sullivan, the music director of the school, walked about the room, explaining schedules and details he needed to know about his job.
"This room is connected to the auditorium, which I suspect you'll be using some of the time. But it's pretty dark in there, since the budget got cut back, and we have no spotlights and only a few overhead lights, so you might not want to teach all your classes in there. The piano in there hasn't been tuned in years, and no one but our resident ghosts play it.."
"Ghosts?" Christian asked dubiously.
"From time to time I hear someone playing the piano, and when I go in there, there's no one there. Any way, no one here can play the piano that well. In result, the students have attributed it to our ghosts,"
"Ah," Christian said with a slightly confused look on his face.
"Well anyway, I'll see if I can get someone down to tune the piano. Your performing arts students are the high school students, but you have music students as young as six or seven,"
Ms. Sullivan turned back to Christian and rubbed her hands together.
"Well, that's that, If you need anything, I'm at the end of the hall," Ms. Sullivan paused, giving him an odd look, "You look a bit young to be teaching, and to have all these references already. How old *are* you?"
Christian smiled inwardly. Everyone told him he had aged well.but it didn't feel that way.
"I'm nearly 30, Ms. Sullivan,"
"Oh,"
She hurried out the door, leaving Christian to survey the classroom he would be teaching in. It was the 2nd week of school, and the last teacher in his position had quit unexpectedly. Rumor had it that the students had pushed him over the edge. Christian hoped it wasn't true, for the sake of his own; already quite shaken sanity. He glanced at his watch and looked around the room again. It was 8:45. The students arrived in fifteen minutes. He walked back over to the desk and opened his briefcase. And so starts my first day of teaching. My God, what have I gotten myself into?
~*~
The bell rang, and Kait packed her books back into her bag and hurried towards her music class. It was one of her favorite classes of the day, even thought she had an idiot for a teacher. Mr. Thomas was most certainly the worst music teacher ever. She refused to do much of the work he gave her, because it was much below her level. Tasks such as, "Name the note", and "How many beats is a whole note worth?"
But the final straw was when he put her in a 4th grade level class. He said she was too young to work with the older children. She knew her voice wasn't very good.but she adored music! How could he do that to her?! That was the turning point. Kait had been in the 8th grade level of music, under Ms. Sullivan's direct request. So Kait had set off on a quest to drive poor Mr. Thomas insane. Yes..it was a bad, nasty and mean thing to do. But still, everyday, she hoped it had worked, and he had finally snapped. She only did small things...moving classroom items, giving incomprehensible answers. She even got the entire class to nod their heads when answering *no*, and to shake their heads when answering *yes*. No one expected that a little eight-year old could wreak so much havoc on a teacher....But alas, her grades were suffering from it all. And still, it was her favorite class. Torturing Mr. Thomas was a most pleasant pastime activity. Kait turned down a dimly lit hallway, towards the music wing. The music program was vastly under-funded, so they cut back on the 'unnecessary' items, such as electricity and light bulbs. Kait walked into the auditorium, where her class had been told to meet. She pushed open the heavy door, and entered the massive auditorium. There was only one person there, a man dressed in a woven, tan wool sweater and dark blue trousers. He was pacing around the stage, leafing through a leather-bound music notebook. He looked up when the heavy door closed, and noticed her standing there.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hello," Kait replied. She observed the man for a few minutes before speaking again, "Who are you?"
"I'm the new music teacher," he replied, "Christian James. And who would you be?"
"I would be Katherine James," Kait said, "But all my friends call me Kait."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Kait," Christian said cheerily, "It seems we have the same last name. I hope it won't get too confusing,"
"I doubt it," Kait said dryly, taking a seat in one of the padded chairs of the auditorium. *** Christian's smile didn't fade, but a confused expression did come over his face. This girl, who looked as if she was nine or ten, seemed to have the air of someone many years older. But that seemed only to be an illusion, or at the least a very good act.
"You're not going to be as mean as Mr. Thomas, are you?" Kait asked, breaking the silence.
"I didn't know Mr. Thomas, but it's my plan to be as civil and kind to my students as possible,"
"I like that plan," Kait replied energetically.
"Tell me, Kaitlynn, how old are you?"
"Eight. Almost nine," Kait said proudly, "But I skipped a grade. I'm in fifth now,"
"And why did Ms. Sullivan put you in the 4th grade level class for music?" asked Christian.
