That Face in the Mask
Chapter 5: Fun in the Meadow
Disclaimer: I may not own the Phantom of the Opera, but I DO own this computer I'm typing on...Yeah, I know, not as exciting.
Meg quickly ran up the steps to the passageway. She could see the bit of light coming from the gap in between the mirror and the wall. A few more steps and she'd make it. Up the last step and she'd make it. Oh blast it, she'd caught the long hem of her skirt in her furious rush. She pulled it hurriedly, freeing herself and nearly ripping the dress in the process. Finally, she made it! She shoved the mirror door aside just as she heard her mother's footsteps coming back down the hall. Hopefully, she wasn't too late.
She stepped into the room, shoving the mirror firmly into place behind her. Her mother was unlocking the door! Do something! she told herself. Quickly, she grabbed one of her hats off the vanity and flung it on, pretending to admire her reflection in the mirror as her mother came in
"Meg Giry! What are you doing?"
Meg grabbed the hat she'd flung on two mere seconds ago and shoved it behind her back. Vanity was considered a sin in her mother's eyes, and she knew she was in for a scolding, especially since her mother looked as if she hadn't very much good news about this morning.
"Nothing mother"
"What's behind your back?"
Meg handed over the hat, and her mother snatched it out of her grasp. She suddenly recalled how Erik had snatched his white mask out of her hands upon their first meeting. Erik. God, just his name made her shiver. He was so amazing and-uh-oh, her mother was starring at her oddly. She knew she had to make a decision about what to do next, and fast. Well, it was either look the part of a guilty young girl who was caught being vain, or confess she'd snuck down to see Erik, stayed for about four hours, gotten drunk, and snuck back upstairs just in time.
She'd go with looking vain
"Meg, I've told you time and time again: It is a sin to be so vain! You'll go cross eyed from starring at yourself in the mirror so much! I'd think you would have more important things to do, given what's recently happened than stare at your reflection. Like perhaps tidying this place up as I asked you to do"
Meg hung her head in ( what she hoped was) convincible shame. "Yes mother. Sorry mother. I can't help it, mother. The hat went so beautifully with the dress."
Mme. Giry starred at her oddly for a minute. Maybe because the hat she'd flung on was a spring hat, gold with cream flowers, and she was wearing a winter, lilac dress with long sleeves and lilac trim. Her mother shrugged and carefully laid the hat back on the vanity. Meg pulled out a chair for her and broached a conversation "So, how was your meeting with Firmin and Andre. What'd they say?"
Her mother sighed as she sank down into the chair "Not very many good things. According to their and a professional assessment, the Opera House has numerous safety hazards and damages. They said there was no possible way they could even dream of getting it restored within the next year. The fire destroyed almost everything; the stage, seating, the lobby, front hallways, ballet dormitories, backstage and even some of the foundation. It would take thousands, possibly millions of dollars to ever get it back up and running again, but it would take somewhere from five to ten years to complete it."
"Oh no, that's horrible! Well, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
" I don't know, Meg. I truly don't. I do know that we are not going to overstay our welcome here though, and depend on other's charity"
Meg heaved an inward sigh. Once again, her mother's pride would either leave them sleeping on the street, or lead them both to an early downfall/grave.
"Firmin and Andre are irritated and disgruntled enough as it is without us here pestering them and living on charity. You and I will have to find another position."
"Oh, I'm so glad! We can help out getting the Opera House back in shape! What do you suppose they'd need us to do; clean or help build, cook meals for the workers? Well, I couldn't cook of course, you know how horrid some of my domestic skills are, but maybe I could clean or sew or something else they need. Or, perhaps-"
"Meg!" Madame Giry interrupted "I wasn't finished."
"Oh."
"As I was saying, as hard as it would be for both of us, I may have to find a ballet or dancing instruction position outside of this Opera House. You may have to, also, unless you wish to get a position that doesn't involve performance arts"
Meg looked horrified at the proposition. Not at having to go to work, but having to go to work outside of the Opera Populaire! How could her mother possibly imagine such a thing! The Opera Populaire and its members had endured a lot of criticism, and reputation libels and scorns from it's competitors, The Opus Majestique and Bella Theatre and their patrons over the years, seeing as how it was very modern styled and new, built only a few decades ago, while its competitors had been there since practically the dawn of time. But, to go and work for them, just like that? She couldn't be serious!
"Mother, you can't be serious! How could you even consider working with someone other than the Opera Populaire? Not only that, you'd be working for their competitors! The people we fought and worked so hard to compete against for so long! It'd be almost like treason! I could never work for them. And how could your pride let you do something like that?" Meg grimaced once she realized the comment she had made about the pride. Her mother wouldn't appreciate that. But, apparently her mother was either too depressed, tired or worried to care, so she shrugged it off.
