Author´s notes: Ah, pietà, signori miei! Ah, have pity! The end of term exams, no time to write, and a brief writer´s block… you get the idea. Well, I suppose we´re nearing the end. I promised a chapter, here it is. Anyone who can tell me the meaning of the girls´ surnames gets chocolate!
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Chapter 25 – the Bad Hair Day Theory
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The night had come at last. After combining their efforts and forcing their parents to buy tickets, Amanda and Regina managed to succeed in part 1 of the reason why they were pretty excited to be in London – they were going to see PotO live at long last. It was a year before they planned, but they didn't really care. It was merely another reason to see it, since they could compare the movie and the stage show.
They both realized that right now, they knew things no one in the whole wide world knew – political stuff, cultural shocks, revelations… the newest fashion trends… and what mistakes they made in their tests, plus when they had to study more in order to achieve better grades. In short, as Amanda had noted, they were damned lucky.
Since only Amanda had a more formal dress - a red one with sequins so shiny Regina faked covering her eyes from the reflection in fear of getting blinded – and she hadn't brought it with her, apparently, it was time to get some better outfits, and both of them insisted on doing this shopping alone, though the parents would remain nearby, in other shops.
Both had a certain price limit, but that didn't really matter to either of them. Normally, it would take them about ten seconds to spot what they wanted. This time, they were going through the piles of clothes for at least half an hour before either of them found anything.
Regina went for what her desired dress back in the future they had left behind looked like – black with silver patterns. She had never liked the combination of black and gold, so she went for this. Amanda chose a dark red that would have easily passed for blood, had it been a liquid. Nothing overly daring. Regina in particular wasn't fond of being the object of attention of men, not because she didn't like being in the center of attention, but because she didn't fancy the idea that some might think of her simply as an… object, you could say.
With some slight difficulties, she managed to create her speciality – a French braid using four strands instead of three. After seeing Lord of the Rings, she´d wanted to learn the "fishnet braid", but never succeeded – she only managed to find out how this hairstyle worked. Amanda, whose hair was shorter, settled for leaving it loose rather than her usual ponytail.
Perhaps it wasn't going to be a night full of surprises, since both knew mostly what effects were going to be used in the performance, but they were very much looking forward to it nonetheless. Amanda wondered whether Erik – she still thought of him under that name, it was difficult to decide which one to use now, as it had been back in the past when they were the ones with a different identity – would make an appearance, among the audience, naturally. Regina told her that she had told him about the performance, but also reminded him that people weren't used to ghosts in this century other than those in amusement parks.
The proximity of their parents was also a thing to consider.
Amanda and Regina were the first to find their seats and debated for a while whether it was going to be similar to what they were used to. When the show started, no matter how the others were impressed, Regina remained slightly critical. Amanda enjoyed it a bit more – though she thought the chandelier should have crashed louder – but also saw that some details weren't to her liking. For the first time they realized that while the songs were excellent, there were moments where they would have preferred a new melody and at times, the songs didn't fully capture what they had felt in those situations.
During the break, their parents were eagerly debating the performance. Regina´s parents, both being artists, had a slightly more critical look, but liked it as well. Regina excused herself after a few moments, since she decided she´d better go to the bathroom before act 2, having drunk more orange juice than was perhaps necessary (she felt a bit dehydrated). Knowing perfectly well that not every guy that looked at her would realize she´s only fifteen (especially in this kind of dress) she kept her eyes fixed on the bathroom door, which she had found after a few seconds.
She was only several steps away from the door when a hand – and clearly a man´s – rested gently on her shoulder. Just as she was about to turn around and say something, she nearly jumped when a voice she knew far too well spoke from far too short a distance into her ear: "It would have been far more enjoyable if you had been singing a part that was clearly written for you, my dear."
