Chapter 20

"Are you sure you want to be here for this? For all I know, I may be horribly wrong and I may murder either the song or you."

I sat at the organ, my hands posed over the keys. Erik stood beside the organ regally with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Unknowingly to him, all it did was accentuate his muscles…they were really toned. He must work out in his spare time…

His voice interrupted my thoughts. "Excuse me, but this is my instrument. I will be here at all times while you are playing it. So yes, I am quite sure."

I shook my head. "Fine, but blame yourself if your ears bleed." Then I commenced to play the overture to Phantom of the Opera. It sounded just like how it did in the movie. As I played the last note, I was frozen in shock. It felt as if I should be hearing Carlotta "singing" the beginning of Hannibal. But alas, I didn't. It was all me. No recording or other music playing or nothing. Just me…

Erik cleared his throat, making me jump. As I was playing, he somehow moved behind me without me noticing. "Okay, dude, you have got to ease up on the ninja skills a bit."

I knew he had no clue as to what I was saying, but all he did was politely nod. "So what was that you just played, mademoiselle?"

"That was the overture to the musical about you. I've always thought it was beautiful, but not as beautiful as some of the other songs."

"Such as?" he asked for the second time that night.

I laughed. "You'll just have to wait 'til later to find out, ghostie. In the meantime, I would like to try the violin, please."

Erik sighed as he went over to where he kept his violin by a miniature version of the stage – yes, the movie had it right: he had made his own little diorama of all of the performances – and retrieved it. He looked like I asked him to give up his first born child, and I told him so. He just shook his head and handed the instrument to me. I reluctantly took it, and placed it under my chin. Instantly, his hand was on my hand that held it, pushing it up. "Hold it like this-"

"I know, Erik."

"And the bow is supposed to glide over-"

"Erik!" I exclaimed, effectively stopping him. "I've got this. I know how everything is supposed to work. I actually took violin lessons for a little while."

This piqued his interest. "Did you, now? You must have done well."

"Nope. Nearly murdered the thing."

I couldn't hold back my laughter at the look of pure horror on his masked face. "I'm only kidding." Quietly, I added, "I've never taken a lesson in my life."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" I said quickly. "Alright, here we go…"

I played the violin version of Please Don't Make Me Love You from Dracula's original cast recording, even the elaborate parts. What amazed me was that I didn't hit one sour note. Pretty good for a beginner, I thought. Literally…

I turned to Erik and handed him the violin with the utmost care. He stood and threw the violin into the cushioned seat he just got out of. I was shocked: it was his baby!

"That was beautiful!" he exclaimed. "It was beautiful, yet so sad. What was it?"

"It was a song from a musical in my time. The one who sings it is expressing her inner turmoil of whether she should love a man that has been trying to gain her love. There are consequences of pursuing this romance, but the rewards are said to be just as sweet. It's a beautiful song. But this is one of the songs that I'll be singing in the performance."

"Well, I look forward to hearing you sing it. Now you need about 6 more songs."

I bleated like a sheep. "No! Me no habla English! Me no gusta!" I went over to his couch and flopped facedown, muttering random words in every language that I knew. I could barely hear Erik chuckling at me.

After that little exchange, I led myself back up to my room, following the instructions Erik gave me. He also told me that instead of yelling for him, risking exposure, to just follow this path, but to just make sure that he knew first. I thought these were reasonable conditions, but that definitely wasn't going to stop me from making a few impromptu visits.

Once I reached my room, a thought crossed my mind. If I were to sing, then that would mean I would have to have music, and to have music, I couldn't just whip out my tablet and play it. The most reasonable idea would be to have the orchestra play the music for me. But one problem surfaced: I couldn't write the sheet music for my songs for an orchestra to play.

I decided I would ask Erik to help me the next as I crashed into bed, not even bothering to change out of my dinner attire and too tired to care if anyone saw me. I needed sleep, and by golly I was gonna get it.

The next morning, I woke refreshed and ready to go. I was pretty shocked. Usually, I wasn't a morning person at all. Time travel does weird things to a girl. I was a witness, firsthand.