"She didn't," Kait muttered, "I was in the 7th grade level class, but Mr. Thomas said I didn't belong there because I was so young. But I'm pretty sure I can sing well. Ms. Sullivan says so,"
"Well we'll see about that," Christian said with a smile, breaking off the conversation as other students began to enter the room.
Kait observed the new teacher as more students entered the room. He was really nice, so she hoped he wouldn't become like Mr. Thomas. It would be a pity to have to drive him loony.
"Good Morning class," Christian said, sitting on the edge of the stage with his legs dangling off, "I'm Mr. James, your new music teacher,"
This seemed to get the attention of the fifteen or so students in the room.
"I've just moved here from a town near Paris, where I've published a few books, written and directed a few musicals; and lived for the past.almost ten years," Christian said this, keeping a smile on his face, but inside he felt the slight twinge of pain that came whenever he brought up his past, "So my expectations of you may be a bit higher than you're used to, but I think we'll be able to get along without any violence."
There was a collective laugh from the students, and one of the students raised his hand.
"How did you get stuck teaching here, Mr. James?" a boy asked amusedly.
"Stuck? I'm enjoying this job. But I do suppose it's early yet," Christian said with a smirk, "Getting back on subject.I don't know any of your voices or ranges, so this first class is going to be devoted to musical exercises that you will be singing up her on stage."
A collective groan went around the auditorium as the students heard this.
"I expect all of you to be professional and courteous about this, alright?"
There were some dim mutters of agreement.
"I can't hear you,"
"Yes, Mr. James,"
He called the first victim up on stage, and the rest of the class began to talk among themselves.
***
"Hey shorty,"
Kait glanced over her shoulder to see three older boys seated behind her.
"You still in this class? Why don't you go back to the sand box with the rest of your little friends?"
Kait didn't reply, only looked straight ahead, trying not to let them get to her, as they usually did.
"You never sing what Mr. Thomas gave you to read? Why is that? Can't you read music?"
"I can read fine," Kait said with a low growl, her eyes lit with anger, "I was just given degrading, monotonous children's songs to sing, such as 'Row, Row, Row your boat,'. Now can you see why I didn't want to sing?"
"Whatever you say, shorty,"
Kait turned back around with a sigh. Some people.
~*~
Christian smiled at young Willian Becker encouragingly, though in his ears, the young child's voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"Katherine James," Christian called, looking at the class roster. The young student got up, and walked up to the stage. He would now see about her singing voice, and was quite prepared to be disappointed. Children seemed to have a tendency to blow things way out of proportion, such as their abilities. But she didn't seem overly sure of her voice.
"Here you are," Christian said with a smile, handing Kait a piece of music.
Kait looked over the sheet before beginning. She hoped she would do well. Some times when she sang, it was like something different took over her body...she felt at home..like there was some one there protecting her...
"As the walls are closing in And the colors fade to black.. And my eyes are falling fast and deep into me.. And I follow the tracks that lead me down And I never follow what's right and they wonder sometimes when they see all The sadness and pain the truth brings to light.."
Christian stared at the young, raven-haired girl, blinking hard, trying to figure out if he was dreaming, or imagining, or *something* out of the normal was going on. He had just handed her a song he had written right after Satine's death, one that he believed would be mutilated horribly by this young girl. But this young girl-----Kait, her voice was beautiful. She could project, her voice didn't waver..it sounded so beautiful..
"Cause I can't see no reason... What is blind cannot see.. Cause I want what is pleasing, all I take should be free What I rob from the innocent ones, what I steal from the womb.. If I cried me a river of all my confessions Would I drown in my shallow regret."
"As the walls are closing in, and the colors fade to black. and my eyes are falling fast and deep into the sea. and in darkness all that I can see, the frightened and the weak are forced to cling to the mistakes they know nothing of at mercy are the weak."
"Cause I can't see no reason.what is blind cannot see.cause I want what is pleasing.all I take should be free.what I rob from the innocent ones.what I steal from the womb. If I cried me a river of all my confessions. would I drown in my shallow regret."
Kait finished the song, and looked to Christian for some sort of sign. He was currently staring at her with an eyebrow raised in curiosity, which made her worry that she had done badly. She had added some extra notes she thought would make it sound better, some grace notes and trills. "That was amazing, Miss James," Christian said finally, after having snapped out of his trance, "Could you please stay after class? I need to speak with you further," Kait nodded, and handed the paper back to him. She returned to her seat, a bit puzzled. She had probably done horribly. Ignoring the muffled laughter coming from behind her, Kait sat back and listened to the rest of the students.
