Disclaimer: The Phantom of the Opera, its plot and characters do not belong to me. Neither do the 'Mr. Sandman' lyrics.

A/N: Okay, thanks for the reviews. Sorry that John (Erik) hasn't shown up yet, but like Megan said, "you never know who'll show up at rehearsals"!

Chapter Four

Tuesday and Wednesday seemed to fly by for Chris, and before she knew it, it was Thursday. She had been anticipating the rehearsals since Megan had mentioned them, and now they had finally arrived.

She had laid all her clothes out the night before, had already decided what she was going to eat for breakfast, and set her alarm clock. And now, here she was, standing in front of the theatre, getting cold feet. She was nervous as ever and nearly shrieked when she felt someone touch her shoulder.

"Hey, Chris are you going to stand there all day?"

Chris turned to see Megan, standing behind her with a confused look on her face. "You ready?"

Chris let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. "Yeah, I'm ready."

As soon as Chris stepped foot in the theatre, she felt better. This wasn't so bad. She didn't even remember what she had been afraid of. Megan was right. The theatre had changed some, but for the most part was the same.

Chris followed Megan backstage to the dressing room when she heard a familiar voice.

"Oh! You are never going to get this right if you don't pay attention to what I am trying to tell you. Now again."

Chris turned just in time to see the scolded dancers groan in unison. She grinned as she also saw the scolder. "Hello, Ms. Gary."

Ms. Gary turned her attention to Chris and a small smile formed on her lips. Ms. Gary was a rather strict woman, but she always got things done. She also was always kind to Chris, accepting her as another daughter. She slowly approached Chris.

"Hello, Chris. How are you?"

"Very fine, thanks."

"Megan," she began, motioning to her daughter, "has told me you are now living here again?"

"Yes ma'am."

Ms. Gary nodded. "It's very nice to have you back then. Welcome home."

"Thank you," Chris said as Ms. Gary left to go scold her dancers more.

"Come on, Chris."

Chris followed Megan as she started to lead her from backstage. But along the way, she got caught up in looking at the changes of the theatre and bumped into someone.

"Watch it!" someone snapped.

"I'm sorry-" Chris tried to say, but was cut off.

"I don't care if you're sorry. Next time, watch where you're going." The person she had ran into sneered. She was a little on the beefy-side, and had squeezed herself into a tiny little leather outfit. She had a rather strong accent, and her blotchy face seemed to scream: "Out of my way!"

The woman sneered again, and left a dumbfounded Chris behind. Megan came up on her just as the beefy-woman was leaving.

"Sorry about that, Chris."

"Who was that woman?"

"That was Carla, the lead actress here. None of us like her." Megan shuddered. "Well, not besides Peter and Mr. Ferris and Andrews."

Chris looked at her funny. "Who?"

"Peter," she explained, "is the lead actor. Mr. Ferris and Mr. Andrews own the theatre."

"Oh, Mr. Gabriel doesn't own it anymore?"

"No, he left because of the gho-"

"Megan Gary!" Ms. Gary hollered. "Are you a dancer or not? Get over here!"

Before Chris was able to ask what she had been talking about, Megan was by Ms. Gary's side. So Chris walked back to the wings to watch as they all rehearsed.

For the most part, it everything went all right. Chris didn't have another run-in with Carla, and the dancers performed rather well. But as the rehearsal came to a close, their luck ran out. A stage light fell, and all the lights began to flicker.

"It's the phantom!" the dancers screamed.

Carla's face turned ashen, and Megan ran to her mother's side. Chris just stood silent as two men ran onto the stage.

"What on earth is going on?" one demanded.

"Mr. Ferris," one of the dancers explained, "it's the ghost!"

"Nonsense!" the other one said.

"No, it's true, Mr. Andrews!" another dancer cried.

"That's it!" Carla stated, exasperated, "I'm done with this play. I'll come back when you exterminate!"

"Don't say that," Ms. Gary replied calmly, "the phantom may not take to kindly to you referring to him like that."

"I don't care!" she shrieked as she stormed off.

When she was out of sight, a voice rang from above. "Sorry about that!"

Mr. Ferris looked up to the catwalk. "Joe Bucket! This all your fault then?"

"Sorry, just some faulty-wiring, and I kinda slipped."

"Slipped indeed."

Mr. Ferris and Mr. Andrews left to collect Carla, as the actors and dancers went to change. Chris walked over to Megan.

"Who is this 'ghost'?"

"It's rumor that there is a phantom who lives in the theatre. Whenever something goes wrong they always blame it on the ghost."

Chris nodded and followed Megan back to the dressing rooms again. When they got there, Megan pulled a boom box out of her duffle bag, and explained, "I could use some music to calm my nerves after the incident."

As Megan changed Chris sat and tapped her foot to the beat if the music.

"Hey, Chris? Why were you carrying flowers that first day when I ran into you?"

"Oh," Chris answered, "dark red roses are my favorite flower. I bought them so that I could make my house feel more 'homey'."

"Sorry again for knocking you over."

"That's okay. It's my fault, really. Hey! Can you turn it up? I love this song!"

Megan complied and couldn't help but giggle when Chris started singing along.

'Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream

Make him the cutest that I've ever seen

Give him two lips like roses and clover

Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over.

Sandman, I'm so alone-'

Chris stopped suddenly when the song turned to static. She got up and turned the dial, trying to get the station back, but all she got was static.

"Oh, gee, the batteries must be low."

"Sorry," Megan apologized. "I don't remember the last time I changed them."

"That's okay."

"But, hey! You've got a great voice! You should try out for the chorus here!"

"Really?" she asked, when to hands covered her eyes.

"Oh, yeah," a deep voice said into her ear. "No good in letting talent go to waste. You've got an amazing voice."

Chris felt her cheeks grow hot as the owner of the voice let her go. She spun around to see him and nearly fell over.

"Ralph?!"

"Yep," the young man answered as he gave her a stunning smile. "And I mean what I say. You should definitely try out for the chorus."

"You know," Chris said, changing the subject, "I still have my bandana."

"I'm glad! Do you know how close I came to losing my life that day?"

"Oh, please! You rescued by bandana from the public swimming pool."

Ralph gave her a mock-frown. "Yes, but it was the deep-end of the pool."

Chris rolled her eyes, and gave Ralph a hug. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, it's been a while. But, hey, I got to go. I thought I saw you on the stage and decided to say hello, but I have to leave. Phil asked me to help him with some stuff. But I really think you should consider what I said."

Chris said good-bye, and stood thinking as he walked away. Ralph had been her friend when she lived here last. Her father had always approved of him, and he was sweet to her. He was rather attractive, too. He was born into a rich-family, but he lived with his aunt and uncle because his parents had died when he was young. Chris could relate. But his older brother, Phil had never liked her. She suspected it was because her and her father were from the poorer side of town.

"Here's your ticket," Megan said, breaking Chris' thoughts.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to go on home. This has been a tiresome day."

"I know what you mean," she agreed.

"I'll call you later, and maybe I'll even call about trying out for the chorus."

"You really should, you've got an excellent voice. Real talent."

It seemed as though Megan and Ralph weren't the only ones who saw talent in Chris. As Chris left the theatre, she was unaware of the presence over-head. Lurking in the shadows, they waited silently to make their move.