Author's Note: (runs around ecstatically) Reviews! I got reviews! Hallelujah! Lol
Reviewers:
Super-nitrous-Supra Thanks for being the first to review! I hope you don't think I copied off of your story, because I had never read it before you reviewed. I really like it!
EmailyGirl: Thank you. I really like the idea of your ff, too.
On with the story!
History Repeats Itself
Chapter 2
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"So, Johnson decided to show his ugly mug once more," Derrick said viciously to his friends as the boy stalked bitterly past them, his head cast downward, and hands in his jean pockets. "How much do you wanna bet that you'll be picked as the Phantom? You are trying out for the part, aren't you?" he sneered.
"Shut up Derrick," he muttered angrily through gritted teeth, walking faster. He habitually pushed his fairly long, dark hair forward so that it covered at least a part of the right side of his face. Burning with embarrassment and hate, he went to go find Mrs. Harrison to see what she needed for him to do.
"There you are Kennedy!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "Kari has been looked all over the Opera House for you! Will you stop running off? We have a lot to do and we don't have time for your foolishness. Now go help Tassy and Brian and Kari and the others with that sandbag. They need someone who can tie that rope tight enough."
"Yes m'am," he said, quickly walking toward the small cluster of teens arguing about how to keep the bag up in the rafters above the stage.
"All I'm saying is that we can't get it up there with a regular rope," Tassy said exasperatedly. "It'll just…Ken!" Her face held an expression of relief. "Thank God you're here! Can you tie this rope around the bag? That's all we need, then you can go."
"Sure," he said, taking the rope and tying it swiftly and securely around the bag as three boys struggled to hold it up. Pulling the last bit tightly, he stepped back to let a few others standing up in the rafters to lift it up.
"Right on, Ken," Kari said admiringly. She grinned at him. Kennedy's heart skipped as he returned a shyer version of Kari's smile. What he didn't see was Tassy sourly glancing at him, then stalking off, muttering something about warming up before the audition.
"Alright, everyone come to the front row of chairs and sit down!" Mrs. Harrison said in an abnormally loud voice about ten minutes later. She waited impatiently as all the teens and some younger kids filed off the stage. Ken stood in the second row, at the farthest seat, standing stiffly with his arms crossed.
"I want to first thank the parents and to the stagehands who volunteered to help with this performance," she said, nodding to a large clump of kids and adults dressed in very casual work clothing on the stage. "And I thank you for coming to the audition for the Phantom of the Opera. Now, here is how it goes; I'll call those who are auditioning for the extras part first. You will be judged by Mr. Hooper, Miss Smith, and I." She motioned obscurely to the two other adults standing on either side of her. "You will first sing your selected solo, and then act out the script he gives you. Will all those auditioningto be extras with singing parts please approach the stage?"
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"The Phantom of the Opera!" Erik hissed to Celia. "What kind of cruel joke is this?"
The two of them were sitting in the balcony, Box 5 to be exact, that there attended a few hours before, watching the audition.
A man named Gaston LeRoux wrote a book called Phantom of the Opera, based on the story Raoul told him many years ago, Celia explained calmly. Now it has been reproduced into musicals and other books, and just last December into a movie. They actually did a very good job in reproducing your story. It's a classic.
Erik pushed away the odd knowledge of movies angrily and muttered, "So much for never telling the secret they know of the angel in Hell."
Forget it, Celia scolded him. And didn't I tell you you are not an angel? Just watch the audition.
The next parts of the audition were for dancers and the orchestra. This took another hour and a half.
"Thank you, you can sit down now," Mrs. Harrison said after the last dancer performed. "Alright, now girls may go onstage. You will first sing your selected solo, and then act out the script I give you. Will all those auditioning for just the main girls' parts please go onstage?"
About fifteen girls in their late teens stood up, including Kari and Tassy. Some of the more popular girls rolled their eyes at Tassy, knowing that she didn't have a chance to play the beautiful, innocent, romantic Christine. Tassy just walked ahead determinedly behind Kari.
"Alright you girls, get in an alphabetical line. When you come up, say your name and what you will be singing clearly," Mrs. Harrison said crisply. She got settled into the chair with her clipboard, and motioned for the first girl to come and sing.