~*~
The rest of the students performed their pieces, but none of them could compare to the young girl who had gone before. He found his mind drifting from the students, and glancing over at Kait, who was looking around the room, as if her eyes couldn't find an interesting place to focus. The young, dark-haired girl had the voice of an angel.the sort of voice he had only heard once before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~RING!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bell rang, and the class quickly dispersed, trying to get out of the dim auditorium as quickly as possible. Kait lingered back, watching Mr. James as he put papers back into his music notebook.
"You wanted to talk to me, Mr. James?" she asked.
"Yes, I did. Come over here," Christian said, motioning towards the stage.
Kait walked over, and Christian looked at her, thinking for a few moments before speaking.
"How old are you again?"
"I'm eight. I'll be nine next week,"
"Your voice is amazing," Christian said after a pause, "Would you be willing to stay here this period? I have some other material I want you to try to sing,"
Kait nodded, and Christian jumped back onto the stage and walked into the connected classroom.
"Just wait there," he said before disappearing. Kait glanced around the stage, and her eyes falling upon the violin case lying on top of the piano. She usually took the liberty of playing the piano when no one was around, but this; this was the chance at a new and interesting instrument.
She put down her books, and took the case down. She had played the violin a few times, and had the gist of it, but this would be a trial run.
Kait opened in carefully, and after looking at it for a few moments, she took it, but her chin on the chin rest, and began to play. Her first note was a terrible screech, and she shuddered. But after a few more tries, she got a surprisingly good sounding note. She picked up a piece of paper that was lying in Mr.
James's open music notebook, and placed it on a stand. The paper had lyrics, and Kait looked at them as she played. She could almost imagine people dancing about the stage as she played. It was a sad and angry piece of music, very powerful.
Something about a man being driven mad by jealousy. In the side space it said something about a tango going on during it, with various dance moves.
Kait got so into the music she didn't realize that Mr. James *still* hadn't come back after fifteen minutes. Placing the music and the violin back in their places, Kait picked up her notebooks and hurried out the door. She didn't want to be late to her English class if Mr. James wasn't coming back anytime soon. He would understand.
~*~
"And you know how some dancers can be," Ms. Sullivan laughed, "So I told the little girl that show business would be such a bloody awful business to get into. Wouldn't you agree?"
Christian smiled distantly and nodded, but inside he was about ready to tear the woman's throat out. She had been constantly flirting with him since he had gotten here, and was inadvertently bringing up topics he would much rather *not* talk about.
"Well, I must be going. I have a student waiting that I need to talk to," Christian said, desperately trying to get out of the conversation.
"Have a troublesome student already?"
"No, no. Not at all. She's actually an astoundingly good student for her age. For any age, actually,"
"Ah, Katherine James, perhaps?" Ms. Sullivan asked.
"Yes, that's her," Christian replied, "She seems unusually talented,"
"Yes, she is----"
Ms. Sullivan paused, listening.
"Do you hear that, Mr. James?"
Christian listened closely, and the sound of a violin began to filter into the room. A violin playing a very familiar song.
"Your famous ghost?" Christian asked with a laugh. But then his smile faded. The music was being played better than he had heard in a long while. It was the Tango the Argentinean had first sung as a suggestion for the new ending all those years ago, and this was the first time he had ever heard anyone play it so well since then. Christian rushed back towards the auditorium, but only to find it empty, with the violin back in the place he had left it.
The door across the auditorium slammed closed, and he sprinted over to it, and into the hallway, but the halls were empty. He returned to the dimly lit auditorium, but almost slipped on a notebook lying on the floor. He reached down and picked it up. He looked around the auditorium again, but there was no one. Without a second glance, he took it back into his office and tossed it onto his desk, and went back to the stage. The notebook slid to the floor as a gust of wind pushed it, falling open to a beautifully ordained page of a red windmill, lighted in the darkness of a large city, with a beautiful woman standing on top of it, her red hair highlighted by the lights..
Title: The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn
Author: IrishRavenX
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Nope. Any of the ones you recognize, at least. Ya know...the ones people made money off of. Money = Something I don't have. Sigh. Wish I owned Ewan McGregor, however I don't.... (!!!! Gets an idea of what to ask Santa for!!!!)
