Serendipity
Jester: Yeah, yeah, so we don't own it! Okay, get it through your head, we don't! And this disclaimer applies throughout the whole story and upcoming chapters.
~~Begin Chapter~~
Anna and Nny walked along the sidewalk quickly, determined to find Christian before French class. They entered the Fine Arts Building (NOTE: Eh, we don't really know how the campus of College of North East London is like, so I [Jester] am making it like my El Dorado campus, as far as buildings are anyway.) in hopes of meeting Christian at the door. Anna stood there look for Christian, not looking in the room, Nny looked in and saw someone, a dark haired figure, dressed in a…suit…
"Hey Anna," Nny asked tapping Anna's shoulder. Anna turned. Nny pointed to him, "Who's that? He's wearing a suit!"
"Oh! That's Christian, I should've known he'd be to French half an hour early!" Anna said. Opening the door, she said to Nny, "French is his favorite class, next to English, of course. I remember him telling me how he spoke French, and he really did! He really loves France."
"Ah," Nny said walking in behind Anna. The man turned, he looked at the two new classmates of his.
"Hello," Christian said standing up. "My name's Christian James."
"H-hi, I'm…" Nny trailed off. She was amazed at how amazingly WOWZA [A/N: This is Christian we're talking about. Are words other than "WOWZA" needed? *winks*] this guy was. "I'm Nny."
"Nice to meet you," Christian said. Nny grinned then shook his hand.
"You probably don't remember me," Anna said. She whispered to Nny, "I wouldn't blame him, but I hope he puts on an 'I'm sorry!' face…"
"Yeah," Nny whispered back. Christian couldn't hear them, but he looked Anna over, digging up any memories he could.
"I'm from your Creative Writing class, high school, just one year, remember?" Anna said. "I sat right next to you, we talked quite a bit… well…" she giggled. "I did most of the talking anyway."
Christian started look a little guilty for not remembering.
"Anna," Anna said. "My name's Anna, remember now?"
Christian's eyes lit up, now he remembered! He shook her hand, "Oh yes! I remember now! Hey, how goes it? Geeze, sorry I couldn't remember, I have a bad memory! How are you? It's been a while!"
He hugged her. Nny's jaw dropped and she had that look that said, 'Hey! Why don't I get a hug??' Anna smiled a smile that said, 'This is better than the puppy dog apology face!'
Christian let go of her. Anna pouted a split second then said, "It's alright, I really don't mind. It's been going well with me, and how have you been?"
"I've been doing okay," Christian said. "I kinda miss Liverpool though."
"Ah, yeah, homesickness can be heart-wrenching, leaving the place you were born," Nny said.
"Oh, no," Christian said. "I was born in London, I lived here for up to my Ninth Year, then I went to Liverpool. I really liked it there, but I decided to come back to London since it had better college choices, better for my writing, y'know?"
"Ah okay," Nny said. "I originally wanted to go back to America to go to college but someone kept from doing so!" Nny looked at Anna. She just looked around all innocent like.
"What? Who, me?" Anna said innocently. Christian laughed.
"Yeah, I definitely remember you," Christian said.
"Who could forget her?" Nny asked.
~~Elsewhere~~
Toulouse walked along the campus, sitting outside the Humanities Building; he was twenty minutes early for French Class. So he decided to sit outside, where most inspiration came to him, and draw. He put his charcoal pencil to his sketchbook and immediately just started to make lines, smooth lines, round here, sharp there, light here, dark there. Soon enough, in just a few minutes, Toulouse had sketched out a man tapping his foot, as he stood on a dance floor, dressed in early twentieth century clothing, or later nineteenth, and wearing a top hat as he readied to dance, without a partner. But a band could be seen playing below the stage, the conductor was obviously Satie.
"My, my, as great of an artist as ever, Toulouse, you still have the great talent, and- ah, even improved," Satine said walking up behind him. Toulouse jumped, dropping his sketchbook and turned around.
"Satine! Oh, my Sparkling Diamond Modeler! How are you, m'dear? It's been so long since I last saw you!" Toulouse said hugging her as she hugged back.
"Hello, Toulouse!" Satine said happily. "I've been doing just fine. How have you been? I know it's been forever!"
"I'm good, I'm good," Toulouse said picking up his pencil and sketchbook.
"Oh sorry, about that," Satine said, picking up a few stray papers. She ordered them and handed them to him. "What do you have now?"
"I have French in ten minutes," Toulouse said.
"Oh so do I!" Satine said. "Monsieur Zidler?"
"Oui!" Toulouse said. He offered his arm to her, even though he was shorter; he was a gentleman still. "Allow me to walk you to your class Mademoiselle?"
"Oh, Oui, Monsieur! Merci!" Satine giggled as she held loosely to Toulouse's arm and they walked to French.
Satine walked into the classroom no longer holding Toulouse's arm, but Toulouse was holding the door open for her. She noticed Anna and Nny sitting near the wall talking to a fine, handsome dark haired, blue eyed man. She called to them, "There you two are! Leaving your flatmate all alone in the morning, can you get no crueler?"
