The girls skidded into class right as the late bell rang. They scurried to the empty chairs at the end of the class. The teacher shut the door and walked to the front of the room with an evil look on his face.
"Hello class," he said
The class just stared mindlessly back at him. The majority of them were either asleep, or text messaging their friends. The teacher cleared his throat and repeated what he said a bit louder. No one listened. He reached under the demonstration desk and brought out a blowtorch. Of course that got the pyromaniacs interested.
"Hello class, I will be your science teacher for this year. My name is currently unimportant, but, if you feel the need to address me formally, Mr. D. Any questions so far? No? Good. Next, for this class you will need one binder filled with paper. Lots and lots of paper," he let out an evil cackle, "but, that is beside the point right now. As many of you can see, I have a blowtorch in my hand. What will I do with it pray tell?" Someone raised their hand, "yes, you over there, uh…?"
"Raoul, set your head on fire?"
"No," Meg raised her hand, "Yes?"
"Meg, light off a bottle rocket?"
"Not quite-"
RRRIIINNNGGG!
"Well class, that was the bell. We will continue this discussion tomorrow!"
Meg and Christine plowed out of the room with everyone else.
"What class do you have next Meg?"
"Study Hall, you?"
"Drama with your mum! YES! Easy A, easy A," Christine did a little victory dance through the halls.
They parted their ways at the stairs. Meg, to the 4th floor. Christine, to the basement. Why drama class was underground, who knows?
Christine came to another hall. To the left it was darkened and there was a big wooden door that was stained with a mahogany color. To the right, she could see the stage and all of its lights. The bell rang so she quickly went right, but glanced back at the other door before she went to class.
"Welcome class. My, my, my, it looks like we have a good sized cast zis year! I am your teacher, Madame Giry. Unfortunately Mr. Leroux couldn't be here today because he is working with dancers at his studio," She looked around, "I shall begin by taking role,"
As Madame Giry went down the list, Christine looked around at the class. There were 14 other people and one of them was her "locker-buddy". She sat staring at him.
"Erik?" Madame Giry asked. The boy raised his hand.
So that's his name is it? Erik…she stared at him for a few more moments before Madame Giry said that everyone should choose a partner. Christine heard someone say in a snotty voice that they were better then everyone else at this kind of stuff, but they'd pair up anyway. Christine looked around and noticed that all of the teens had paired up and it was just her and Erik left. She walked over.
"I'll be your partner," she said.
"Whatever," he replied as they went over to the other pairs. Many a mumble went on when they walked past the snot and her partner.
"Now class, for a little bit of fun and to help me deicide what we will be performing at the end of this semester, I will be handing out duets to be sung by you and your partner. Some I found in the archives and some, one of our own classmates wrote," Madame Giry said as she handed out the songs.
"Madame Giry?" said the snotty girl.
"Yes Carlotta?"
"Why are we singing? This isn't choir…"
"Because we may be performing an opera for the end of the semester," she walked up on stage and dragged out an old piano, "So, who wants to try first?" No one raised their hands, "Come on, this is Drama 3, you should be brave enough by now to do this…"
Erik raised his hand for them to go.
"Erik and Christine? Okay, you are up." Madame Giry gestured for them to come up on stage.
"Madame Giry, may I play the accompaniment for this piece as well?" Erik asked.
"Go ahead Erik," Madame Giry was semi-shocked. Since the day she first met Erik, he had never been this interested in anything, let alone play the piano for the class.
He ran his fingers up and down the piano keys for a second to get used to the feel of the keys and started to play. Soon, the sound of his voice filled the room. It was beautiful, almost like magic, or like an angel's voice.
"You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish which 'till now has been silent, silent...
I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge, in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me, no second thoughts, you've decided…decided…
Past the point of no return, no backward glances. The games we've played 'till now are at an end. Past the point of "if" or "when", no use resisting, abandon hope and let the dream descend, what raging fire shall flood the soul, what rich desire unlocks its door, what sweet seduction lies before us?"
Past the point of no return, the final threshold. What warm unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return…"
Christine started in next. Her voice almost as heavenly.