The first ten girls could act very well, but they couldn't sing, and vise-versa. Erik could see Mrs. Harrison's face growing harder and harder with frustration as a few more blatantly imperfect girls came and auditioned.
"Next," she said after theeleventh girl sat down. Kari walked out onto the middle of the stage, taking the portable microphone from the previous girl. Erik leaned forward eagerly in his seat. He knew that she would be perfect for the part of Christine.
"Kari Metherland, singing…ah…" Kari stopped, looking as if she had something in her throat. She coughed, and then started again, this time more surely. "Singing 'Fallen' by Sarah McLachlan."
"Start the CD, Michel!" Mrs. Harrison called. A couple seconds later, music started up. Kari's face suddenly turned pale. As she also struggled to regain her composure, she started singing.
"Heaven bent to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight
Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear…"
Her voice was pretty, but she sang a third below the right chord for Christine's part. Erik watched the young girl intently, willing for her to sing higher, like his beloved Christine. But it was useless. He knew that her range defiantly defined her as an alto, or at best a mid-soprano.
However, her acting was very good, and it brought Erik's hopes up that she would be cast as Christine.
"Thank you, Kari," Mrs. Harrison said, her expression calm and accepting. "Next." The two more girls auditioned until it was Tassy's turn.
Tassy strode confidently, almost defiantly to the center of the stage.
"Tacita Williams. I'll be singing 'Surrender' by BarlowGirl," she said into the microphone in a strong voice that matched her stance. Mrs. Harrison nodded for her to start. The music started up in a soft piano/violin accompaniment.
"My hands hold safely to my dreams
clutching tightly; not one has fallen
so many years I've shaped each one
reflecting my heart, showing who I am
Now You're asking me to show
What I'm holding, oh, so tightly
Can't open my hand, can't let go
Why does it matter?
Why should I show You?
Why can't You let me go?
Surrender, Surrender You whisper gently
You say I will be free
I know but can't You see?
My dream are me, My dreams are me."
Erik was shocked by Tassy's strong soprano voice, and that yet it was also comfortable as it dipped down into lower notes. She also had a fairly acceptable stage presence and emotion in her voice. But there was a sort of rawness in her voice. He recognized it as the same roughness Christine had before he had shaped her voice into the angelic instrument that he had imagined for her.
"You say You have a plan for me
And that You want the best for my life
Told me the world has yet to see
What You can do with one
That's committed to Your call
I know of course what I should do
That I can't hold these dreams forever
But if I give them now to You
Will You take them
Away forever or can I dream again?
Surrender, Surrender You whisper gently
You say I will be free
I know but can't You see?
My dream are me, my dreams are me
Surrender, Surrender You whisper gently
You say I will be free
I know but can't You see?
My dream are me, my dreams are me
Surrender…"
As the song ended, Mrs. Harrison nodded at her; her face exhibiting cool approval. There was some scattered clapping, but many of the kids had their eyebrows raised in surprise and muttered among themselves.
"Thank you, Tassy," Mrs. Harrison said. "Now, let's see your acting…"
Tassy was then handed a short script by one of the stagehands.
"You have a minute to look it over. You'll still have it when you act, but try not to keep your eyes on it the whole time."
Tassy's acting wasn't as good as her singing, but it was good enough. After the last few girls, the director stood up to face the restless crowd.
"Alright, now it's time to audition for the main boy parts. Your audition will be the same as the girls' and the extras'; you will sing, and then act. Go ahead." She motioned then to go onstage. Fewer boys, only ten, lined up at the side to wait for their turn. Ken, of course, was a little out of the way in line and because he was looking at his feet his hair fell mostly in front of his face.
The first five boys were mostly all not very good or mediocre singers and pretty good actors. Next was Ken. He strode hesitantly onto the stage. He still had his head down.
"Kennedy Johnson, singing 'The Music of the Night' from the movie Phantom of the Opera," he said softly into the microphone, one hand in his jean pocket.
"Louder, please, Kennedy!" Mrs. Harrison said. "And lift your head and straighten up. You need to look at the audience."
Kennedy sighed, but raised his head slowly. Erik exclaimed a curse in surprise.
