Inside the Opera Populaire!

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"I wish I had brought my camera." Carley said as she sat on one of the seats. Erin pulled another seat up close to the railing. "You're going to fall over." Carley said as she pulled her chair closer to the railing too.

"Do you know what Opera is playing tonight?" Carley shook her head.

"Nope. But does it matter?" She smiled.

"No, no it doesn't."  Erin smiled back. "Oh, here we go." The lights in the opera house dimmed slightly and the curtain waved as someone walked on stage. It was Firmin.

"Tonight, ladies and gentleman, we will be saying good bye to two very good friends of ours. Our prima donna; Miss Christine Daae, and our patron; the Vicomte de Chagny. They are to be wed!" The crowd applauded. Firmin gave a small bow and left the stage. Then the lights dimmed almost completely and the lights on the stage grew brighter. Music gently surrounded them. The first act had started.

"When do you suppose-," Erin began to ask but Carley cut her off.

"Don't ask. You'll jinx it." She nodded. Just then Erin had the feeling that there was now three people in box 5. As she quickly turned around, Carley jumped. "What are you doing?"

"I think… I think… he's here." Erin whispered. Carley stood up and started for the curtain by the door. "Sit down."

"Why?" She paused.

"Sit down." She was more persistent. Slowly, Carley walked back to her seat. "There is no opera ghost, my dear friend. There is no need to be afraid." Erin said loudly.

"What are you-," Carley began to catch on. She put on her best airhead impression. "I know. It's just so frightening. A ghost! What a silly tale!" She sat down and started to sign with her fingers to Erin. "Let's go find him." She signed.

"I know." Erin signed back. "I just don't want to freak him out."

"Me too, but I don't want to loose him!"

"Hey, you know this place better than home."

"You're right." Carley gave a small smile. "But if we don't go now, I'm rigging the chandelier." She nodded toward the stage which now had Christine on it. Erin stifled a laugh.

"Okay. Just on my signal."

"Fine." Carley sat on the edge of her seat ready to follow the man who had haunted both of their dreams.

"I hate to leave halfway through the opera but I just have to use the bathroom." Erin said loudly after five minutes of waiting.

"Oh, I have to go too. I'll go with you." They were both trying not to smile. Erin pulled Carley up to the curtain.

"You do it." Carley pulled back the curtain to see only more wall. She gave a mischievous smile to Erin and stared to feel the wall. Carley crouched down to the floor and  stared to push on the baseboards of  box 5. Finally, Carley pushed hard on a lion's head and the wall opened up just a tiny bit. Erin inhaled quickly.

"I knew it! But you first this time." Carley nodded toward the door. Erin gently placed her hands on the new door and pushed. It was heavy. A normal girl in the 1800's wouldn't be able to push it hard enough, but then again, Erin was not a normal girl from the 1800's. Erin slowly peaked her head into the secret passageway. It was dark, but not too dark. The walls looked as though they were carved out with just a pick.

"They were probably going to make this a hallway for the opera house" Erin thought. "Clear." She whispered. She took Carley's hand and walked into the hallway. "Which way?"

"I don't know." Carley pulled back.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a little dark for me."

"Well what do you expect?"

"Hey! It's your fault I hate the dark!"

"I only locked you in that closet once." Erin had her hands on her hips.

"And once was enough!"

"Do you want to find Erik or what?"

"I don't like the-,"

"Don't worry. I'll protect you!" Erin said in her best hero type voice.

"For Erik." Carley slowly walked into the hallway.

"That's a good girl. Okay. Now which way?"

"I don't know? It's really dark."

"No duh." Carley gave Erin an evil stare.

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Well, use your Phantom Senses." Carley gave a small smile as she remembered how she could walk into any bookstore or library  and be able to locate anything remotely related to Phantom of the Opera.

"Okay." Carley closed her eyes and started to hum Angel of Music. "That way." Carley pointed down the hallway and they started to run. "Wait! The door?"

"Right! Oh that would have been a really big mistake!" Erin ran back to the door and pushed the door back into place.

"Good. Now let's get going!" Erin and Carley ran. They ran for what seemed like and eternity. Erin led Carley down the hallways as they ran down a labyrinth of hallways. Finally, Erin's legs could take no more and she stopped to lean against a wall.

"What's wrong?" Carley huffed.

"I… I can't. Can we sit for two minutes?"

"No! We might lose him!"

"Carley, I think we already have." There was an uneasy silence between the two. Erin could barely hear the music from the opera. Carley walked to a small balcony at the end of the hallway. "Carley? Carley, are you listening to me? I don't think this was the right way."

