Disclaimer: we cry ourselves to sleep every night because we don't own it… but if anyone (-nudge nudge wink wink-) wants to give us ownership of everything PotO, then we can talk. Maybe just a little piece?

Oh look! A confrontation! What fun! -claps hands gleefully-

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Part XVIII

From: blondeballetrat(at)operapopulaire. com
To: frozenexpression(at)operapopulaire. com
CC: castncrew(at)operapopulaire. com; prettyinpink(at)dechagny. net; bigbrotha(at)dechagny. net
Subject: I hatee youuu

OMG, you twit! ive had enuf of you!11! Koncidar thes ah phormel chalinje, Christine Daaé, i shale dual you 4 my Erike!

- Meg, teh reel futur Misus Erike

PS. Mi deer manajirs, eef you wood arrainje a kompitishun for us to, tat'l lyk, b relly grate.

"Cute and blonde since 1854!"

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From: undergroundlunatic(at)operapopulaire. com
To: frenchlady(at)operapopulaire. com
Subject: FW: I hatee youuu

My dear Madame,

I have a quick question that has been rather bothering me. What has caused Meg's sudden lack of spelling abilities? I remember she used to be quite grammatically correct as a little girl…

Yours,
O.G.

"The Phantom of the Opera is there… inside your mind!"

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From: frenchlady (at)operapopulaire. com
To: undergroundlunatic (at)operapopulaire. com
Subject: RE: FW: I hatee youuu

Dear Phantom,

Now that you mention it, I do find it a little strange… she has also been acting strangely, as if she's not quite herself. Indeed, she's downright nasty to her best friend! Ah well, I guess falling in love can do such things to a person, especially one as delicate as Meg!

Not that it's any of my business, O.G., but does your inquiring after my daughter mean that you're finally starting to like her too? My, my, what wonderful news!

Eager to become your mother-in-law,
Mme Giry

"Don't just do it, dance it!"

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From: undergroundlunatic(at)operapopulaire. com
To: frenchlady(at)operapopulaire. com
Subject: RE: RE: FW: I hatee youuu

Meg and myself? Oh, no, no, no, Madame, you're dreadfully mistaken! Yes yes, quite dreadfully…

"The Phantom of the Opera is there… inside your mind!"

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From: frenchlady (at)operapopulaire. com
To: undergroundlunatic (at)operapopulaire. com
Subject: RE: RE: RE: FW: I hatee youuu

Ooh, no need to be embarrassed! Young love is such a wonderfully open topic in a society as modern as ours; you should not have any reservations in declaring your undying love for Meg.

"Don't just do it, dance it!"

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From: welovepublicity(at)operapopulaire. com
To: frozenexpression(at)operapopulaire. com
CC: castncrew(at)operapopulaire. com; prettyinpink(at)dechagny. net; bigbrotha(at)dechagny. net
Subject: FW: I hatee youuu

Per Mlle Giry's request, we are now holding a competition for her and Mlle Daaé in our chatroom. Everyone else, please feel free to join us, either as a volunteer judge, or as a witness to the fun!

Please, 11:58 PM sharp tonight. And, ladies, be sure to bring your wits with you!

Your Managers,
Andre & Firmin

"I had a dream.. such publicity! But it was a dream, and nothing more..."

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Andre: Welcome, ladies and germs, to the Official Opera Populaire Battle of the Beauties!

Philippe: The title needs work… sounds like a boat race…

Firmin: We are gathered here virtually to witness the competition between the carefully selected, the best and the brightest. The participants will try to their utmost abilities to secure victory for themselves and for their country. The challenges will be difficult, but they are determined, and we will witness their successes and failures. Welcome to… the FIFA World Cup!

Nadir: Um… what?

Firmin: I mean, the Meg vs. Christine thing. Whatever.

Carlotta: It's not like they were actually selected, either. I mean, I would have beat them both if there had been a selection process.

Sorelli: Exactly. It's just that one girl who can't spell and her challenge-issuing issues.

Mme Giry: That's my daughter you speak of so cruelly!

Andre: Um… moving on… why don't we introduce the judges now!

Firmin: We have… Vicomte Raoul de Chagny!

