Author's Note: (sighs) Only 3 reviews. Oh well…Ick, my shirt smells like car exhaust…bleh. Must…get…perfume! (runs to spray lots and lots of perfume on herself, then comes back) Ahhhhhhh…dat's better!
Reviewers:
Courtney: Thanks for da bracelet! It's purty!
Opal Gimstone: Yeah, I knew my homework because I'm in my school's honor choir, so I've been hearing that kind of stuff for the past two years, lol. Anyway, Erik's not really bored. Christine was his muse, and since he doesn't have her anymore, it's hard for him to wake up that creative genius of his. But yeah…maybe I should expose him to some of that good ol' 21st century stuff (grins like a mad scientist)
Moon Avenger: See disclaimer.
Sbkar: Yay! A new reviewer! I'm so glad you like this. I hope you'll keep reviewing as I write.
Disclaimer: YESH! HE'S MINE! ALLLLL MINE! (tries to grab Erik, but other phangirls Punjab author) Okay…(gasp)…maybe not…(wheeze)
Oh, and I thank this one nameless lyric site for letting me find the screenwriting thing of the POTO play.
History Repeats Itself
Chapter 6
OoOoOoO
Ken walked to Tassy's house after their second audition that Wednesday. He found that the house was much quieter then usual, and their large van was not parked in the driveway.
Maybe Tassy drove herself to the Community Center, he thought as he ascended the steps to the front door and knocked. Tassy, in fact, opened the door. She looked surprised at the sight of him.
"Oh, hey Ken," she said. "What are you doing here?"
"I was heading to the Center for our lesson," he told her. "Are you coming?"
"Uh, yeah," she said. "Let me go get my music and I'll be right back." She swiftly turned and walked back into her house, leaving the door slightly ajar. As far as he could tell, the house was definitely deserted except for Tassy.
"So, you're home alone?" Ken asked when Tassy came out with a folder and keys to lock her door.
"Yeah," Tassy replied, stuffing the keys in her jean pocket. "My mom took the mob to Buffalo to visit my aunt. I promised her I wouldn't have any wild parties while she was gone." She grinned. Ken grinned back.
"So…how were your practices with Erik?" Ken asked.
"You mean the stiff?" Tassy said, rolling her eyes. "He's a good teacher and all, but he's so…precise. He gets all riled up over every tiny mistake! It's so annoying."
"That's just to make you a better singer, you know," Ken told her gently, seeing that she was starting to get riled up.
"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged.
When they reached the trapdoor, Ken opened it to allow Tassy to get through, and then followed her in. They both walked through the corridor in silence, feeling almost as if the slightest noise would disturb the sacredness of it.
And then they heard a violin's sweet song drift through the door at the end of the hall.
"I didn't know the Phantom of the Opera could play the violin," Tassy whispered to Ken, a slight grin on her face.
"Maybe he doesn't, but our teacher does," Ken replied, opening the door.
Erik was on an armchair near the corner of the room, a violin placed delicately in his hands as he played with his eyes closed. But he stopped playing when he felt their presence. He placed the violin and the bow on the small table beside the armchair and stood up.
"You're late," he said plainly, walking over to his organ.
"I didn't know the Phantom of the Opera could play the violin," Tassy said to him as he sat down, repeating the previous comment that she made to Ken. Erik looked at her coolly.
"I see you haven't read the Leroux version of his book, then," he replied. "For it clearly states that the Opera Ghost loved to play the violin just as much as the pipe organ."
"Well, of course he read the book," Tassy muttered sarcastically to Ken. "With an obsession comes the need to know every detail of the subject of that obsession."
Knowing Tassy's likeliness to cynical remarks, Ken said nothing. Erik, however, glared at Tassy and said, "Is that a insult? That I have more knowledge then you do of certain things?"
"But of course not," Tassy said innocently, but her sly eyes betrayed her.