"You have brought me, to that moment where words run dry, to that moment where speech disappears into silence, silence. I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why, in my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining defenseless and silent. Now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I've decided, decided…
Past the point of no return, no going back now, our passion play has now at last begun. Past all thought of right or wrong, one final question, how long should we two wait before we're one? When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?
"Together now Erik, Christine," Madame Giry qued.
"Past the point of no return, the final threshold. The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn…we've passed the point of no return-"
Erik rose up from the piano and took a slight bow with Christine as the class applauded. The two went and sat down.
"That class, is actually one of the songs from one of the opera's I would like you to perform," Madame Giry said as Carlotta and her partner clambered up on stage, "So next is Carlotta and…ooh, I have heard about you Raoul, you were with just Mr. Leroux last year, correct? Well, let me hear your beautiful voices!"
"What about our accompaniment?" Carlotta complained.
Erik whispered in Christine's ear like a dictator, "No accompaniment for you…end of the line…NEXT!"
Christine broke into mad fits of giggles. I knew he wasn't bad she thought.
Madame Giry ran backstage and grabbed a boom box with a karaoke disc in it.
"This piece was written by someone in this very class. We put the karaoke version of it together with my daughter in less than a night so please, if it sounds little rough, there's the reason why…" She hit play on the boom box and qued Carlotta to start singing.
"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came. That voice which calls to me and speaks my name. And do I dream again? For now I find, the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind…"
"Good, now Raoul..."
"Sing once again with me, our strange duet. My power over you grows stronger yet. And though you turn from me to glance behind, the phantom of the opera is there, inside your mind…"
Christine looked at Erik and saw that he was literally fingering along on his leg with the notes of the song. She tried to get a good look at his face, but he turned away just at the most inopportune moment.
"Those who have seen your face, draw back in fear, I am the mask you wear,"
"It's me they hear,"
"TOGETHER!"
"My/your spirit and my/your voice, in one combined, the phantom of the opera is there, inside m/your mind"
"In all your fantasies, you always knew, that man and mystery"
"Were both in you,"
"And in this labyrinth where night is blind, the phantom of the opera is there/here, inside my/your mind…"
Erik stood up almost as if he were completely appalled at the way the song was sung, "YOU NEED TO SING IT WITH MORE FEELING!" He shouted.
Raoul walked over to them with Carlotta.
"You talking to us freak?" He asked.
"Who else was singing my song?"
Raoul looked stunned, "you…wrote that song?"
"Got a problem with it Raoul?" Christine chimed in.
"No,"
"Good,"
"I do!" Carlotta said.
"Shut it diva!" Erik yelled.
"That is MISS DIVA to the likes of you!" She yelled back as she tried to pull off his hood.
"CARLOTTA! ERIK! THAT IS ENOUGH!" Madame Giry shouted, "Erik, why don't you and Christine go and wait in the room down the hall while I talk to Carlotta and Raoul first about how there performance went,"
Erik motioned for Christine to follow him.
"Erik, is it okay to go through that door? It's sort of…"
"Creepy?" He laughed as he pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, "Ladies first," he said.
Christine went through the door only to see that there was another door and a couch.
"Stay in this room. There are some magazines or something for you to read. Tell Madame Giry that I'm playing the organ when she gets in here," He said as he went through the other door.
Christine rummaged through all the books and magazines. The only book semi-interesting she could find was Dracula. So of course, she read it. Time passed quite slowly. Finally, she got up and opened the door that Erik went through. There were stairs. How can this school be any deeper? She thought as she went down the flight of stairs.
The farther down she went, the louder the organ music was. The sound filled her body with joy. Without consent, her feet started to dance to the notes. Slowly and gracefully she danced down to Erik. When she got to the last stair, Erik stopped playing.
He stood up and turned around, "I thought I told you to stay upstairs..."
Well, that's all for now. So now, time to reply to reviewers! YAY:
Convoitez: AGREED! hugs Erik
SecretChances: you really think this is good? tear thank you!
Professor Weasley: I WILL CONTINUE!