"Never underestimate the power of my Phantom Senses." Carley stared off the balcony and motioned for Erin to come and see. Reluctantly, she stood up and walked over to Carley. Erin stopped breathing when she saw what Carley was staring at. It was Erik, the man she had dreamed about for so long. He was slowly undoing a lock to a gate which, most likely, led to the lake. Erin looked at Carley.

"Let's go." She jumped down off the balcony and landed softly on the sandy floor. But Carley hesitated. "Come on! It's only like six feet! My old bedroom window is more than that and you've jumped from there! Get down here!"

"Fine!" Carley grabbed up all of her skirt and said a prayer.

"Just jump, for cripes sake!"

"I have every intention too!" Carley jumped off and landed on her butt with a thump.

"See? Nothing to it." Erin held out her hand and helped her up. Carley furiously whipped off her skirt. She paused and looked over to her right.

"What?" Erin asked.

"It's how Erik first got in here." She pointed over to a door that had been boarded up. "Okay. Now how are we going to get over that?" Carley pointed toward the gate that came almost up to the ceiling. "It's like 10 feet high!"

"My dear Carley. Who said anything about going over it?" She gave a devilish smile to Carley and reached for her head.

"What are you doing?" Carley batted Erin away.

"I just want a pin. Now hold still."

"Use one of your own." Carley scooted out of Erin's reach. She gave Carley a blank stare. Erin had her hair down; she didn't have any pins in her hair. "Oh fine!" She felt around her blonde hair for a pin. "Got it." Carley gave the pin to Erin and she ran over to the gate.

"You know that doesn't work. You've tried it a million times."

"On our doors, yes. But not on 18th century doors."

"Oh." Erin gave a grunt and pulled open the doors of the gate. She slipped the pin into her pocket.

"Told you so."

"Shut it." Carley looked down the endless hallway. It was darker than the one they were standing in. It also sloped down.

"We're gunna have to run for it." Erin whispered.

"Why?" Erin held her hand to her ear. Carley listen and hear the sound of footsteps. "Mob?"

"Probably just coming down to make sure that Erik doesn't try to take Christine again."

"Yeah, okay let's run. But you first Erin."

"What?! I go first so that if I fall you don't?"

"Exactly."

"Traitorous gooberfish." Carley just smiled. "Okay. But you have to keep up."

"Don't worry about me." They stepped into the hallway and shut the gate behind them. Erin inhaled deeply and began to run. She knew Carley well enough to know not to look back. If she did, they would trip and probably roll the rest of the way. Erin could see that up ahead there was a sharp turn to the right up ahead.

"Right!" Erin yelled.

"Okay!" Carley called back. She was about five feet behind Erin. When the turn came up, Erin quickly grabbed corner of the wall and spun around.

"One corner down. Who knows how many more to go." Erin thought. The corners started coming more quickly. With each right turn, Erin tried to imagine what it would be like when she met him. She was convinced that she would not find his face frightening since Erin had seen boys that were so much more ugly than he. What would she say? How would she act? What would HE say? How would HE act? Erin was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't see the gate that led to the lake. She ran right into it.

"Ouchies!" Erin rubbed her face.

"That's what you get for not paying attention."

"Thanks Mom."

"I am not you mother, but I can be like your mother."

"Your mom is my mom!"

"I know." Carley said painfully.

"Come on." Erin laughed. "Let's meet Erik." Erin took out the pin from her pocket and started to pick the lock. Once again, she pulled on the door with a grunt and it opened. Carley stepped onto the sandy shore of the famous man-made lake. "Oh no."

"What?"

"No boat."

"Then we'll swim."

"Swim?" Erin swallowed hard. "But what about your…um… dress? Yeah your dress!"

"This dress was given to me by a Miss Christine Daae. I want to burn it! But, alas, I have no lighter."

"Then lets go get one."

"Erin! You will swim this lake with me or I will drag you into this lake!" Erin ran up to the wall and put her back to it. "Look, there is nothing wrong with this lake."

"I don't have a problem with the lake. It's the fish."

"Erin! This is a MAN-MADE lake! There are no fish!" Carley saw how unconvincing that was to Erin so she jumped in. "See? I can stand. It's about 3 feet deep." Erin started toward the lake. "Come on! Just jump in! The waters fine." Carley swam for a bit.

"If I get eaten…!"

"There are NO FISH IN THE LAKE!"

Her voice echoed eerily around the capacious area. She hushed immediately covering her mouth with a horrified expression. Erin looked around in anxious wonder.

"Just, come on." She said in a much quieter voice. Suddenly she gasped and disappeared under the ripples.

"CARLEY!" Erin screamed horrified.