It was late May, the last day of school. I was grateful, as were my friends. My best friends- Kelly, Alexis, Marisa, Cadence, and Madeline- were coming over for a celebratory sleepover.
"Please tell me we're not watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," Kelly pleaded during English, remembering how my little sister made us endure it at my last sleepover.
"Relax. The answer is no," I assured her. "You and Alexis can watch New Moon on the flat screen. The rest and I are watching Phantom of the Opera on the laptop."
"Paige! You've seen that movie, what, a billion times?" she inquired.
"It gets better every time," I said with a smirk Erik would be proud of.
"You probably know every line to every song and every scene," she sighed.
"I can say the same for you and New Moon," I fired back, laughing.
Kelly, defeated, slumped into her chair. I grinned with obvious pleasure at my triumph.
Marisa was late that day. She slung her backpack across her seat, turning to face the rest of the group. "Hey, guys."
"Thought you weren't going to make it," Alexis said with a hint of concern.
"I'm fine," Marisa said, smiling. "Missed the bus, you know how that goes."
The rest of us nodded, turning our attention to the teacher.
The half day of school seemed to move in slow motion. When the day was finally over, I rode the bus home with Kelly, Marisa, and Madeline. Cadence and Alexis were coming over later.
"Can you believe it?" Madeline asked. "We're no longer ninth graders! Next year, we are official tenth graders."
"I'm all for that," Kelly agreed. I nodded my conformation.
Once at my house, the three of us set up the air mattresses, DVD player, The Phantom of the Opera on You Tube, and set out popcorn, soda, and hot chocolate.
"Perfect," Kelly said.
"Parfait," I agreed in French.
She shook her head, muttering, "You are so obsessed."
"Est-ce je?" I asked.
"Madeline?" she asked, seeking a translation.
"Aren't I?" Madeline offered.
"Yes," Kelly said. "You are very obsessed."
Thankfully, the doorbell rang when I began thinking of a comeback.
"Je vais être arrière droite," I said over my shoulder, jogging to the door. Kelly looked at Madeline expectantly. She translated, "I'll be right back."
French was handy a lot. It was a good thing my ancestors were French, so that my grandparents insisted I learned it fluently. This ability would prove useful. You'll see.
"Hey, guys," I greeted, opening the door for Cadence and Alexis. "You're early."
"We know," Cadence said.
"Dad has a football game to go to tonight. So Cadence's mom had to drive us, and early, because she has a hair stylist appointment in ten minutes," Alexis explained.
"I see," I said, motioning for them to proceed to the living room.
That night, my mom ordered Little Caesar's pizza for us. Alexis and Kelly then watched New Moon, while the rest of us watched The Phantom of the Opera on You Tube.
"Gerard is so hot," Cadence said dreamily during The Music of the Night.
"Isn't he?" I said, agreeing. "I wish I could meet him."
"The Phantom, or Gerard?"
"Both, I guess."
"Well, isn't it your lucky time!" Cadence said, pointing to the large digital clock mounted to the wall. "It's eleven- ten. In one minute, you can wish you could meet him. Maybe it'll work."
"I hope so," I muttered as the digital clock flashed eleven- eleven.
I wished hard, thinking, I wish I could meet the Phantom of the Opera, not as in, he came here, but as in, I went there. His fate is cruel, and he doesn't deserve it. So let me change his future, 'kay?
"I think we all wished for the same thing," Marisa said.
"Trust me," Cadence said. "I know we did."