~*~
Christian set his briefcase down on the wood desk as Ms. Sullivan, the music director of the school, walked about the room, explaining schedules and details he needed to know about his job.
"This room is connected to the auditorium, which I suspect you'll be using some of the time. But it's pretty dark in there, since the budget got cut back, and we have no spotlights and only a few overhead lights, so you might not want to teach all your classes in there. The piano in there hasn't been tuned in years, and no one but our resident ghosts play it.."
"Ghosts?" Christian asked dubiously.
"From time to time I hear someone playing the piano, and when I go in there, there's no one there. Any way, no one here can play the piano that well. In result, the students have attributed it to our ghosts,"
"Ah," Christian said with a slightly confused look on his face.
"Well anyway, I'll see if I can get someone down to tune the piano. Your performing arts students are the high school students, but you have music students as young as six or seven,"
Ms. Sullivan turned back to Christian and rubbed her hands together.
"Well, that's that, If you need anything, I'm at the end of the hall," Ms. Sullivan paused, giving him an odd look, "You look a bit young to be teaching, and to have all these references already. How old *are* you?"
Christian smiled inwardly. Everyone told him he had aged well.but it didn't feel that way.
"I'm nearly 30, Ms. Sullivan,"
"Oh,"
She hurried out the door, leaving Christian to survey the classroom he would be teaching in. It was the 2nd week of school, and the last teacher in his position had quit unexpectedly. Rumor had it that the students had pushed him over the edge. Christian hoped it wasn't true, for the sake of his own; already quite shaken sanity. He glanced at his watch and looked around the room again. It was 8:45. The students arrived in fifteen minutes. He walked back over to the desk and opened his briefcase. And so starts my first day of teaching. My God, what have I gotten myself into?
~*~
The bell rang, and Kait packed her books back into her bag and hurried towards her music class. It was one of her favorite classes of the day, even thought she had an idiot for a teacher. Mr. Thomas was most certainly the worst music teacher ever. She refused to do much of the work he gave her, because it was much below her level. Tasks such as, "Name the note", and "How many beats is a whole note worth?"
But the final straw was when he put her in a 4th grade level class. He said she was too young to work with the older children. She knew her voice wasn't very good.but she adored music! How could he do that to her?! That was the turning point. Kait had been in the 8th grade level of music, under Ms. Sullivan's direct request. So Kait had set off on a quest to drive poor Mr. Thomas insane. Yes..it was a bad, nasty and mean thing to do. But still, everyday, she hoped it had worked, and he had finally snapped. She only did small things...moving classroom items, giving incomprehensible answers. She even got the entire class to nod their heads when answering *no*, and to shake their heads when answering *yes*. No one expected that a little eight-year old could wreak so much havoc on a teacher....But alas, her grades were suffering from it all. And still, it was her favorite class. Torturing Mr. Thomas was a most pleasant pastime activity. Kait turned down a dimly lit hallway, towards the music wing. The music program was vastly under-funded, so they cut back on the 'unnecessary' items, such as electricity and light bulbs. Kait walked into the auditorium, where her class had been told to meet. She pushed open the heavy door, and entered the massive auditorium. There was only one person there, a man dressed in a woven, tan wool sweater and dark blue trousers. He was pacing around the stage, leafing through a leather-bound music notebook. He looked up when the heavy door closed, and noticed her standing there.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Hello," Kait replied. She observed the man for a few minutes before speaking again, "Who are you?"
"I'm the new music teacher," he replied, "Christian James. And who would you be?"
"I would be Katherine James," Kait said, "But all my friends call me Kait."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Kait," Christian said cheerily, "It seems we have the same last name. I hope it won't get too confusing,"
"I doubt it," Kait said dryly, taking a seat in one of the padded chairs of the auditorium. *** Christian's smile didn't fade, but a confused expression did come over his face. This girl, who looked as if she was nine or ten, seemed to have the air of someone many years older. But that seemed only to be an illusion, or at the least a very good act.
"You're not going to be as mean as Mr. Thomas, are you?" Kait asked, breaking the silence.
"I didn't know Mr. Thomas, but it's my plan to be as civil and kind to my students as possible,"
"I like that plan," Kait replied energetically.
"Tell me, Kaitlynn, how old are you?"