Raoul: Woo! Go Christine!

Erik: You do realize that you're cheering for her to become my bride, don't you?

Raoul: … Woo! Go Meg!

Andre: We have… Mme Giry!

Mme Giry: I am completely unbiased.

Meg: I luv you, Mummy.

Firmin: And finally, we have…. Gerik!

Raoul: Who's that?

Erik: He's a friend of mine… I felt that he would express my interests and opinions best.

Gerik: Also, I am pretty!

Firmin: Gerik has the honored position of Head Judge, since he is our guest.

Gerik: Thank you all! It's a pleasure to be here. Would you like me to sing a song for the commencement ceremony?

Andre: No, that's really okay.

Sorelli: Unless you want to sing the Point of No Return… then I'll be happy to hear it! -dazzling smile-

Philippe: Sori!

Sorelli: Sorry…

Firmin: Anyways, we have set this tournament up into 3 rounds. Each round will ask the competitors to showcase their talents in different areas, immediately followed by scoring from the judges on a 1-10 scale.

Raoul: Will there be a swimsuit competition?

Firmin: No.

Gerik: Aww.

Nadir: Damn!

Mme Giry: what's that?

Nadir: uhh… nothing!

Andre: Let's begin! The first round will be dancing. We have set up a video feed from the stage, where Christine and Meg are waiting to perform.

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Firmin: You've all just seen Meg's ballet dancing. Comments from the judges?

Mme Giry: My! What wonderfully rendered pirouettes! And such nice fouettes and temps-leves! I must say.. a superb performance, Meg! A 10 out of 10.

Gerik: As a connoisseur of all arts…

Nadir: righto…

Gerik: I must say that Mlle Giry's dancing talents should be admired… brava! Also a perfect score!

Erik: Excuse me? Are you or are you not representing my best interests, oh fop-clone of mine?

Gerik: True, true. An 8 out of ten, then, the ribbons on her pointe shoes were a little askew.

Raoul: I agree most wholeheartedly that this was a wonderful dance. I'm a bit clueless as to ballet, though, so I'll go with the average and give a 9 out of 10.

Andre: Very well. Mlle Giry, your score so far is 27.

Meg: :D

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Erik: Christine! Are you okay? That looked like a nasty fall!

Christine: I'm fine, I'm fine. I totally meant to do that!

Firmin: And! That was Christine's… uh… dance? Judges?

Mme Giry: That was, eh… very interesting, Christine. Although the basic idea was there, the execution… not so much. I'd say a 2 out of 10.

Gerik: Woo! Go Christine! Erik told me to vote for her, but that was a little… iffy. 6 out of 10.

Raoul: Her costume wasn't nearly as pretty and pink as Megs… but it did sparkle. I guess the shininess kind of redeems you a little bit. 8 out of 10.

Erik: Hah! The idiot!

Raoul: No! Wait! I forgot about Erik being my rival! I meant to give her a 4! Yeah, a 4!

Christine: But but… Waoulies! -throws mini-tantrum-

Raoul: Er.. how about 5, then? It's a nice, neutral number…

Andre: okay, stop! No more changing. Mlle Daaé, your score is lucky 13! Now, onto the next task. If you will, Firmie, old sport!

Christine: -wide-eyed… again-

Firmin: Yes, yes. For our next round, our two contestants will be asked to sing a song of their choice! We shall commence with Meg again.

Andre: O RLY?

Firmin: YA RLY!

Andre: NO WAI!

Firmin: PWN3D, N00B!

Erik: …

Sorelli: huh? what's going on?

Philippe: this, my dear Sori, it what they call the too-much-intarwebs syndrome. Very hard to cure, but quite commonplace nowadays, I'm afraid…

Andre: sorry, there, everyone, we got a little carried away…

Nadir: obviously!

Firmin: ahem. On with round two, with the singing (and quite possibly some croaking) competition! Whoo!

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Authors' Note: We were going to put everything into a single chapter, but it's a bit too long… How's this for a showdown between Meg and Christine? Review and tell us… lest you don't want to see the next part!

PS. Who can spot the "The Great Gatsby" quote? Okay, two words don't quite constitute a quote, per se, but still…