An Upsetting Warning

Me and Meg were walking off of the stage after rehearsals. She was going to the dining room to meet Tom. As we approached the entry way to the dining room, Meg turned to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Okay, how does my hair look? Is my makeup alright? Is there anything in my teeth? How is my breath? Do you think..." I had to cut her off before she passed out from lack of oxygen to the brain.

"You look fine, Meg. I'm sure everything will go alright. I'll see you a little bit later, alright?" She nodded and slowly walked into the dining room. I watched as Tom walked over and kissed Meg's hand. I hadn't really taken a close look at Tom until now. He was very tall with short, brown hair. Meg seemed a little hesitant, but slowly began to relax as he led them over to a table. I turned around to see Miss Sherry's face right in front of mine. Why is she always in my face! Meg shouldn't be the one to worry about bad breath. It should be Miss Sherry instead. I smiled down at her sweetly.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Sherry? She smiled right back and firmly took hold of my arm.

"Why don't you and I go into the dining room and have a little talk." I was about to reject her offer when she pulled be through the door. I looked over at Meg's table for a little help, but could see that her and Tom were too engrossed in their conversation. Well, I guess I can count on not seeing too much of Meg from now on. Miss Sherry led me over to a small table in the corner of the room. I sat down and waited for her to begin the conversation. She looked up at me and smiled that fake smile again. I smiled my fake smile right back at her.

"Now, I think that we got off on the wrong foot, don't you? Why don't we agree to be friends from now on and settle our differences. What do you say?" I just sat there and stared at her in shock. This must be a trick. She was giving me the evil glare two hours ago, and now she wants to be friends?

"Why should I trust what you say when you have done nothing but torture me the whole time I've been here?" She slid back in her chair and propped her chin on her hands.

"I have been known to lose my anger when I don't get what I want, and that was one of those times. I do come from a wealthy family, after all, and I have become a little spoiled over the years. You must not take that to heart, my dear." You must not call me "dear". I cannot believe her!

"Just tell me what you want, Miss Sherry, because your lie isn't fooling me." That took the sweet little smile right off of her face. She leaned forward and gritted her teeth.

"Listen you little moron, I need that role in Hannibal. I was born to sing Think Of Me! I would have, too, if you hadn't come to the Opera House. Have no fear, though, for I have come up with a plan. If you do not give me that role, let's just say that you won't have a music teacher anymore. I know that the Phantom is your tutor and I despise how he is helping you through every obstacle that comes your way. We'll just see how well you do when he's gone. So, will you give up your part or not?" She is blackmailing me...again! I have to do this, though, or Erik's life could be in danger! I just can't tell him about this or it will make matters much worse. I guess I'll just have to come up with a lie for him and the whole cast.

"Fine, I will give my part. Just promise me that you won't hurt the Phantom, though." She rose from her chair and laughed wickedly.

"Oh, don't worry, my darling. He won't be hurt too badly." She began to walk away but I ran after her.

"Wait, that wasn't the deal we made! You said that if I gave you my part then you wouldn't hurt the Phantom. You cannot go back on your promise!" She turned to face me and laughed in my face.

"I never said the word "deal" to our little agreement. Therefore, it's not really a promise is it?" She pushed past me and kept on walking. Now, I have never been a violent person, but something just took over my body then. I ran after Miss Sherry and jumped on her back. We fell to the floor, me on top and her underneath me. I grabbed her hair and gave hard pulls. She tried to pull my hands off, but I held on with a tight grip.

"You little witch, get off of me!" She began to raise up, but I pushed her back down.

"I won't let you go until you promise me that you won't hurt the Phantom!" She dug her nails into my hands until I let go of her hair.

"Never!" I pulled her arm back over her head as she screamed out in pain. She grabbed my shoulder and pulled so hard on it that my sleeve ripped. We started to roll around on the floor as we hit each other. I suddenly felt two arms lift me up and I watched as Andre' pulled Miss Sherry up as well. I turned around to see that Madame Giry was the one that had lifted me up. Andre' held on to Miss Sherry tightly as did Madame Giry to me. I guess they were afraid we would jump onto each other again.

"What in high heavens is going on here?" Me and Miss Sherry began to tell our version of it at the same time. Andre's shook his head.

"Please, one at a time! Miss Sherry, you may go first."

"Thank you, Andre'. Well, I had invited Rachel to sit with me at the table. We started to talk and I mentioned the Phantom to her. She said that she truly believed in him, but I told her that he was surely just a myth. Well, she got all crazy saying that I should believe in him instead of believing what everyone else does. The next thing I knew she had me on the floor pulling at my hair." Oh my gosh! I know Madame Giry won't believe this, but I know Andre' probably will.

"Rachel, is this true?" See, what did I tell you?

"Of course it's not true! I am not crazy for one thing, and I didn't even want to sit with her! She has done nothing but make my life miserable since she came here. She said she wanted to talk with me, so I followed her to a table. She said that if I didn't give up my role in Hannibal to her, then she would hurt the Phantom. I know this may come as a shock to you, but I don't want the Phantom hurt. He may be a murderer, but he's still a person! I just lost my temper, but she has done much worse to me in the past." Andre' shook his head and turned to Miss Sherry.

"I am truly sorry for what has happened, Miss Sherry. As an apology, I think Miss Thompson should give up her role and give it to you." Madame Giry stepped forward.

"Andre', do you honestly think you should go that far? Everyone makes mistakes, and I know Rachel didn't mean anything by it. Why don't we just make sure nothing like this ever happens again and forget all about it, shall we?" Andre' shook his head and began to walk away.

"We can't let a fight like this go unnoticed. Look at them! Miss Sherry's arm is obviously hurting her very badly and Miss Thompson has scratches on her hands! Now, Rachel started it and Rachel is going to face the consequences. Now, I don't want to hear of this anymore! Have I made myself clear, everyone?" We all nodded as he walked away. Miss Sherry also walked away while rubbing her sore arm. Meg ran over to us as Madame Giry led me over to a chair.

"Are you alright, Rachel? We saw what happened!" Madame Giry turned to her daughter and pushed her towards the table that Tom was sitting at.

"Meg, you will see Rachel later, but I must talk with her for the moment." Meg sighed and walked back to Tom.

"Madame Giry, you do believe me, don't you?" She sat down next to me and took my hand.

"Of course I believe you, honey. I'm afraid to say, but the Phantom saw everything. You must be extremely careful. I know you want to see him, and I will let you. Please promise me that you won't let this worry you too much. I will try and get your part back. She won't hurt the Phantom, believe me. He has many ways of getting around sticky situations. Now, I must leave but remember all that I said." She hugged me and led me out of the dining room. I walked down the hall that led to my room. After I opened the door and locked it behind me, I went over and looked into the mirror.

"Don't worry, Erik, I won't let anything happen to you as long as I live." I slid the glass back and stepped into the darkness.

(Author's Note: Well, this one isn't too long, but it is longer than the last one. I will probably be able to update either tomorrow or Sunday. So, tell me what you think about the whole situation. Thanks a bunch!)