"Eight. Almost nine," Kait said proudly, "But I skipped a grade. I'm in fifth now,"
"And why did Ms. Sullivan put you in the 4th grade level class for music?" asked Christian.
"She didn't," Kait muttered, "I was in the 7th grade level class, but Mr. Thomas said I didn't belong there because I was so young. But I'm pretty sure I can sing well. Ms. Sullivan says so,"
"Well we'll see about that," Christian said with a smile, breaking off the conversation as other students began to enter the room.
Kait observed the new teacher as more students entered the room. He was really nice, so she hoped he wouldn't become like Mr. Thomas. It would be a pity to have to drive him loony.
"Good Morning class," Christian said, sitting on the edge of the stage with his legs dangling off, "I'm Mr. James, your new music teacher,"
This seemed to get the attention of the fifteen or so students in the room.
"I've just moved here from a town near Paris, where I've published a few books, written and directed a few musicals; and lived for the past.almost ten years," Christian said this, keeping a smile on his face, but inside he felt the slight twinge of pain that came whenever he brought up his past, "So my expectations of you may be a bit higher than you're used to, but I think we'll be able to get along without any violence."
There was a collective laugh from the students, and one of the students raised his hand.
"How did you get stuck teaching here, Mr. James?" a boy asked amusedly.
"Stuck? I'm enjoying this job. But I do suppose it's early yet," Christian said with a smirk, "Getting back on subject.I don't know any of your voices or ranges, so this first class is going to be devoted to musical exercises that you will be singing up her on stage."
A collective groan went around the auditorium as the students heard this.
"I expect all of you to be professional and courteous about this, alright?"
There were some dim mutters of agreement.
"I can't hear you,"
"Yes, Mr. James,"
He called the first victim up on stage, and the rest of the class began to talk among themselves.
***
"Hey shorty,"
Kait glanced over her shoulder to see three older boys seated behind her.
"You still in this class? Why don't you go back to the sand box with the rest of your little friends?"
Kait didn't reply, only looked straight ahead, trying not to let them get to her, as they usually did.
"You never sing what Mr. Thomas gave you to read? Why is that? Can't you read music?"
"I can read fine," Kait said with a low growl, her eyes lit with anger, "I was just given degrading, monotonous children's songs to sing, such as 'Row, Row, Row your boat,'. Now can you see why I didn't want to sing?"
"Whatever you say, shorty,"
Kait turned back around with a sigh. Some people.
~*~
Christian smiled at young Willian Becker encouragingly, though in his ears, the young child's voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"Katherine James," Christian called, looking at the class roster. The young student got up, and walked up to the stage. He would now see about her singing voice, and was quite prepared to be disappointed. Children seemed to have a tendency to blow things way out of proportion, such as their abilities. But she didn't seem overly sure of her voice.
"Here you are," Christian said with a smile, handing Kait a piece of music.
Kait looked over the sheet before beginning. She hoped she would do well. Some times when she sang, it was like something different took over her body...she felt at home..like there was some one there protecting her...
"As the walls are closing in And the colors fade to black.. And my eyes are falling fast and deep into me.. And I follow the tracks that lead me down And I never follow what's right and they wonder sometimes when they see all The sadness and pain the truth brings to light.."
Christian stared at the young, raven-haired girl, blinking hard, trying to figure out if he was dreaming, or imagining, or *something* out of the normal was going on. He had just handed her a song he had written right after Satine's death, one that he believed would be mutilated horribly by this young girl. But this young girl-----Kait, her voice was beautiful. She could project, her voice didn't waver..it sounded so beautiful..
"Cause I can't see no reason... What is blind cannot see.. Cause I want what is pleasing, all I take should be free What I rob from the innocent ones, what I steal from the womb.. If I cried me a river of all my confessions Would I drown in my shallow regret."
"As the walls are closing in, and the colors fade to black. and my eyes are falling fast and deep into the sea. and in darkness all that I can see, the frightened and the weak are forced to cling to the mistakes they know nothing of at mercy are the weak."
"Cause I can't see no reason.what is blind cannot see.cause I want what is pleasing.all I take should be free.what I rob from the innocent ones.what I steal from the womb. If I cried me a river of all my confessions. would I drown in my shallow regret."
