"Cassie?" Cassie opened her eyes and realized she'd fallen asleep outside. "Cassie, are you in there?" Cassie could hear Ryan shouting on the other side of the door. She quickly got up and ran to answer it. "There you are. Were you asleep?"
"Yeah, I must have dozed off outside." She said re-doing her pony tail. "What's up?"
"Mia and Matt are downstairs…Mia said she hadn't seen you since this morning." He blushed slightly at the memory of being in a rather compromising position when Mia had come in.
"Yeah…."
"Well, there's a group going down to find a McDonald's or something. We're all just hungry and want to get something to eat. You wanna come?"
"Sure, let me grab my purse and change into something a little better." She said looking down at her worn and rumpled sweatshirt. She grabbed a long sleeved shirt and stripped out of her sweatshirt, her back to Ryan. She combed out her hair quickly and deciding that she'd never get it to do what she wanted it to, she pulled the tail through the back of a ball cap. It looked stupid with the fairly dressy top though so she scrounged up a different, cleaner sweatshirt. Ryan laughed as she pulled the hoodie over her head.
"Let's go, sexy."
"Go to hell…you don't have to deal with this much hair!" Cassie said as she locked the door. She hit him playfully and raced him down the stairs. When they reached the bottom they found that half the students were downstairs. Cassie jumped on Ryan's back as he passed by her.
"Let's go!" Ryan shouted out as he rushed past the group. Everyone laughed.
Dinner that evening was a jovial affair. It consisted of some people asking the waiter at the diner they found where exactly French Fries were invented and who the hero of the fast food industry was.
"You mean you don't know who Raoul Jean-Paul Palpeteau was?" Jason asked.
"His birthplace isn't a national landmark?" Andy countered. The waiter glared and departed as the group laughed.
"Raoul Jean-Paul Palpa what?"
"Palpeteau….I don't know…I made it up." Jason said laughing as he stuffed his face.
The group of a dozen or so students ended up singing boisterously on their way back to the hotel. They started with 'Allouette' and moved on to 'Masquerade' since they had most of the parts present. They received applause from the occupants of a carriage as it passed by them. Their spirits were high that night as everyone went to finish packing for the busy day tomorrow.
"Hey, have you seen my green bra?" Mia asked as she continued to shove things into her bag.
"No…but maybe you should ask Matt about that."
"Oh no you didn't…" Mia stood up and looked at Cassie as she sat on the floor laughing.
"I think I did."
"Am I ever going to get any slack for that?" Cassie contemplated the ceiling before finally answering.
"No, I don't think I'll ever let you live it down."
"Damn." Cassie laughed as Mia went to work digging under the bed. Cassie and Mia had to sit on their suitcases to get them closed. They'd bought a few things while in Paris and now their suitcases were a little too full.
"Finally!" Mia and Cassie heaved a sigh as they threw their suitcases into a corner and looked around their clean room. Mia tossed Cassandra a candy bar and the two of them sat slumped against their luggage enjoying the ability to relax. "Well, I guess this is it…tomorrow we'll be up in the dormitories of the Opera house." Mia wadded her candy bar wrapper up and chucked it at the trash basket, bouncing it off the rim.
"Yeah…I wonder if it'll be cold there."
"I doubt it. Even if it is…I think we'll be able to find a way to keep things warmed up." Cassie and Mia laughed knowing what the other was thinking.
The next day everyone assembled in the lobby. Mia and Cassie were some of the first one's there. Matt and Ryan came down and sat with the girls and watched as everyone assembled. Davette came downstairs without any of her suitcases and looked around. Her eyes fell on one of the Harrison boys and she approached quickly.
"You there….I need your help to get my bags downstairs."
"Excuse me?" Jason said.
"Well, I can't tell you from your brother….but I need help getting my luggage downstairs." Davette said.
"I don't work here…go ask one of the bell captains." Jason turned back and continued to talk to Christian.
"What about you?" Davette approached one of the boys who was helping with the set. "You're used to lifting heavy things."
"Hell no…you shouldn't have brought so much crap with you." Davette looked around, pleading for someone to help her. Mia and Cassie looked at one another and got up to approach Davette.
"You can't be serious." Matt said grasping Cassandra's wrist. "She's evil incarnate."
"She needs help…just because she doesn't know how to ask for it politely doesn't mean we have to be blind to her plight." Mia answered. They went up to Davette.
"You know, if you asked people politely you may get more help, Davette." Cassandra said as she came up beside the girl.
"What?"
"Well, you demand instead of ask. If you actually asked instead of gave orders, you just might be able to find some help."
"I'll figure something out."
"No need, Davette…we're gonna help you out." Mia said as she headed for the stairs. "Come on, we're gonna have to load up the buses in a little while." Davette followed them upstairs and unlocked her door. Three large suitcases sat on the floor.
"All this is yours?" Cassie and Mia asked as they began tugging at the suitcases.
"Yes." Davette said. "You can't expect me to wear the same clothes over and over for almost a month, can you?"
"Well, the rest of us are." Mia said as she drug a bag down the hall.
"Thank you." Davette said quietly before the three girls made it to the lobby. "You didn't have to help me."
"It's OK Davette…you'll repay us someday." Mia said flinging the bag across the polished marble floor. "Laterz."
Cassie and Mia returned to their seats beside Ryan and Matt and waited for Mr. Villefort and Mr. Giles to tell them how they were to load the charter buses to get to the Opera House.