The right side of Kennedy's face was encased in a clear, plastic mask. His face was deformed, almost exactly like Erik's; red, puffy, and melted- looking. The only difference was that the infliction only just reached his hairline, so there wasn't a large patch of missing hair. His dark hair was not so long that it reached his shoulders, but it did fall a third of a way down his face, much like Erik's when it wasn't slicked back. Most of the people stared at him in pity and murmured blended comments to each other.
"My name is Kennedy Johnson, and I'll be singing 'The Music of the Night' from the movie Phantom of the Opera," he said in an almost sardonic tone. He had a stony expression of his face until he started to sing.
"Night-time sharpens,
heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defenses ..."
Erik was amazed of how similar this Kennedy portrayed himself. He now knew why herecognized the voice he heard behind the hidden door...it soundedalmost exactly like his.He looked inquiringly at Celia, but she stayed silent. As he watched, he noticed another likeness he saw was the same untutored rawness that Tassy had. There was also had a strange, untamed fire in his tone.
"Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it - tremulous and tender
Turn your face away
from the garish light of day,
turn your thoughts away
from cold, unfeeling light -
and listen to the music of the night ...
Close your eyes and surrender to your
darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life
you knew before!
Close your eyes,
let your spirit start to soar!
And you'll live
as you've never lived before ...
Softly, deftly,
music shall surround you ...
Feel it, hear it,
closing in around you ...
Open up your mind,
let your fantasies unwind,
in this darkness which
you know you cannot fight -
the darkness of the music of the night ...
Let your mind start a journey
through a strange new world!
Leave all thoughts
of the world you knew before!
Let your soul take you where you
long to be!
Only then can you belong to me ...
Floating, falling, sweet intoxication!
Touch me, trust me savor each sensation!
Let the dream begin,
let your darker side give in
to the power of the music that I write -
the power of the music of the night ...
You alone can make my song take flight
Help make the music of the night…"
As Ken finished the last note, he glanced at the boys, particularly Derrick, as if daring them to say something smart. They didn't say anything.
"Very good, Kennedy," Mrs. Harrison told him, her expression indicative of both approval and uncertainty.
His acting was even more impressive. His script, like the rest of the boys', was of the Phantom of the Opera. Erik was tentative of what to make of it as he felt like he was watching himself move across the stage. Kennedy had all the seductiveness, power, and spitefulness that Erik had in himself…but there was something different about him.
He still has hope, Celia told him softly. He has his whole life ahead of him, and even though he has been through so much already, there is something in his mind that still hangs onto faith that there will be better days. She stood up. We must go down before your students leave. She then swiftly walked out of the balcony. Erik followed her closely until they reached the secret doorway at the very bottom of the staircase leading to the balcony, where she paused.
In fact, let me get them. Go down to your quarters. I'll bring them to you in the morning. Before he could say anything, Celia exited into the large theater. Erik stopped at the door as Celia headed toward the crowd of teens were Mrs. Harrison had just finished saying that she would post the list of those who got the parts the next day.
"The schedules will also be posted outside the door for those who got parts," she told them. "Good bye, everyone."
As the teens pushed toward the exit, Erik opened the hidden door and slowly made his way down to the stone passageway and into his chamber. When he arrived, he paced back and forth, wondering what he was to do with two teenagers of the future. He was sure now that one of them would be Kennedy, the one that could have been him when he was that age. Had he gone forward or back in time?
The other student will be either Kari or that Tacita girl. Erik hoped desperately that it would be Kari. He could certainly teach her to fix her voice. The pamphlet Celia gave him about the play said that the actual performance would be in two months, just before the school term started; more then enough time to teach the beautiful child to reach the high D.
And what of their tutoring? Should he teach them each at the same time? No, it would be better to have them separate for most lessons. They should both have the day off Sundays…he doesn't know when rehearsals are…
To stop thinking about all of this, he sat down at his piano and started playing the first song that came to mind. He soon got frustrated as the sour notes branded in his mind, for his troubled thoughts clouded his concentration. So he walked the curtained room where he and Celia had spoken that morning and sat heavily down on one of the armchairs and drifted into a deep reverie until he finally fell to the pull of dreams of his Christine.
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Author's Closing Note: Okay, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure who to be cast as Christine; Tassy or Kari. It may take a while to post the next chapter because of this setback, so be patient. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Please review, but, like I said before; constructive criticism, if necessary.