"Oh," Erik said chillingly. He stood up from the piano bench, walking over to her. "Then it certainly wouldn't be insulting to say that you sing like a sick cow; and not to mention have the fat of one."
That touched a nerve. A vein twitched in Tassy's temple as her jaws clenched to an extreme that could break a coconut shell.
"You just say that because you want Kari here, and not me!" Tassy said accusingly, finally voicing her anger to him.
"Perhaps that is so," he shot back. Tassy paused, thinking of what she should say to that. Her eyes narrowed at him.
"Well, if that's the case…" she replied in a venomous tone. "…then perhaps I should quit. I have a small enough part to learn on my own." She turned around to leave, but stopped when she saw the door open.
Celia appeared at the doorway. Ken, feeling like he was caught in the middle of this heated argument, looked relieved. The tall woman looked sternly at Tassy, communicating to her in sign language. Tassy looked expectantly at Ken for translation.
"She says that we both are to be taught because we have the most potential out of all the actors and actresses in the play, and that it has nothing to do with our part in the play. She says that we are being tutored to become greater singers altogether…for life," Ken said, pausing to think over Celia's reasoning himself.
Tassy closed her eyes for a second, as if gathering herself. She opened them, this time her eyes were as emotionless as her voice.
"Fine," she said blankly. "I'll stay." Celia nodded gratefully, and then turned to Erik, who had a strange unidentified mix of emotions on his face. She gave him a warning look, and then signed to Ken. She then waved goodbye and left the room. All three of them were silent for a few seconds after Celia left. It was Erik who broke the silence.
"Let's begin practice, then," he said in a temperate, civil tone. "From what I have seen in your two practices, Mam'selle Giry has mostly been a chorus girl and dancer, with a few spoken lines in the scene of the Hannibal practice, while…" He paused for a second, clearing his throat. "…while the Phantom says nothing throughout that entire scene. So, Monsieur Johnson, I'll start to practice with you with singing 'Phantom of the Opera'. Mam'selle Williams, you can practice what you know of 'Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms', and I'll start you on that after I practice with Monsieur Johnson." Tassy nodded curtly and went to the side of the room with the armchair. She sat on it and opened the folder with her music. She delicately turned the pages of it as she seemed to mumble and hum the words and notes.
Erik turned to Ken, who was waiting patiently to start.
"Do you know the words to 'Phantom of the Opera' already?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Ken replied. "I have the movie CD, and I've listened to it a few times." Strangely, Ken noticed an oddly confused, and then knowing look on Erik's face. But he covered it up instantly.
"Very well," Erik said. "Let's start where you come in…" He walked back to the organ, with Ken following. He started the accompaniment where Christine had just finished singing her verse.
"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."
Erik then, along with the accompaniment, played Christine's part on the organ. Ken sang again when it was his turn.
"It's me they hear . . .
My
spirit and your voice,
in one combined:
the Phantom of the
Opera is there
inside your mind . . .
Sing my angel of music . . . What?"
Erik had stopped playing, and looked up at him. Even Tassy stopped her humming at looked at the two of them, wondering what stopped the music.
"You missed a verse," Erik said deliberately.
"What verse?" Ken asked. He knew the song by heart! How could he miss a verse?
"Perhaps this movie CD is different from the actual musical," Erik told him. "I'll sing where you left off." He started up the accompaniment once more.
"In all your fantasies/you always knew/that man and mystery…And then Kari will sing; Were both in you. And then you, with Kari, will sing; And in this labyrinth/where night is blind/the Phantom of the Opera is here/inside your mind…And then you will say 'Sing, my angel of music.' Do you understand?" Ken nodded.
"Then sing it."
OoOoOoO
After a few more run-throughs of 'Phantom of the Opera', Erik seemed satisfied. He looked over at Tassy, who was flitting through her music glassy-eyed and feeling extremely bored.
"Mam'selle Williams; are you ready for your lesson?" Tassy's head shot up.