Kait finished the song, and looked to Christian for some sort of sign. He was currently staring at her with an eyebrow raised in curiosity, which made her worry that she had done badly. She had added some extra notes she thought would make it sound better, some grace notes and trills. "That was amazing, Miss James," Christian said finally, after having snapped out of his trance, "Could you please stay after class? I need to speak with you further," Kait nodded, and handed the paper back to him. She returned to her seat, a bit puzzled. She had probably done horribly. Ignoring the muffled laughter coming from behind her, Kait sat back and listened to the rest of the students.
~*~
The rest of the students performed their pieces, but none of them could compare to the young girl who had gone before. He found his mind drifting from the students, and glancing over at Kait, who was looking around the room, as if her eyes couldn't find an interesting place to focus. The young, dark-haired girl had the voice of an angel.the sort of voice he had only heard once before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~RING!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bell rang, and the class quickly dispersed, trying to get out of the dim auditorium as quickly as possible. Kait lingered back, watching Mr. James as he put papers back into his music notebook.
"You wanted to talk to me, Mr. James?" she asked.
"Yes, I did. Come over here," Christian said, motioning towards the stage.
Kait walked over, and Christian looked at her, thinking for a few moments before speaking.
"How old are you again?"
"I'm eight. I'll be nine next week,"
"Your voice is amazing," Christian said after a pause, "Would you be willing to stay here this period? I have some other material I want you to try to sing,"
Kait nodded, and Christian jumped back onto the stage and walked into the connected classroom.
"Just wait there," he said before disappearing. Kait glanced around the stage, and her eyes falling upon the violin case lying on top of the piano. She usually took the liberty of playing the piano when no one was around, but this; this was the chance at a new and interesting instrument.
She put down her books, and took the case down. She had played the violin a few times, and had the gist of it, but this would be a trial run.
Kait opened in carefully, and after looking at it for a few moments, she took it, but her chin on the chin rest, and began to play. Her first note was a terrible screech, and she shuddered. But after a few more tries, she got a surprisingly good sounding note. She picked up a piece of paper that was lying in Mr.
James's open music notebook, and placed it on a stand. The paper had lyrics, and Kait looked at them as she played. She could almost imagine people dancing about the stage as she played. It was a sad and angry piece of music, very powerful.
Something about a man being driven mad by jealousy. In the side space it said something about a tango going on during it, with various dance moves.
Kait got so into the music she didn't realize that Mr. James *still* hadn't come back after fifteen minutes. Placing the music and the violin back in their places, Kait picked up her notebooks and hurried out the door. She didn't want to be late to her English class if Mr. James wasn't coming back anytime soon. He would understand.
~*~
"And you know how some dancers can be," Ms. Sullivan laughed, "So I told the little girl that show business would be such a bloody awful business to get into. Wouldn't you agree?"
Christian smiled distantly and nodded, but inside he was about ready to tear the woman's throat out. She had been constantly flirting with him since he had gotten here, and was inadvertently bringing up topics he would much rather *not* talk about.
"Well, I must be going. I have a student waiting that I need to talk to," Christian said, desperately trying to get out of the conversation.
"Have a troublesome student already?"
"No, no. Not at all. She's actually an astoundingly good student for her age. For any age, actually,"
"Ah, Katherine James, perhaps?" Ms. Sullivan asked.
"Yes, that's her," Christian replied, "She seems unusually talented,"
"Yes, she is----"
Ms. Sullivan paused, listening.
"Do you hear that, Mr. James?"
Christian listened closely, and the sound of a violin began to filter into the room. A violin playing a very familiar song.
"Your famous ghost?" Christian asked with a laugh. But then his smile faded. The music was being played better than he had heard in a long while. It was the Tango the Argentinean had first sung as a suggestion for the new ending all those years ago, and this was the first time he had ever heard anyone play it so well since then. Christian rushed back towards the auditorium, but only to find it empty, with the violin back in the place he had left it.
The door across the auditorium slammed closed, and he sprinted over to it, and into the hallway, but the halls were empty. He returned to the dimly lit auditorium, but almost slipped on a notebook lying on the floor. He reached down and picked it up. He looked around the auditorium again, but there was no one. Without a second glance, he took it back into his office and tossed it onto his desk, and went back to the stage. The notebook slid to the floor as a gust of wind pushed it, falling open to a beautifully ordained page of a red windmill, lighted in the darkness of a large city, with a beautiful woman standing on top of it, her red hair highlighted by the lights..