"What?" Nny said shrugging. "It's not our fault you wouldn't wake up!"
Anna laughed. Nny jumped down from the second table on the second step of tables that descended to the level ground where the professor taught.
"We're sorry, good Saint Satine, please forgive us?" Nny said.
"Forgiven," Satine played along. Nny laughed.
"Oh, Satine, meet our friend, Christian James," Anna said pointing to Christian who had not taken his eyes off of Satine since she entered the room. Now Christian averted his eyes. Nny looked at Anna- they grinned.
This was going to be fun.
"Hi," Satine said, a little less enthusiastically.
"Hi," Christian muttered.
"Shake hands!" Nny said. Satine and Christian reluctantly shook hands with Satine.
So this is the famous Christian James, Satine thought as Christian held her hand delicately. Okay, he may be an aggravatingly naïve and ignorant prep, but he's damn cute! Satine looked over her acquaintance's face. And charming, and handsome, and sweet, and… oh, those eyes… those beautiful gray eyes… and, what soft, tender hands…NO! Her eyes widened. Not falling in love, not falling in love…She narrowed her eyes at him, concentrating on the fact that they were, indeed, in a classroom, and choice of apparel was, indeed, a suit.
Dork.
That's better.
Such soft, kind hands, like a virgin, caring and light, Chrisian thought. His poetic soul had just re-awoken. He wanted to just burst into song, and over a handshake nonetheless! Christian very quickly pushed it back though, and retracted his hand before he lost control, as did Satine.
"Oh, look, Narky, we're not the early birds after all!" Satie's quiet voice floated in the room. Everyone turned to see Satie and Narky standing just in front of the door. "Hello all."
"Hey, Satie!" Nny said greeting him. "Hey, Narky!"
"Hola," Narky said.
"You should say, 'Bonjour'," Satine said, "This is French class after all."
"He can say whatever he wants," Christian snapped. Satine looked at him.
"I was just saying!" Satine said.
"Well don't," Christian snapped back.
"Ugh," Satine said taking a seat. "Will you stop being so picky?"
"Why don't you?"
"I was just saying that because this is French class! And I do know the teacher, I had him in High School too, he doesn't like it when people speak Spanish in his French class!" Satine said. "And it was just a joke!"
Christian sat down, six chairs from her, "Fine! Sorry!"
"Ugh!" Satine said and didn't bother talking to him anymore. They were completely right! Nothing good from that mouth! Some overly sensitive sap! Satine thought angrily to herself.
Just an uptight, high class bitch, just like they said! I can't believe my friends actually accept her! Christian thought angrily to himself. He stole a glance at Satine, But she's so beautiful…No! Don't think like that! That LAST person you'll ever fall in love with is her! No way! Put it away!
Nny sat down in the middle of the five empty seats between the two. She loved to get in the middle of things, as did Anna.
And it was time to play Matchmaker.
Satie took the seat next to Satine, Toulouse was next to him, then Nny, then Narky and then Anna. They sat in the first row, something that Nny and Anna usually never did.
Their professor entered the room, and little by little the babble of nervous students began to die down as they watched this rather large, flaming redhead of a man cross the room. And what was that he was wearing? Was that lipstick?
"Hello, class, my name is Monsieur Zidler. Say it with me now, Monsieur Zziiddd-lleerr." He wrote it on the blackboard, the chalk squeaking ear-splittingly loud.
Anna and Nny shared a look. This guy was weird.
"Yes, now," Monsieur 'Zziiddd-lleerr" continued, "as you all know or should know, this is your French class, where we will be studying not only the beautiful language known as French, but also much about the fascinating culture behind it. Yes, that does mean a field trip to Paris."
The class erupted into cheers. Monsieur Zidler chuckled.
"Yes, yes, should be fun. Now, onto more serious topics. Has anyone heard of the Moulin Rouge?"
Anna and Nny squealed, knocking over their chairs as they jumped up, cries of "OOOH! OOOH! OOOH! OOH!" escaping their lips. They liked the Moulin Rouge.
Correction.
They loved the Moulin Rouge.
"Yes, ah… you two. Give it a shot," Monsieur Zidler said, looking a little nervous as he watched the over-enthused and very hyper girls continue their little groupies-at-a-concert moment. How touching.
"THE MOULIN ROUGE IS A NIGHTCLUB IN PARIS!" They both shouted simultaneously.
"Ah… um… one at a time, please, girls…" Monsieur Zidler said, growing even more uneasy. He took a step back.
"It was opened in 1889-"
"And was a brothel and a nightclub-"
"Home to the famous French can-can-"
"With whores and can-can dancers-"
"Who seduced the rich and powerful men-"
"AS THEY DANCED THE NIGHT AWAY!" they finished with insane grins on their faces. Nny and Anna had a talent of finishing each others' sentences. To this, they linked arms and began to dosi-do-and-swing-your-partner-round-and-round around the room as they sang.
"TO THE BEAT OF THE RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT, DANCE UNTIL THE MORNING LIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!!"