I went into my bathroom to freshen up a bit. I enjoyed a little bath, even though it was as cold as a winter morning in Michigan. Dang, I have got to stop using state-referencing similes…

Once I was finished with my bath, I dried off and put my dress on, but wore my jeans underneath. It was a good thing that it was getting colder in the opera house, otherwise I would be burning up with all the layers I had on. Winter was coming, and I could definitely feel it.

All dressed and made up, I made my way to the stage where Monsieur Reyer was sure to be waiting for me. We were supposed to go over the songs that I had picked out for the performance. On the way down, I figured out my other six songs. Some may say I'm a procrastinator, but I'm not really. I think better under pressure is all. Plus, it helped that now I knew I could do pretty much everything perfectly. It made everything so much better. I could do more than just sing, and that could add at least some more substance to the show.

Monsieur Reyer greeted me as I made my way to the stage. "Ah, Mademoiselle. I hope you are ready to work hard today."

I smiled. "Quite. Although I have no sheet music for the songs I've picked out, I know them by heart, so I'll be able to at least go over the melodies with you."

Reyer's face paled a bit. "No sheet music? Will you be able to somehow procure it for me?"

My mind went back to what I was thinking the night before: Erik is a musical genius, maybe he can help me. "I should be able to get them for you by the end of the week."

He regained his color. "Alright, I'm trusting you. Just remember, the performance in in two weeks."

It was my turn to lose color. "Two weeks? Isn't that a little soon?"

He shook his head. "If you know the songs as you say you do, then it shouldn't be a problem for you."

"What about the orchestra? Won't it take a bit more time for them to be able to play the songs adequately?"

He chuckled. "They are adept to quick learning, so there's no problem there. Really, mademoiselle, if you're looking for a problem, you should try harder."

"What about the Phantom?"

That stopped him dead in his tracks. "What about him?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. He may not want me to sing."

"He hasn't sent a note, so I think he may be alright with it." A new voice infiltrated our conversation.

"Ah, Madame Giry. Welcome." Reyer exclaimed. "Have you done what I've requested?"

A shrill whistle came from Madame Giry, and the whole of the ballet company came into the auditorium, seating themselves.

"What is this?" I asked.

Monsieur Reyer answered. "I noticed that a couple days ago that you sang for a few of the dancers, so I figured you were ready for a bigger audience."

I gulped. "Bigger?"

"Yes, bigger. Just be thankful that I haven't called the stagehands and whoever else I could get my hands on in here as well. But that will come later. For now, I just want you to sing for these fine people."

Cue nerves now. True, I had sang in front of a few of them before, but not the whole dang troupe! What the heck was Reyer thinking?

But wait, I thought. They're dancers. You can ask their opinions on the choreography for the one song…

I hesitated, but slowly nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. But only if they can help me with a few things."

"Done." Was Madame Giry's instant reply. "Whatever you need, just come to either me, Meg, or Christine. We will help you in any way we can."

"Thank you, Madame."

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "What did I tell you to call me?"

I smiled. "Antoinette."

"Good girl." She said with a wink.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." I muttered.

Monsieur Reyer turned to me. "What was that?"

"Nothing." I said quickly, repeating myself from the night before. "Let's do this."

Once I finished the first six songs, I requested a violin, as well as 4 female and 4 male dancers to join me on the stage. I told them my plan, and they agreed most adamantly, saying they would be honored to join me. The most encouraging two, though, were Meg and Christine. In fact, they were the first two people that volunteered.

"Thank you so much." I said. "If you have any suggestions about the dancing, I'm all ears."

All I got was curious looks. I sighed. "I meant that I'm ready to listen."

That got a chorus of oh's, as well as some interesting suggestions that I really liked. Once we got the preliminaries out of the way, I said, "Thanks. Can we all meet on the stage at about 7 tonight? I would like to have a little rehearsal to see if anything needs to be changed."

"I think that would be agreeable to our schedules." Madame Giry cut in. "Of course, I plan on being there, so wipe the shocked look off of your face, Mandy. It is quite unbecoming."

I schooled my expression, giving off a calm and collected air. "I can handle that. Tonight at 7 sharp."

After our group disbanded and Monsieur Reyer dismissed me from practice, I went back to my room and collapsed on my bed. Man, I hope I can pull this off….