It was over.
Their run of Phantom was over.
St. Mark's stage still held the props from the greatest performance either school had been a part of. The cast lay listlessly about it….too attached to the months of work they'd put into it to tear it all down and compact it. Even the sandwich board that the leads had painted sat in the aisles of the now empty auditorium….the two extra days haphazardly painted on in mismatching paint; they'd had to add two nights to satisfy the number of people desiring to attend the performance. They'd been judged….and now, they must wait…just as they'd been waiting for the past week and a half.
"Last night was the last performance. The last…." Mark sighed. "When will they tell us?"
"I mean, it must be a hard decision." Jonathan said. "If we were as good as we were, there had to have been someone equal par."
"Or no one." Matt mused. "Come on….we've got Cassandra Davagé singing the lead….how many standing ovations did she receive over the course of a week of performances?"
"Seventeen?" Mia asked.
"No, I think it was nineteen…." Ryan mused from beside her. "She had those two nights where they applauded after the curtain call remember?"
"Right….too true." Mia said grinning. Cassandra blushed. She'd blushed bright for every ovation she'd received. She and Ryan were lying on the stage with the rest of the cast, her head lay upon his outstretched thigh.
"Regardless…they've got to tell us soon." Ryan sighed.
"Let's go bowling." Someone suggested. "I can't stand being here another moment waiting." The cast filtered out slowly.
But the next day was the same. Everyone gathered at the stage and waited with baited breath for an announcement.
The days turned to weeks. Members of the cast began to despair that they had lost the competition. A pall hung over St. Mark's auditorium.
"It's in!" Andy and Jason Harrison came barreling through the doors of the auditorium and down the wide center aisle towards the stage where the cast had gathered for yet another day of waiting. They still weren't sure why they did it; not even Giles and Villefort were present.
"What's in?" Matt asked, a newspaper over his face.
"The letter!"
"The letter?" Matt sat up and took the paper from his face.
"The letter." Mia turned abruptly and looked at Cassandra, hope shining in her eyes.
"So what's it say?" Ryan asked leaping from the stage and grasping Jason by the shoulders.
"I don't know….Mrs. Jefferson just went toodling down the hallway with it in her hand…"
"Dammit!" Everyone started talking at once, the air full of electricity and excitement.
"Can you imagine Paris?" Someone asked. "It'll be so cool….I'm sure we'll get extra credits for art, and language and stuff."
"What if we lost?" Mark asked from his place on the stairs. Cassandra, Matt and Mia turned to him, Ryan was still busy pacing the width of the center aisle and running his hand through his hair.
"What do you mean?"
"Can you imagine the performance they must have put on?" Mark was staring off into the black abyss of the auditorium. Cassandra sat down beside him and looked towards the same infinite dot. "The vocal ranges…the talent…."
"The only people that could have done better are the London cast with Sara Brightman and Colm Wilkinson or Michael Crawford." Mia retorted. Everyone was still arguing busily on stage when the auditorium doors burst open and Giles and Villefort came bustling down the aisle.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please!" Mr. Giles shouted. Still the buzz continued. Cassie and Mia put their fingers in their mouths and let loose whistles that would have stopped buses. "Thank you ladies." Mr. Giles seemed flustered. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like your attention. We have received a letter from the group sponsoring the competition. I know we're all anxious to find out the news…."
"You mean you haven't opened it yet?" Jason asked.
"Well….no. We wanted to open it in front of you."
"Then open it, Mr. Giles!" half the cast yelled together. They were gathered precariously at the edge of the stage. Some were holding hands, silently praying for the good news that they hoped the envelope contained. Mark clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly and Cassie took his hand in hers. He looked into her eyes at the small gesture.
"I'm nervous…." She whispered with a smile.
"Me too."
"Rather anxious aren't we?" Mr. Villefort said from the shadows.
"We've only been waiting three and a half weeks." Sara said impatiently from her place on the edge of the stage. Villefort shrugged.
Mr. Giles held the letter tightly in his hands and sighed….
"Here it goes." Mr. Giles slipped his finger beneath the flap that held the envelope closed and slit the envelope open. Despite Villefort's previous aloof manner, he leaned forward to peer to where Mr. Giles slowly and carefully pulled the letter from the envelope.
A/N: Cliffie. Ha Ha Ha... It'll be a few days before my next update, but since several of you asked, you shall recieve the next few chapters. Enjoy, and keep reviewing, I really appreciate it and love the criticisms and responses I'm getting, so PLEASE keep them coming! Have a great weekend everybody.