Chapter 4

Walking onto the stage from the left wing, Dustin started towards the piano across stage, when he noticed something crumpled on the middle of the stage. Walking closer, he saw that it was a girl about his age. Kneeling down, he turned her over on her back. Brushing the hair out of her face, he was sure that she was only a year younger than him. Who is this girl? She looks really familiar; and pretty! He thought to himself.

Taking the girl by the shoulders, he gently shook her in order to wake her. Seeing her eye lashes flutter, he stopped and waited. Moaning, the girl sat up, looking around blurrily. "Where am I? Oh my head." She moaned, putting her head in her hands. Looking around again, she saw Dustin next to her, looking rather concerned. "Oh, hello. Um, where am I?" she asked, a little startled at seeing him.

"Mademoiselle, why were you asleep on the stage?" Dustin asked. "Are you alright? You look to be in pain. What happened?"

"Whoa, one question at a time! Um, to answer all of your questions at one time, I have no idea. All I remember is you waking me up. So, where am I?" she asked again.

"Mademoiselle, you are on the stage of the Opera Populaire, the grandest opera house, in Paris France." Dustin replied, gesturing around to emphasize his words. "May I ask another question?" The girl nodded. "Okay, so you have no clue what happened to you, or where you are, well, not anymore that is, but do you at least know who you are?"

The girl looked at him, and then down at her lap. Dustin lifted her chin with his hand, and whipped away her tears. "It's okay. I'll help you remember! My name is Dustin Alexander Lefevre. I'm an actor here, but I also help out in the stables or whatever they need me for when I'm not on stage."

"The stables?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, you know, where they keep the horses we use in the shows?" Dustin said.

"I know what stables are, I just didn't think that an opera house would have one." She said.

"Well, why not? What else would we use?"

"Oh, I don't know! It just seems odd to me."

"That is okay. Well, I guess we should tell someone you are here, and find something to call you. Are there any names that you like, or can you not remember any?

The girl thought for a minute, then spoke up. "There is something about the name Alex…Alexa! It just sounds so familiar!"

"Well then, Alexa it is; and it definitely suits you. A pretty name for a pretty girl." Alexa blushed at that remark. She looked at him and tried to drill into her head what he looked like so that she would at least know someone. He was well built, muscular because of working wit horses, hand dark dirty blond hair cropped to the middle of his ears, just long enough that he had to wipe it out of his eyes. He had hazel colored eyes, which were very nice to look at. When he stood up, Alexa saw that he was tall, maybe five feet nine inches. Noticing that he had his hand out, Alexa snapped back from her thoughts and took it. Helping her up, Dustin smiled to himself.

"First, I'll take you to see the managers, the Messieurs Firmin and Andre, to see what they think we should do about you." Dustin started, leading her off the stage to the doors in the back of the auditorium. "After that, I guess we should get you cleaned up; you um, might want to get a new dress."

"Why, what's wrong with the one I have on?" Alexa said, looking at what she had on. The neck line came up under her chin, and the hem came to just above her ankles, displaying ballet toe shoes, also, it had long sleeves to her wrists. The color was a deep red, not a very pretty dress, and obviously meant for dancing in. "Isn't this what everybody wears?"

"Um, not anymore." Dustin said, laughing a little. "That style went out five years ago; but the hem, I have never see one so high!" He was making an effort not to look at her ankles.

Hearing a knock at the door, Andre got up from his desk to open it. Upon doing so, he saw one of his juvenile actors accompanied by a young girl about his age. "Ah, come in Monsieur Lefevre! What a pleasant surprise; what brings you down to the office? Showing your lady friend around I presume?

"Not exactly Monsieur Andre, but it is she who brings me here." Dustin replied.

"Please, sit down Mademoiselle." Monsieur Firmin said, indicating a chair. Before Alexa took the chair, she looked at Dustin, who was still holding onto her arm, for assent, which he gave by nodding his head and leading her to it.

"Now, Dustin, what exactly do you mean?" Monsieur Firmin asked, sitting back down behind his desk, as well as Monsieur Andre, leaving Dustin the only one still standing.

"Well Messieurs, I was going to the theater to practice one of the songs for the upcoming show, when I saw something crumpled on the stage." He began to recite the events that had just happened. "Messieurs, Alexa, that is what she wants to be called; she doesn't know who she is! She had no recollection of how she got here, where she came from, or anything! I brought her here thinking that one of you would know what to do with her, or if maybe somebody had seen her enter." Dustin finished.

"A smart idea young man, but I doubt anyone has. Well, Mademoiselle, Alexa was it?" Monsieur Andre asked. Alexa nodded. "Well my dear, I presume that you are a ballerina?" Alexa looked at him quizzically, then at Dustin.