"I'm upset about it too, Meg, but what else could we do? There's little to no work available for anyone here, especially not for two former female dancers. We both know our only talents and skills are in dance. You can't hide that. And I'm not happy about it either. I loathe the very thought of it, but there's no alternative. We need some means to support ourselves, like it or not. The Opus Majestique hasn't had that much business of late. Now, with one of the three major Opera Houses destroyed, and the Bella Theatre's terrible scandal with that prostitute back in '65, everyone will naturally flock to the Opus Majestique and they know it. Sweetheart, it's the best alternative, business-wise of course. They're looking for help and we could provide just what they need. You have to understand the position I'm in"
Meg sighed "Of course Mother. I just can't really accept the fact that I won't be working here or performing anymore. I grew up here. My life and all my memories and dreams are in here, mother. It's too painful to accept."
"Mme. Giry nodded "Of course, darling. I understand completely."
"We wouldn't still be living here, would we mother?" Meg asked, daring to hope maybe she could still live in her childhood home, if not work there.
Her mother scoffed " Now, Meg, do you realize how ungrateful and hypocritical that is? We couldn't live here for free and work for their competitors!"
"Mother, are you sure-?"
"I'm quite sure. Besides, even if we wanted to, we couldn't live here permanently. There are too many risks and health hazards. No one even knows we're here now. It's kind of hushed up, because we're only staying a few days, a week at most, until we get jobs and living arrangements"
Meg tried to disguise her disappointment. She supposed she'd eventually have to learn to accept change. Not willingly, though. Her life wasn't looking very good right now. She gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek, and excused herself to go walk around a bit.
"Be careful dear. Only go around here a bit. There's still some loose timbers and wreckage that comes down occasionally. Don't get hurt"
"Yes mother. I will. All right, I won't. Love you!" Meg called over her shoulder. She rolled her eyes as soon as she got out of the dormitories and her mother couldn't see her. God, she still treated her like a child! Meg was (almost) a full grown young woman of seventeen. She should be able to make her own decisions. Imagine making her work at the Opus Majestique! She'd rather work at the Bella Theatre, even if their leading star soprano had been screwing around with common trashy men backstage as a prostitute! It wasn't enough that Meg couldn't help doing work to help restore the Opera Populaire. No, she had to help out their competitors so even when the Opera House was up and running again, they wouldn't get much business. And even though her mother swore they'd go back someday to the Opera Populaire, Meg knew she wouldn't. She was an old woman, set in her ways and refusing to change. It was ridiculous. Why did her mother have to be so goddamn strict all the time? Most seventeen year olds Meg knew of were already married by now and had birthed some children. If her mother kept smothering her like this, Meg knew she'd end up an old maid.
Well, it wasn't all her mother's fault. Men hadn't really paid her much attention. The most attention she'd ever gotten from men was either when she was in tight fitting costumes while dancing at rehearsals, or drinking backstage and being a tad unladylike. But that was it. She supposed most men just weren't attracted to a young, shy girl that wasn't very beautiful, and just had a well built, mature body to offer some man and an overbearing, ridiculously strict mother. Even though she had loved Christine like a sister, she couldn't help being secretly jealous of her sometimes. A beautiful girl men were definitely attracted to, a star of the Opera House, and god, she was complaining about men fighting over her! Not one man even, no, two! Fighting over her! She couldn't believe her sometimes.
Meg couldn't think straight she was so upset and confused, and seeing all the damage done to the familiar passageways and rooms she had known was just making her even more nostalgic and upset than she already was. And the fact that there was a stale smell of smoke and rotting wood and loud cracks every few minutes didn't help much either. Maybe she should go someplace different, outside maybe. She was just starting to go out when she saw someone familiar
"Cedric!" She called. He turned around, a hat and coat on, and his old violin case under his arm.
"Meg! How great to see you. It's been forever"
She swatted his arm "Yeah right! It's only been since yesterday. You couldn't have missed me that much"
"Oh, has it? I didn't really notice."
"Are you okay? Something seems wrong"
"Oh, nothing you need to worry about."
Meg sighed. Once again, she was being treated like a stupid little child
"Come on, tell me what's wrong. Nothing serious, I hope"
"No, nothing drastic. Why don't we go outside? It's way too dark and-" he coughed loudly " dirty in here. You shouldn't be walking around here alone. It's dangerous"
"I'm fine, Cedric. I can take care of myself."
"I know that for a fact. I pity anybody that would come across the likes of you when you're angry"
"Hey!"
"I'm just being truthful. Come on, lets go outside. Maybe we could even take a little walk down to the meadow"
"Sure. Let's go"
Meg knew the meadow was a far way on the outskirts of the city. She shouldn't just leave on a whim likke this without telling her mother first, but she was so mad and upset today and this was the first thing that could cheer her up. Cedric was just being friendly.
They walked along a few city streets, looking at all the fine carriages and store windows they passed by. Meg couldn't help feeling a little resentful. All the people were so happy and gay, having a grand time, totally unaware or not caring that her home was destroyed, she was so miserable and all the other problems that added to the confusion in her life. She sighed. Would anything ever be right again? She and Cedric arrived at the meadow. They walked around a bit and finally decided to sit down and talk. Cedric took off his coat and spread it out on the ground for Meg to sit on. She smiled at the kind gesture. As much as he liked to tease and annoy her, Cedric was still a true gentlemen. He'd make a good husband for some lucky lady Meg thought.