A couple of meters away, Amanda turned around hurriedly and asked the four parents: "How do you suppose it will end?" and when they answered, she quickly proceeded to continue the discussion. She had seen him before Regina did, and knew one thing – no matter how young the girls that married in the 1870ties were, it wasn't very customary for a man who, Amanda remembered a bit bitterly, was still old enough to be Regina´s father to show such an interest in her. Or, at least, it wasn´t very welcome. It didn't seem to trouble either of the pair, but Amanda was quite sure that there would be problems with that later on.
Regina stared for a moment, then blinked and shook her head slightly, for two reasons: one being assuring herself that the sight of Gerard Butler, looking amazing in a black suit and white shirt with a hand on her shoulder, an amused smile on his face and the fact that he had called her "my dear" was real and she didn't belong in an asylum, the other being that she wanted to say "no" and name a reason why, but for some reason, her voice went to the bathroom without her.
After a few seconds, she cleared her throat slightly and managed to say: "I´m not a professional singer, I have told you that last time." She dropped her voice. "Do you even realize what you´re putting at stake right about now?"
"Absolutely nothing, Christine." he replied quietly, "Though having been beautiful from the moment you were born, I doubt you understand how… elevating it is not to be the center of negative attention. You should remember Erik´s face well, dear, I don't think it´s something easy to forget."
Regina lowered her eyes for a moment – she hadn't realized that, all was going too well to remember these things. Instead of opposing him, she remembered that she had to remind him of one thing. "Regina. That´s my name… here." she said, "Regina Chael."
"You´ll always be Christine to me." Was the whispered response that almost made her blush.
"As romantic as that might have sounded to women a century in the past, I have to remind you that everyone knows me as Regina. Of course you may call me Christine in private, I´m used to the name, but…"
"…but it would be very difficult to explain if anyone overheard. I agree." He said with a curt nod. "You know what to call me, then?"
"Of course. I would say there isn't a single phangirl who wouldn't know that." Regina laughed.
"A what?"
"Oh, never mind that. But we shouldn't be standing here, my parents are nearby, we would have a lot of explaining to do if they would see…"
"No need." Erik said, looking above her shoulder. Regina was tall (176 cm 5´9´´, at least according to what internet calculators told her), but he still towered her by at least five inches. "It seems your ballerina friend is taking care of them."
Regina turned and saw Amanda rambling something to her (Regina´s) father. She almost laughed, but was stopped by the question: "And what new or should I say old identity does the resident ballet rat have?"
"Amanda Kerri." she said, with a slight smile, "Introductions made, I believe."
"Not entirely." It was his turn to smile when Regina´s face became a bit confused. "Come, we must make haste, we´ve only a few minutes left and I´m certain your companions will be missing you if you don´t return quickly." Taking her hand, he pulled her to the left, still, to Regina´s annoyance, amused by her confusion.
It was then that Regina saw where and to whom she was being led, and, not being stupid, understood what he wanted to attempt to do. While not necessarily against the idea, she wasn't certain that directors took kindly to have quasi-talents thrown at them, especially on an occasion such as this one.
Not far away, Amanda chanced a glance at her friend, and found her just in time to see her pulled through the crowds. Amanda being Amanda, the first idea that popped into her mind was not exactly the most modest reason for why Regina might be pulled away willingly. Then she dismissed that – Regina was too… proper to do something like that. Well, thus far. Amanda grinned to herself. She had managed to "taint" her a bit over the years they had known each other.
And then she saw the two stop – Regina put on a polite but nervous smile as she shook hands with someone out of Amanda´s sight. It seemed that she wasn't required to do much talking, because from that moment, she didn't open her mouth for about a minute, during which she managed to catch Amanda´s eye. The brunette frowned, since she didn't understand why the blonde kept looking as though this was some kind of difficult task she was going through. As if going for a drink, Amanda moved a bit to the right to see who was there with the pair. And it was lucky she hadn't sipped it yet when she saw why Regina seemed anxious – she probably would have choked on the drink.
There were a lot of guys with bad haircuts in the world, but even from afar, the abysmal haircut of Joel Schumacher was unmistakable.
