Phone Calls

"Christine, isn't it obvious? You'll come move in with me for awhile until you find a place to stay." Christine was talking to Meg over the phone and had just finished telling her what had happened with her parents' lawyer the previous day.

"Meg, I don't think that's such a good idea. No offense, but I know your financial situation isn't so great and your apartment isn't big enough for the two of us. Once I get all my stuff in there, we won't be able to move. Not to mention your shoe supply is as big as my kitchen!"

"Oh come on, you told me yourself that you were selling most of the furniture. The other unnecessary things you can put in storage. As for my shoe supply, I think I can manage to shove it all into my closet," Meg reasoned.

Christine knew Meg was stubborn, and was planning on trying everything she could to change her mind. "I'll be too much trouble. After awhile you'll get tired of me and I just know you'll regret this decision."

"Aren't you forgetting how we spent that whole week together at camp when we were twelve? We had a great time and only fought but maybe two times. And that was over stupid things, we've matured since then." Meg smiled, remembering how Christine was always so sweet and innocent, much like she was now. All the girls and herself, in their childish manner, would try to get Christine mad at them to prove that she wasn't always so sweet. They had pulled a good number of harmless pranks on her, making sure she knew it was them. They finally got her to yell at them once. Meg and her friends explained how they only wanted her to join them on the "dark side." Christine let them down, by simply rolling her eyes, laughing, and walking away. Meg subconsciously laughed at the memory.

Christine had remembered also. "Well, most of us have."

"Hey!" Meg laughed. "So what do you say? It'll only be for a little while if you want. I just want to help you."

Christine thought about it. She was just planning on staying at her house until she sold it, not wanting to move before she sold the house. I guess living with Meg wouldn't be so bad. It'll be easier for me to adjust to the moving if I start living with someone I know. Maybe then it won't be as hard selling the house. Christine though about this a little longer before answering, "Alright, but only for a little while."

Christine could hear Meg give off a very shrill and annoying squeal on the other line, causing Christine to fall of the edge of the couch where she was perched and hit her head on the coffee table.

"Christine, are you there? Hello…?"

"Geez, Meg. Curse it," Christine winced, rubbing the back of her head while cursing under her breath.

A few weeks later, Christine was sitting at the windowsill gazing out at the new addition to her front lawn: the horrid "For Sale" sign. An inspector had already come to see her house and tell her the thingsshe needed tofix up before letting people see her home. So far only one family had come, seeming only mildly interested in the home. Even if they decided to put in an offer, Christine was going to wait to see if she got a better asking price. She planned to get as much out of this as possible. The telephone ringing soon brought Christine from her thoughts as she went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hello is this Christine Daae?" a familiar voice came from the speaker.

"Yeah, who is this?" Christine replied.

"This is Richard Davis. How're you doing?" he inquired.

"I'm fine. I recently put the for sale sign up and am planning to move in witha friend in a couple of days," Christine explained, going to sit down.

"Good, good. Well, like I said the other day, I called the opera director I told you about and he said he's willing to have you work for him. You won't exactly be able to write complete lyrics for his opera since most of it is already written, but he agreed to have you help with all musical aspects of it. Is this ok?" Richard asked, awaiting the young girls' answer.

Christine's heart fluttered at the news. This truly was an experience that she didn't want to miss. "When do I start?"

Richard laughed at her eagerness. "He said he'd give me the information if you agreed. So I'll have to get back to you, again. I apologize."

"No, no, it's fine. I can't wait. What's his name?" Christine asked, going to get a glass of water from the tap.

"Erik Dupon."

Just as Christine took a sip, water spewed out of her mouth, spraying everything. This was immediately followed by a dreadful coughing fit. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Erik Dupon. Didn't I mention that before?" Richard asked, becoming concerned.

"Not exactly. Now when you say Erik Dupon, you mean THE Erik Dupon?" Christine asked, refusing to believe she was being offered a position to work with one of the greatest opera directors ever born.

"Yes. Now I could've sworn I mentioned that before…" Richard said, surprised at Christine's reaction.

"Trust me, I definitely would have remembered that piece of information," Christine mumbled, still coughing a bit from the shock earlier. A little while later, the two hung up and Christine hurriedly went to call Meg again.

The next day Christine had gone to talk to the directors of Il Muto to inform them of her retirement from the show. She had explained the situation to them. At first they had been a little upset, but had softened by the end of her story and let her go with one last final paycheck. Christine gratefully took it and headed for home. She had neglected to tell them about her going to work for Mr. Dupon, just in case it started something that she did not want to get into.She was happy enough with how the ordeal had gone.As she walked through her front door, the phone rang yet again.

"Hello?" Christine answered.

"Hello Ms. Daae, it's Richard again," he said, recognizing her voice this time. "Mr. Dupon has informed me with all the information. You are going to start working for him a week from tomorrow. You are to arrive at the Royal Opera House in London at 8:00 a.m. each morning as he instructs. That's all the information he's given me, but I'm sure he'll give you more when you meet him," Richard informed.

"Thank you so much Mr. Davis. I really do appreciate everything you've done for me. My offer always stands, if there is anything I can do for you…"

"Ms. Daae, don't worry about that. I knew your parents well and I know they would want someone to look after you. Consider me your guardian if you will," Richard said, soothingly.

"I do." Christine's eyes filled up thinking of her parents and how she wished to tell them of this great opportunity. Of course I wouldn't be doing this if my parents hadn't died. That selfish thought scared Christine, so she quickly put it in the back of her mind.

"Before you go Christine, let me warn you. Mr. Dupon is not…oh, how do I put this…the most, social man. He's rather, shy, I guess one might say. I recommend to just do your work and don't expect anything in return from him other than your paycheck," Richard said slowly, choosing his words carefully.

Christine thought about his words the rest of the day, confused. What did he mean by shy? She put it aside, anxiously awaiting the Monday when she began working for the famous Erik Dupon.

A/N: So, yeah, here's the next chapter. Terribly sorryabout the wait, but now my mind is refreshed and I can finally begin writing again. Thank you again to those who reviewed and gave me the motivation to keep writing.I only sent back email to the people who had an address to reply to. I'm not sure how to contact the people who don't have that. So I apologize to those whom I didn't respond to for my lack of knowledge in computer skills. So please, more reviews and maybe I'll update sooner!

Your humble servant,

Greek-Phantomphan