"So? What's wrong Cedric. Coe on, just tell me. You need to let it out.
I guess you're right. It's just, I'm kind of depressed and angry all at the same time. I might be out of work for awhile. There isn't any need of cello players at the moment, and besides, my cello got destroyed and it's beyond any repair. I can't really do much, so I got out my old violin and even auditioned here and there, but no one needs a strings orchestra player at the moment. I have to stay with my brother out on the coast, and I hate the feeling. His wife's kind enough and cheery, and their daughter's absolutely adorable, but my brother is just the most goddamned- sorry, I forgot to watch my language again" Cedric said, turning beat red
Meg smiled "That's okay. What were you saying again?"
"It's just, my brother's always sneering at me and acting so superior and haughty. He never thought I should have gone into music in the first place. He and my father always wanted me to be a doctor like they were and I didn't want to. And now that everything's gone wrong, my brother acts like he was always right and keeps throwing the fact that I'm relying on their charity and can't provide anything in my face. I'm so sick of it. You don't know how annoying a strict older family member can be at times!"
"Yes I do, actually" Meg said "My mother is so strict, I can't stand her at times. Sometimes I feel like she's drowning me in her concerns and demands and I can't breathe! She is so overbearing. You know she is insisting she and I are going to work at Opus Majestique as ballet performers or teachers. I can't believe it. Sometimes I feel like I just want to, to-"
" Escape from everything and everybody and just free yourself from all the annoying cares and confusions of life?
Meg gawked at him "Yes, exactly! That was beautiful. It describes it perfectly. "
He chuckled "Yeah, I know it does. I got it out of some poetry book my mom's always reading. What, did you think I came up with that on my own?"
Meg smirked "You still act like you did when we were children"
He smiled a boyish grin and laid back in the meadow "I know. That's what makes me so adorable"
Meg laughed. Cedric always made her feel better when she was mad or upset, even when they were children, and he still did now. He was a great friend.
Suddenly, she felt firm arms pushing her back into the grass. "Hey! What's the big idea?" She cried to Cedric.
He laughed "You need to sit back and relax! You're gonna have wrinkles before you're twenty if you always stay so serious. Besides, you don't need to worry about what's wrong with my life. I do that enough already."
Meg smiled "Yeah. Let's just have fun." she said. Suddenly, she got an irresistible urge to roll down the big hill close to them just like she did as a girl. Cedric saw the mischievous gleam in her eyes and knew what she wanted to do. What he didn't know was that Meg would drag him down with her.
"You know how you said we should just have fun? Well, how 'bout we start right... NOW!" Meg cried, grabbing the collar of Cedric's shirt and dragging him down as they both rolled down the huge hill, screaming and laughing the whole way. Meg didn't think about her concerns or worries or anything. She just wanted to have fun and be a carefree girl this afternoon. She was so excited.
They finally landed at the bottom of the hill with a THUD! Meg got the air knocked out of her and she fought for breath since she couldn't help laughing. Cedric was laughing too. The scooped up handfuls of grass and tried throwing them at each other playfully. Cedric tugged Meg's hair and pulled her down, landing on top of him. Her face were a few mere inches from his. Close enough to kiss. Meg got quiet and so did Cedric as they realized the situation. What would it be like to really kiss someone? Meg thought. Just a little bit closer and she'd have done it. Cedric closed his eyes in anticipation.
Suddenly, Meg realized she just couldn't do it. It would be too awkward. And besides, why would she want to kiss Cedric? He was just a friend. And not nearly as sexy as Erik. The thought snuck into Meg's mind and made her blush furiously. Meg cleared her throat and got off of Cedric. She realized her skirt and petticoats were up in a swirl around her knees and Cedric could see almost all of her les. He began to blush and awkwardly turned away as Meg quickly yanked her skirts down.
:I'm sorry, Cedric. I don't know what came over me" Meg said sheepishly. He smiled stiffly.
"It's all right. Like you said, we can't be serious all the time. But, it may be better for the both of us if we just keep this our little secret"
"Yeah. I wouldn't want mother to uh, know everything we did" Especially about how we almost kissed. But Meg just thought that last part to herself.
Cedric picked up his jacket and helped Meg up off the ground. They raced back up the hill and ran through some alleyways, laughing and joking until they got back to the Opera Populaire back way entrance.
Meg looked at Cedric "Thanks for the great time. It was really fun"
"Anytime, Meg. Hope I'll get to see you again soon."
"See you"
Meg closed the door and went up to her room. Her mother looked up from the newspaper she was reading "Hello Meg. You were gone quite a while. Have a nice time?"
"Yeah, pretty nice."
"Anything interesting happen when you were out?"
"No, Mother. Nothing at all" Meg said, fighting back a smirk