"Sir, I told you, she doesn't remember." Dustin spoke up for her.

"Alright, well, assuming that she is, we should have Madame Giry look at her. I guess we could hear her sing as well, to see if se should be I the choir. Just take her to the dance studio to Madame Giry, and tell me how it goes later."

"Yes Monsieur." Dustin said, bowing politely. Walking over to the chair, he helped Alexa stand, and escorted her out of the office. Once the door was shut and they were around a corner, Dustin spoke. "You will have to forgive them; they are not the smartest men in Paris. Let's see, at this hour, Madame Giry will be just about ready to call a break from practice, so you won't have to wait.

Walking through the opera house, Alexa found that is was just a big maze, or so it seemed, and hoped she wouldn't get lost. After what seemed like forever, and after they had turned one to many corners, Dustin stopped in front of a door. Knocking first, he entered to find an older woman surrounded by at least thirty ballerinas. Upon his entering, all of the girls started giggling and talking to each other. When they noticed Alexa on his arm, slightly behind him, they all glared at her, obviously jealous.

"Ah, Monsieur Lefevre, what brings you down to my studio?" the older woman asked, noticing what the girls were all looking at.

"Madame Giry, "Dustin said, giving a polite bow. "May I speak with you in private?"

"Yes, of course. Girls, take a thirty minute break. I'll be back in a little while." Madame Giry said, walking to her office which was off of the studio; motioning for Dustin to follow. "Now, what do you need?" she said, closing the door behind them. Noticing Alexa, she gave a questioning glance to Dustin.

"She can stay, she is the reason I am here." He replied. He escorted Alexa to another chair in front of Madame Gily's desk, and recanted the story again. When he finished, Madame Giry was sitting behind her desk, looking from him, to Alexa, and back again.

"Very interesting story, but why have you brought her to me?" Madame Giry asked.

"Well, Messieurs Andre and Firmin think that she might be a dancer, hence her shoes, and thought that you could give her an audition. I don't know, but it might provoke her memory!" Dustin responded.

"All of my dancers sing; they are in the choir. Can this girl sing?"

"We were going to find out after she gets cleaned up. speaking of which, she needs new clothes, and a room to stay in. can you help her with that as well?"

"I'll see what I can do. Okay, Alexa was it? Come with me girl; let's see what you can do." Walking back out into the studio, Madame Giry started a simple dance number. Repeating it over, to make sure that Alexa saw, she asked her to copy her moves. "This is one of the dance numbers in the show Hannibal. We did that show about twenty years ago. I want you to follow me, and do what I do."

Alexa watched Madame Giry, and started to copy her. Pretty soon, she was able to do eight counts of eight, so Giry stopped to watch, motioning for Alexa to begin again. It was a beautiful dance, and Alexa enjoyed dancing it; but there was something familiar about it to her.

"Girl, clear your mind! Let the steps flow from one to another!" Giry called from where she was watching. "That's it, you are doing wonderfully!"

Pretty soon, the part that Alexa had just been taught was over, but she didn't stop. Something inside her just kept telling her to keep dancing, telling her body what move came next. Alexa was lost in her mind, remembering the dance from somewhere; and nothing mattered except executing the next step the steps were getting increasingly complicated, but Alexa never missed a beat.

"I thought you said she couldn't remember anything." Giry said, seemingly in a trance as she watched the mystery girl dance.

"That's what she told me." Dusting whispered. He was also lost in what he was seeing: the most beautiful girl that he had ever met, dancing the most beautiful dance he had ever seen.

"I am one of two who still knows those steps!" Giry gasped. "And I know that neither of us has taught them to anyone; where did this girl come from? That's what I want to know. Dustin thought. He had to figure out who this girl was, he just had too!

Suddenly, Alexa stopped dancing. "My dear, why did you stop?" Girly asked, shocked at the sudden end to the mini-performance.

Alexa was looking about her in confusion. "I feel someone watching me, but nobody is here except for you!"

Just then, a handful of the ballerinas burst through the door. "Where did you learn to dance like that?" one asked. "What is your name? Are you going to dance here?" another asked. "Is Monsieur Lefevre your suitor?" a couple others asked giggling.

"That explains the unseen eyes." Giry sighted. "Girls, leave the poor girl alone! Back to practice!" Groaning, they obeyed. "Well, if she can sing, I will take her as a dancer. Heck, even if she can't if will take her! She is the best dancer since…" she never finished that sentence. "Girls, just keep practicing, I'll be back in a little bit. Meg, you are in charge, you know the dances as well as I do."

"Yes mother." one of the older girls said, stepping away from the wall bar.