Thank you for your great reviews! It's quick reviews like that that inspire me to write faster and post it. Okay, enough blah, blah, blah-ing, here's Chapter Twelve.
Disclaimer: You all know I don't own Phantom of the Opera, right? Okay just so that we get it out of the way.
The Letter
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have been invited by the city to perform the Mayor's favorite musical: Grease!"
A lot students exclaimed and smiled a murmured their comments. It seemed that everyone was happy that they were going to do a musical.
Christine gave Meg a thumbs up.
Meg looked at her with smile too. They were both excited to do it.
Carlotta stood. "Well, its obvious that I get lead, yes? I am after all, the mayor's favorite. Have been ever since my freshman year, I think that as a senior I should get the lead."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Thomas said to her. "I'm a senior and I'm only a stagehand."
"Yes, well," Carlotta sad. "You aren't the Mayor's favorite are you?"
Christine spoke up. "I don't think the Mayor has a favorite."
Carlotta scoffed. "How would you know? You've been orphaned and dropped into our town. You know nothing."
Christine's mouth dropped open. How dare she? How could she? She knew she would be mad about what happened Friday night but she had no idea that she would take her current situation and manipulate it to her advantage.
Christine stood forcefully, making the metal chair she was sitting on scrape and fall back making a loud noise that echoed throughout the entire, empty auditorium. "Listen, bitch. You have no right to speak of my parents that way."
She scarcely noticed Raoul getting up and walking to her, trying to avoid a fight that Christine was bound to have. "Christine calm down." She vaguely noticed his hands at her shoulders holding her back. "Come on, sit down."
Christine sat down after Meg put her chair up, Raoul's hand wouldn't let go off her's for fear of her lunging out and killing Carlotta on the spot.
"Carlotta," Madame Giry scolded. "That was uncalled for."
Carlotta only looked away and sat back down in her chair with a flair of her Prima Donna attitude.
Madame Giry shook her head in disapproval before she continued. "I must tell you all that I am very proud of you for Friday's performance. You were all excellent and I will see that you all receive a reward for it. Now about the next play, I have something to show you."
She reached in her pocket of her blazer and took out an envelope with a red spot on it.
Christine watched in curiosity and stared at she saw recognized the red spot. It was wax, it was used to close letters they usually had some sort of design. When she saw what it was, she stared in confusion. It was a skull.
She also noticed there was a red ink used in the letter.
"This letter is from our very own Phantom."
Everyone began to whisper at Madame Giry's comment.
A girl laughed, she recognized her as Jammes, the girl that had done her make-up for Romeo and Juliet. "There's no such thing as the Phantom of the Auditorium. It's all a bunch of bullshit."
"Language, please," Madame Giry said.
Thomas laughed. "He's going to come after you now, Jammes."
Jammes rolled her eyes. "Let him come, I'm not afraid of him."
Billy came up behind Jammes and scared her just as Raoul and James had done to her the first night.
Jammes jumped up and ran away from the stage screaming.
Everyone laughed at her cowardly attitude. Christine laughed too.
Madame Giry sighed and shook her head yet again. "Please act your age?" Then she turned their attention back to the letter. " The Phantom requests that the part of Sandy, the lead, be given to Christine Daaé. Not" –she looked strictly at Carlotta- "Carlotta. He also says that the leading man, Danny, will be played by George, not the fop."
Christine just stared at the letter in Madame Giry's hands. Fop, fop, fop. That was all she could think of. She remembered the conversation from earlier with Erik. "Great. The Fop is back." She looked at the floor then around. Her Angel of Music –Erik- was the Phantom of the Auditorium.
No one seemed to notice her inner turmoil.
"It also says that if his demands are rejected something bad will happen."
Christine's eyes seemed to bulge out, that was just what Erik said. "All she needs is convincing. I can take care of that."
Madame Giry continued. "Who here thinks that we should cast Christine as lead? You do all remember the Fire of ninety-seven? I don't wish that anything like that would happen again."
"So you believe in him?"
Everyone turned to Sorelli, a fellow classmate, who had been the one that said it.
Madame Giry smiled. "Yes, I do. Do you?"
"Yes, but-" Sorelli stopped. "Is he really capable of doing that?"
"He's capable of anything," Meg told them.
"How would you know?"
Meg chuckled as if to herself. "I was practically raised here. I know almost everything there is to know. Believe me I know. He's capable of anything as long as he sets his mind to it."
"So he's real?" Serena asked skeptically.
Meg shrugged and spoke darkly. "As real as you and me."
Joseph stood up, his spiked punk hair making him look like a joke. "Okay, who here has seen him? Exactly, no one. No one has seen him, because he's not real."
Christine bit her lip so that she wouldn't speak out.
"So that's it?" Ally, one of the blonds asked. "You say that he's not real and that's it?" She uncrossed her arms. "Personally, I don't want to take any chances."
Raoul stood from his chair. "Okay, this is getting us no where. I say we vote. Okay, raise your hand if you want Ms. Bitch- I mean Carlotta to do the lead?"
Seven raised their hands.
Raoul nodded. "Okay, why?"
One of the freshmen girls spoke up. "We don't want to take any chances either. If the Mayor wants Carlotta we should put Carlotta as the lead."
The other six nodded.
"Okay, who wants to put Christine as lead?"
Christine didn't raise her hand and since Jammes was out running around, there was only nine that voted for Christine, including Raoul.
"Majority rules," Raoul said triumphantly. "Sorry."
"Hey," Joseph said. "Just because the Phantom wants your little girlfriend to play lead, it doesn't mean that she should."
Christine hid her face and sunk down her chair. "Can you guys please keep me out of this?"
"What is going on here?" André said.
They all turned to him and the principal at the doors of the auditorium.
They all looked at their triumphant face. "I just received a letter from the Mayor." The principal waved a fax paper in his hands. "He says that he is excited about Grease and hopes that his favorite actress Carlotta will play the lead."
Joseph screamed in victory. "Ha! See?"
Carlotta squealed with joy.
Joseph smiled. "I guess this settles it, Carlotta will play lead then?"
The principal looked around confused. "What's going on?"
Madame Giry explained.
After hearing this, his face turned tomato red and he seized the Phantom's letter in his hands. "I refuse to be told how to run my auditorium! Whoever did this will pay!" He began to rip the letter into little pieces. "Carlotta will play lead. She will shine and be the star and she will sing and act beautifully. This is for the Mayor! And this is my school, I say how things will be run now."
Christine watched all of this unfold with her mouth open.
Madame Giry looked at Christine with shrugged shoulders. "Sorry, Christine."
Christine shrugged. "Majority rules, right?"
They had no idea that the Phantom would make them all eat their words.
I know, I dont know where I got Grease from. I needed a modern musical and that was the only one I could think of other than Phantom of the Opera, but that wouldn't make sense would it? I finally gave the principal a name! Yay! I don't know if I should add Raoul's brother Phillipe, if I do, it will take longer for me to update.
Responses:
TheAngle'sMaggie- So glad you like it! I update as soon as its possible.
MagickAlianne- :o) Thank you!
Lady-Lomode- I will try my best to get the Phantom to say that!
El Loopy- whew I was really worried about that!
Kim Sparrow- I couldn't help it! Does your name have to do with Jack Sparrow?
Queen of Perfectionism- :o) Glad you're still enjoying my story!
Okay with that out of the way: Stay tuned for Chapter Thirteen Showtime!