"Now, this is how this is going to work. There is a back stage office space which Mr. Villefort and I will be sharing. We can be reached there when we're not on stage. During the evenings Mrs. Giles and I will be sharing a dressing room. Each of the leads is being assigned a dressing room. The dancers and those playing minor roles will all be sleeping in the lofts…it's a communal sleeping arrangement so the boys will be on the left side and the girls on the right. Is that clear?" Everyone agreed and they began loading onto the bus. "Now when we first arrive, we're going to have to unload the big truck that has all the set stuff on it. Everyone needs to help get the costumes up to the costume loft, the set pieces on to the stage and the luggage will be dealt with afterwards."
When they arrived at the Opera house they went into a back entrance, not up the grand front staircase. The area was a mass of wood timbers that went up in a confusing maze-work. They were given a quick and thorough tour of the back stage area where their set pieces would need to be brought. A large door was opened and the students swarmed up and into the large eighteen wheeler, pulling set pieces and costume racks out of the back and down into the waiting arms of fellow classmates. It took them very little time to get everything unloaded from the truck and into the Opera House. They even got some things set up on stage, backdrops were piled against the rear part of the stage to wait getting strung up in the catwalks. The entire group assembled on stage. They were sweaty and felt groady.
"Now, messieurs Le Besprit, Escrime, and Du Renaise are going to show you all where you'll be sleeping. First, Mssr. Escrime is going to take the male cast members and stage hands to the loft. The only boys that won't be going with them are Matt, Mark and Ryan." The boys got up from the floor and followed the first man who had dark greasy hair and dark brown eyes. He muttered to himself in French as the boys followed along. "The Ladies will follow Mssr. Du Renaise to their sleeping quarters. Davette, Mia and Cassandra won't be going though." Mia beamed at Cassie. That meant they'd get dressing rooms. Mssr. Le Besprit was the last man. He and Mr. Du REnaise looked much the same. Both had hair that may once have been blonde but was now striped with gray. While Mr. Escrime had brown eyes, Mr. Le Besprit had Blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled. He was the only man that did so.
"Please, follow me Madame's e messieurs. You will kindly follow me. I think you will find your rooms made out to your liking." The man said in heavily accented English. "This way." The first room they came too was rather small. Mr. Le Besprit took a piece of paper from his pocket and looked down the list and then at the number above the door. "This is to be Mr. Andrews's room." The man turned on a light and revealed the room to contain a bed, a dressing table and a full length mirror. It was smaller than most jail cells.
"Alrighty then." Matt said entering the room slowly and looking around. "It needs some color, but I can fix that." Ryan snorted but wouldn't look at Cassandra when she glared at him.
"Next will be Miss Owens's room." They went further down the hall and stopped at a door on the opposite side from Matt's room. He was leaning in the door way of his room smiling as the room was opened for Davette.
"Oh no…this is not right AT ALL!" Davette shrieked. Her room was only slightly larger than Matt's as it contained a closet beside the mirror. "It's so dirty and small!" Davette looked outraged. Mrs. Giles, who had accompanied them looked in the room and sighed.
"Davette, it'll be alright….we'll make it work for you." Davette had tears streaming down her face. Messieur Le Besprit continued down the hall seemingly unaware of Davette's plight.
"Madame Care-twright's room." Though the room was slightly larger than Davette's it was not noticeable. Cassie could hear the wheels spinning in Mia's head.
"Don't you dare." She hissed as she passed by.
"That's a wonderful idea Cassie…I was just thinking it myself…." Mia said smiling. "Oh Davette! I have a proposition for you!" Ryan snorted again but Cassie hit him before it went any farther. They passed through another dark corridor.
"The two doors on the left will be for the Messieurs Alexander and 'Oward." Mr. Le Besprit said unlocking the doors and holding out the keys to Ryan and Mark. "I believe it was suggested that Mr. Alexander take the farther door while Mr. 'Oward take this one. Mrs. Giles and Cassie were lead to a door on the right side of the hall.
"This room is for Miss Davagé. I hope this is acceptable." Mr. Le Besprit opened a door that was painted the same pea green as the others, but was decorated with white, red and pink roses painted on it. When Cassie looked inside she saw that the room was far larger than any of the others they had looked at. Her room contained a sizeable bed, a settee, a dressing table, mirrors and from what she could tell, two closets.
"Oh this can't be right." Cassie said breathlessly as she entered the room for the first time.
"Well, if you are Miss Davagé then there can be no other."
"Holy…."
"SHIT!" The shout from down the hall drew the attention of Mrs. Giles, Mr. Le Besprit and Cassie. Ryan was standing in the hall, his face pale. "Umm…is there somewhere else maybe, this room isn't going to work." He said looking at the three people in the hall. Everyone went and stood behind Ryan who was standing in his doorway looking at his room.
One wall looked charred, and another water damaged. Ceiling Tiles were rotten and one lay at their feet.
"It nearly knocked me out when I opened the door." Ryan said. "I don't think this room is safe." Mr. Le Besprit looked shocked.
"Mon dieu this is not right at all! This was supposed to be fixed. You see, we had a small electrical problem last week. I am terribly sorry about this Messieur Alexander." Le Besprit turned and trudged up the hall to a door just down from Cassie's. "This is a secondary room." He opened the door himself and looked around the large dressing room. "This will be your room." It was just as large as Cassie's but set up in a mirror image. Ryan smiled gratefully and entered his room. Their suitcases were brought down the hall to their rooms by stage hands supplied by the opera house.
That afternoon everyone got unpacked and settled in to their new home at the Opera House, some more comfortable with their new surroundings than others.