"Yes," she told him, trying not to sound relieved. She stood up and fixed a cold look on her face as she reminded herself of what he told her earlier, confirming her belief that he wanted Kari there and not her. She walked over to the organ as Ken passed her to practice by himself where she had.
Tassy placed the folder of music on his organ and then stood up straight, ready to start.
"Are you sure you have sight-read the music correctly?" he asked her, his voice a little more challenging then it should have been.
"We'll see if we begin," she replied coolly. Erik just began the accompaniment. Tassy started to sing on cue.
"Believe me, if all those endearing young
charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly today
Were to change by
tomorrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou
wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy
loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of
my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still . . ."
To her delight, Erik seemed frustrated, most likely due to the fact that she sang everything on the right note and the right rhythm.
"It is not while beauty and youth are thine
own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and
faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee
more dear;
No,
the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves
on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god, when he
sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose . . . "
With her chin held up high in triumph, she looked at Erik to see what he would say. He didn't for a few seconds.
"You remembered not to scoop, and you know the rhythm," he said, almost admittingly. "But in the middle of the piece you began to sing from your chest instead of your diaphragm. And you sounded like you are just singing the notes, not the words. Your dynamics were off and you put no emotion into it."
Tassy literally bit her tongue and said nothing. Her mind was filled with sharp comebacks and remarks, so it was almost unbearable. But she could see that that was exactly what Erik wanted to hear, and she could not give him any of that kind of achievement. Her pride was what kept her quiet.
"Sing the first verse," he told her. Tassy obeyed, and even when Erik sharply corrected her in the middle of it, she just stared at him blankly, nodded, and corrected herself. They did this over and over again until they had finished the entire song, whereas Erik told her to sing it through twice.
"You need to practice you dynamics more at home," he told her after she did so. He then turned to where Kennedy was sitting on the armchair, looking half-asleep.
"Monsieur Johnson," he said, raising his voice. Ken jerked a little, his eyes rid of the dreamy look they had. "I'm about to tell you and Mademoiselle Williams something important, so listen." Ken sat up straight.
"I have changed your practice schedule so you both can practice at even times," he told them. He shuffled through the pile of papers on his organ and pulled out two, giving both to Tassy, who walked over to Ken and gave him one.
"You," Erik said, looking at Tassy. "…will be practicing with me Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Kennedy will be practicing Sundays and Fridays. You both will still practice together on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Understood?" The two nodded.
"Then you both may leave."
OoOoOoO
"Meg! You forgot your cue again!" Mrs. Harrison barked at Tassy. She sighed heavily. "Let's start again, please, when Meg said that Christine could sing the aria." She clapped her hands, ordering them to get into place. They all scrambled back into place as Tassy began her lines.
"Christine Daae could sing it, sir," Tassy started, reading from her binder and speaking to the young man playing Firman.
"The chorus girl?" he replied, doing the same.
"She's been taking lessons from a great teacher."
"From whom?" the boy playing Andre asked, looking up at a nervous Kari from his lines.
"I don't know, sir…" Kari stuttered, more out of tension then trying to be in-character.
"Not you as well!" 'Firman' exclaimed, turning to 'Andre', but keeping his eyes on his lines the whole time. "Can you believe it? A full house—and we have to cancel!"
"Let her sing for you, monsieur," the girl playing Mme Giry said. "She has been well taught." The guy who played Monsieur Reyer then spoke up.
"From the beginning of the aria, then, mam'selle," he said, raising a hand like he was holding a conductor's rod. Kari's face turned pale, like at the auditions, as she struggled to reach the higher notes as she sang. After the first verse of two, however, she settled to singing a third or fourth below the appointed notes.
"When you find that, once
again, you
long
to take your heart back and be free -
if you ever find a
moment,
spare a thought for me.
"Think
of all the things
we've shared and seen -
don't think about the
things
which might have been . . .
"Think of me,
think
of me waking,
silent and resigned.
"Imagine me,
trying
too hard to put you
from my mind.
