Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. The Phantom of the Opera and all of its permutations were begun by the wonderful Gaston Leroux, and brought to the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Obviously, as I am neither of them, I can hold claim only to my original characters, plot, and the arrangement of words on the page.

Author's Note: I'm sure that there are a billion stories out there that are just like this, but the idea for this just wouldn't stop nagging me, so I eventually gave in and wrote the first two chapters. However, there are many other fics also nagging at me in a similar fashion, so I would be very thankful to anyone who would review and tell me whether or not they think this is worth continuing. I'll probably post the next chapter sometime tomorrow after I've given it a final look-through.

A Phantom Melody

Chapter 1: The Stage is Set

Ashley pushed her way to her locker, fighting against the tide of students walking in the other direction. It was only snack, but so far Monday morning had already been depressing: pop quiz in Physics first thing in the morning, followed by a droning lecture in history and an incomprehensible lesson in math. She sighed, wishing for the billionth time that year that she didn't have to take seven classes, and that she didn't have to have the three worst classes early in the morning.

She stopped in front of her locker and smiled wearily at the girl who was already busy opening the locker above hers. "Hey, Kate," she said, setting down her backpack and fiddling with the combination lock.

"Having another wonderful Monday?" her friend asked, taking books out of her backpack. Her dirty-blonde hair was falling out of its messy bun, and she pushed it back perfunctorily before continuing. "What do we do in Marvin's class?"

"He lectures, we take notes," Ashley replied.

Kate groaned, closing her locker. "You take notes. I do math homework."

"Why didn't you do it in drama? You're always telling me that you do nothing in that class when you're between plays, and didn't you just finish The Crucible?"

"Mrs. Grimm's starting us on the musical already," Kate said, her tone a mixture of weariness and excitement. Most of the time, Ashley couldn't understand why her friend did what she did for the school's drama program. Then again, Kate always said the same about Ashley's participation in the school orchestra, so they had long ago decided to call it even. This year had been even more difficult for Kate, since the new drama teacher was working her students far harder than the old teacher who had retired at the end of last year.

"Already?"

"I know; Mrs. Tucker never started us working on it until March or April. But Mrs. Tucker never decided to perform Phantom."

Ashley, who had been busy switching books from her backpack to her locker, stopped in mid-motion and looked up at her friend. "As in Phantom of the Opera?

"Uh huh," Kate nodded, smiling. "I thought that might cheer you up. I know how much you love the songs. You'll definitely get to play the piano for this one."

Ashley stifled a squeal of excitement. If there was one thing she loved, it was music. She had been playing the piano since kindergarten, and was now in her third year playing with the high school orchestra while still taking lessons outside of school. She'd played scores from tons of Broadway musicals, but Phantom was by far her favorite. The songs had enthralled her when she'd first started learning them, nearly three years ago, and now she could play nearly the entire score by heart. Her dynamics would be a little rusty, and she'd have to get used to playing for people to sing along with, but in her mind those were small prices to pay to hear and participate in a live production of Phantom, however amateur it might be.

"Hello, Earth to Ashley!" Kate's words penetrated her euphoria. "Ash, wake up!"

"Huh?" Ashley said. "Sorry, were you saying something?"

"Hearing the voices in your head again?" Kate asked.

"Yes, and they're making marvelous music," Ashley replied, the customary response to what had become a frequent question from her friend. "So what are you going to do? What part do you want to try out for?"

Kate shrugged. "I'll probably just be stage crew or ensemble. But…"

"But what?" Ashley pestered. "C'mon, you have to try out for some role!"

"Well…I was thinking it might be cool to play Meg," Kate said.

"You can definitely get the part," Ashley said. "You know how to act, your singing's not half bad, and I can help you practice if you ever need accompaniment."

"You're just excited because you get to show off your skills in front of the rest of the school," Kate teased.

Ashley blushed a bit and turned back to getting her books for her next classes. The one thing she didn't like about playing piano as well as she did was that it sometimes put her in the spotlight. By nature she was shy around others until she got to know them well. Even around Kate, her best friend of two and a half years, she was usually quiet. "You've got it wrong," she said, slamming her locker shut and shouldering her backpack once again. "Whoever plays Christine will be the one who gets to show off."

"Not like Chrissy Adams needs any other excuses to flaunt her 'talent,' " Kate answered.

"Come on, they can't have done tryouts yet, you don't know that Chrissy will get the part," Ashley said, walking with Kate towards the bench where they generally hung out at snack and lunch.

"Ooh, I hope she doesn't!" Kate said. "But I doubt that'll happen. How many people in this school can sing well enough in the range you need to play Christine?"

"She certainly can't, from what I've heard," Ashley said. "I can't see her as Christine at all. She'd make a better Carlotta."

At this, Kate began to laugh. "Oh the mental images," she managed to say through giggles. "And when Carlotta croaks…" She was overcome with even more giggles, which Ashley joined in on. Christine Adams—Chrissy to her friends, less flattering names to the rest of the junior class—was probably the richest, blondest, most self-absorbed girl at the school. Unfortunately, she also happened to have a passable voice that was the only thing she actually seemed to work for. And to top it off, the choir teacher Mr. Edwards was friends with Chrissy's dad, which meant that she always snagged leading roles in choral performances and the school musical.

"Edwards would never let her get anything less than the lead, but it's fun to think of," Ashley said. "Hey, do you know anyone trying out for Erik's part?"

"You mean the Phantom?" Kate asked. "A few guys in my class want to, but they don't have the range. Andrew's trying for it." She grimaced, and Ashley patted her friend's shoulder sympathetically. Kate had madly crushed on Andrew their freshman year, and made the mistake of telling him so. Needless to say, she was always uncomfortable around him, whenever she was not busy being disgusted by his hormonal teenage attitude.

"I hope he doesn't get it," Ashley said. "Can you imagine him singing Point of No Return?"

"It'd probably be heaven for him. Not only would he get to think about sex constantly, then he'd get to sing about it as well! Eurgh," she repressed a shudder. "If he gets the Phantom's part, I might be genuinely sorry for Christine."

"He's definitely not Phantom material," Ashley agreed, "whether or not he can hit all the right notes. There's something to the character's presence, a dark sort of power that Andrew just doesn't have."

"You're rhapsodizing about fictional characters again," Kate warned.

"Is it my fault that Christine picks the wrong guy?" Ashley asked as she sat down at their bench. "I still don't get how someone in their right mind could turn down Erik for that fop of a Viscount."

"Well," Kate said, ticking off a list on her fingers, "there's the part where Erik's old enough to be her father. That should be enough, but then there's also the fact that he's a confessed murderer and quite talented extortionist. Add to that an insanely genius mind, and I don't blame Christine for being afraid!"

"Okay, so all of that does add up to something minorly disturbing," Ashley admitted. "But it's still so sad! She really breaks his heart."

" 'For either way you choose, you cannot win,' " Kate quoted. "She didn't really have much of a choice. If a guy forced me into making a decision on the spot like that, I don't think I'd be too happy with him."
"Somehow, if you had two guys fighting over you, I don't think you'd mind," Ashley teased as the bell rang.

"Like that'll ever happen," Kate laughed. "See you in English."

"See you," Ashley said, walking in the opposite direction towards her Spanish class and mulling over the thoughts in her head. They were doing Phantom, and she would get to be a part of it. The production that had enthralled her from beginning to end was about to begin again, and this time, she had her own role to play.

So, what did you think? Should I keep going? Since you've taken the time to read this far, it's the least you could do to send me a review, even if it's just one or two lines. I appreciate all feedback!