Soon, collapsing into fits of hysterical giggles, the two girls found their way back to their seats, dissolved in their laughter to the amusement of all. It was really quite funny.
Anna and Nny adored the spotlight, can't you tell?
Monsieur Zidler cleared his throat, a smile smile on his face as well. "Well, as you have heard from these, ah, lovely girls… what are your names?"
"Nny!"
"Anna!"
"Yes, as you have heard from Nny and Anna, the Moulin Rouge was a nightclub, brothel, dancehall, bordello, however you like, in 19th century Paris, also known as- does anyone know?" Christian raised his hand.
"The Belle Epoque," he answered proudly.
Know-it-all, Satine thought.
"Very good, my boy, very good," Zidler said. "And during the Belle Epoque, the penniless writers, artists, musicians, actors, dancers, and what have you traveled to Paris to join the- does anyone know?" Satine raised her hand.
"The Bohemian Revolution," she answered proudly.
Showoff, Christian thought.
"Yes, yes, excellent. The bohemians were the classic starving artists, a very beautiful lifestyle that inspired many a story, many a poem, many a play, many a movie, many an opera…" the man sniffed tearfully. "It was all so inspirational!" he proclaimed dramatically, dabbing delicately at his eyes with a pink handkerchief he had produced from his coat pocket. Nny stifled a giggle as Anna covered her mouth. French was even more fun than either could have imagined!
Meanwhile, Satine was studying her hands absently. Yes, that would have been Christian. A hopelessly naïve penniless poet, with no money and no life. Stupid, sappy, cliché writers… they're really ones to turn a girl off! What a classic, ignorant bohemian he would have been.
Christian was, in the meantime, staring blankly off into space. Yes, that would have been Satine. The star of the Moulin Rouge, a rich, spoiled whore, surrounded by diamonds and a cold, loveless life. What a classic, black-hearted whore she would have been!
Now, as authors of this lovely AU fic, keep in mind that we are the rulers of the fanfic, we are the queens of all that is fictional, and we are allowed to put anything we want in here, including our own opinions that aren't the characters' thoughts or dialogue. So, uh… *ahem-hem-hem*:
Déjà vu, anyone?
Anyways.
"So class," Zidler continued, who had recovered from his moment of melodrama quite speedily, "this trip to Paris in the coming month will not be only a nice little vacation for you all. There will be work involved- a project, actually, in which you and a partner will be writing a skit explaining the glory and wonder of 19th century Paris and the Moulin Rouge. This can be in any form you want- interview, play, short skit, or even a musical, for those of you who are daring. It can be as long as you want, or as short as you want. It can be live, on video, recorded on tape… I am going to be very lenient with this. However," he said, "However, I will assign partners…"
Everyone groaned.
"Yes, okay, aww, you don't get to choose, tear, all right, now that that's over, I will assign partners, and whether you like your partner or not, you will be working with them in a kind, respectful, and courteous manner. No buts. Now then, how about…" he studied the class and his notebook in which all the students' names were written down.
"Well, I can't possibly split you two up, so, Nny and Anna, you will work together…" The girls slapped high-fives.
"Fun stuff, huh?" Anna said, grinning.
"I know! A project on the Moulin Rouge? Can you say 'sweet'?!" Nny exclaimed.
"And, ah… How about, what is this, Henri Marie Raymond Toulouse Lautrec Montfa?"
"At your service, Monsieur!" the dwarf proclaimed, standing up out of his seat.
"And how about… how about, mmm…" he studied the list. "Narky, is it?"
"Yes, sir," a gruff voice answered.
"Very well, then, Narky and… can I
call you Toulouse?
"But of course, my dear sir!" Toulouse exclaimed enthusiastically.
"And… mmm… Erik Satie and… the Doctor? Is that your name?"
"Yes…" a voice said from somewhere in the room.
"Okay, then, you two… and Christian James and… oh, let's see…"
Not Satine, Christian thought, clenching his eyes shut.
Not me, Satine prayed, crossing her fingers tightly.
"Ah, yes, perfect. Christian and Satine… you know, those names do go together quite well, not to imply anything inappropriate, but really now… Christian and Satine, it just flows, you know? Christian and Satine, Christian and Satine, Christian and Satine…"
Their faces could not have been any more red.
"Sorry about that, kiddies. Christian and Satine, you will be working together."
Uh oh.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
BWAHAHAHA! Oh, it's so fun being evil, you know? Yes, of course you know.
Did you know my English teacher calls us "kiddies"?
No, you didn't, did you.
Jester: Anna, they don't care.
Anna: Right. But… could you review anyways? *bats eyes innocently*
Jester: They don't care about that, but THEY DO CARE about the New chat for the Bohemians! Yes! Hostdepartment was down, but I SWITCHED SERVERS!! Bwahahahahahaha, so, my dearie little reviewers, go visit Bohowave, the chatsite for bohemians! New server, same accounts!
(If you had an account there before, you don't need to re-sign up, unless it was a New Boho account, then it was probably deleted, but just try first. Note, it's a little shaky, I have to RECODE IT ALL!!)