"Recall those days
look
back on all those times,
think of the things
we'll never do
-
there will never be a day,
when I won't think of you . ."
Derrick then started to sing back to her from his position near the edge of the stage.
"Can
it be?
Can it be Christine?
Bravo!
What a change!
You're
really not a bit
the gawkish girl that once you were...
She may
not remember me,
but I remember her..."
Kari, who looked relieved when she took her break from singing, got that deer-in-headlights-look again as it was her turn to sing.
"We
never said
our love was evergreen,
or as unchanging as the sea
-
but please promise me,
that sometimes you will think
o—o—o—o—o—of me!"
As Kari finished the last line, with a good bit of difficulty, she looked nervously at Mrs. Harrison. The director just glanced at her with a forced expression of approval.
"Are you sure you can't get your voice any higher, Kari?" she asked.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Harrison," Kari apologized. "But my voice just doesn't go that high. I'm a mezzo soprano, or an alto." Mrs. Harrison sighed.
"Well, if you can't get your voice higher, you might have to lip-sync to a CD," she replied, almost apologetically.
"Yes m'am," Kari muttered, her cheeks flushing. Mrs. Harrison then ordered them to practice again, this time with the extras and the other dancers.
When practice was over, Mrs. Harrison dismissed them, leaving them with the usual reminder to practice their lines, dancing, cues, etc.
The next week went by, without much improvement of singing on Kari's part. She tried to reach the higher noted with no prevail. One rehearsal on Saturday, while they practiced the 'Phantom of the Opera' scene, Kari's voice cracked on the high notes even when she sang a forth below the notes at the end of the piece.
"I'm sorry Kari, but you just can't do it," Mrs. Harrison said. "We'll have to use a CD or something." Kari wrung her hands sorrowfully. "You have great acting skills, and that's why I chose you as Christine. But no one is perfect…"
"Mrs. Harrison!" someone called.
"What?" she barked. The boy playing Monsieur Reyer jogged up to her, holding an envelope.
"It's for you," he said, handing it to her. Sure enough, Madame Harrison, spelt in extravagant letters, was on the front. As she turned it over however, she gasped.
An old-fashioned blood-red wax seal was melted in the shape of a hideous skull on the back of the envelope. Opening it with a look of apprehension on her face, Mrs. Harrison pulled out a piece of folded parchment. She scanned the letter, and then looked up, staring at Kari.
"It is about you," she said in a strange voice. "It says that you are to join Ken and Tassy to their tutoring on Saturday." Kari's eyebrows shot up in surprise, along with Ken's and Tassy's.
"C-can I read it?" she asked. Mrs. Harrison handed her the note.
"What does it say?" one of the extras asked.
"Madame,
It has come to my attention that Kari Metherland, who plays the beautiful Christine Daae in your depiction of The Phantom of the Opera, is in dire need of my assistance. In my observances of your rehearsals, I have seen that Miss Kari cannot reach the appointed pitches that are required. With my tutoring, I can assure you that she will, and do even more. I can even promise you that she shall sing like the angel that Christine Daae is.
Please inform Miss Kari to join Kennedy Johnson and Tacita Williams at their practice on Saturday for more instruction.
O.G."
"'O.G.'?" Régine, the girl playing Carlotta exclaimed. "Isn't that short for 'Opera Ghost' in the movie?"
Everyone started to chatter excitedly until Mrs. Harrison whistled loudly.
"I do not know why exactly this person signed O.G. on this letter," she told them. "But what I do know is that it is not important. Back to your places! Now!" She barked.
Everyone whispered remarks of how the Phantom of the Opera has come back to life to haunt the stage once more, however, until the director finally got tired of it and called the rehearsal to a short end.
As they left, no one noticed a cloaked figure leave Box Five with a wide grin on his face.
OoOoOoO
Author's Closing Note: EVERYONE MUST READ! Lol It's not really important, but can people PLEASE read my songfic that I wrote? I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!