Chapter 3

It's the same, old, boring room we've seen twice now, but now it contains five men, a goat, and four women. One of them men and the goat and one of the women are lying unconscious in the lower, left-hand corner of the room. Another two of the men and another of the women are lying unconscious in the lower, right-hand corner of the room. The remaining two men and women are laying side-by-side against the back wall. The two people and the goat in the lower, left-hand corner look to be in their fifties. In the opposite corner, the three also look to be in their fifties. One man by the back wall looks to be in his sixties, the other man and one of the woman look to be in their fifties, and the other woman looks to be in her twenties or thirties. The man in the lower, left-hand corner is wearing black-framed glasses, a gray, pin-striped suit, gray dress shoes, and a gray overcoat. He's bald in the center of his head, but he has gray hair around then edge of his hairline. And he has a gray mustache. A gray top hat is lying on the floor next to him. The goat has, short, curly, blonde hair, horns, and black hooves. He's wearing a long-sleeved, dark brown shirt with a collar, a light brown, sleeve-less vest, and orange shawl, and brown slacks. The woman with them has short, curly, blonde hair, and she had on lots and lots of make-up. She's wearing a long, long-sleeved, red robe with a collar and full sleeves, and black boots (which are completely covered by her robe). The woman in the opposite corner has long, honey-colored hair that's pulled back into a long braid. She has on a long, long-sleeved, black dress, and black boots, which are hidden by her dress. The man on her left has short, black hair with streaks of gray in it, and a gray mustache. He's wearing a long-sleeved, white shirt with a collar, a red tie, a sleeve-less, red vets, a maroon evening jacket with a collar and lapels, long, maroon slacks, and black dress shoes. The other man has short, gray hair and a gray mustache. He's wearing a long-sleeved, white dress shirt with a collar, a dark brown, long-sleeved evening jacket with lapels, long, dark brown slacks, and black dress shoes. The older man in the back has short, slightly curly, brown hair, and brown side-burns. He's wearing a long, long-sleeved, dark blue robe, and black boots that are covered by his robe. The woman on his right has long, curly, blonde hair. She's wearing a long, gray dress with long, puffy sleeves, a gray collar that goes around her neck and has a jewel on it, and black boots that are hidden by her dress. On her right is the other woman. She has long, blonde hair that's pulled back into a messy bun. She's wearing a long, long-sleeved, blue dress with white around the neck and on the cuffs, a white apron that ties around her waist, and gray shoes that her dress hides. And on her right is the last man. He has short, blonde hair. And he's wearing a long-sleeved, gray shirt, a gold apron, a long-sleeved, dark blue military jacket with lapels and silver buttons, a red cravat, a short, tan kilt, long, white socks, and gray shoes. A peaked red and blue hat is lying on the floor next to him. The ten people slowly start to revive and open their eyes… The woman in the lower, left-hand corner has blue eyes, the man with her also has blue eyes, and the goat has brown eyes. The woman in the opposite corner has brown eyes, as does the man with gray and black hair. But the other man has gray eyes. The older man in the back has brown eyes, the woman next to him has brown eyes, the woman next to her has brown eyes, and the man next to her has brown eyes. The three groups huddle together in their respective corners, and it becomes apparent that the people in each group know each other. The three groups stare at each other in shock for several seconds, and then the man in the lower, left-hand corner break the silence…

"Who are you all?" he asked, looking at the other two groups. No one spoke for several minutes. But then the woman in the other corner came forward, brushing her long braid back behind her left shoulder with her left hand. Then she extended her right hand and said in a very thick French accent, "My name is Madame Antoinette Giry." The man went over to her and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Madame. I've only gone by one name for several years: The Wizard." "The Wizard… It's certainly a very interesting, unique name!" "Thank you Madame!" Madame Giry bowed her head. Then she turned and gestured to the two men behind her. "This is Andre Moncharmin," The man in the brown evening jacket came forward. "And this is Firmin Richard." The other man came forward. Andre and Firmin shook hands with The Wizard, and they greeted each other warmly and politely. Then The Wizard turned and gestured to the woman and goat behind him. "This is Madame Morrible." The woman stepped forward. "And this is Dr. Dillamond." The goat stepped forward. Madame Morrible and Dr. Dillamond shook hands with Firmin, Andre, and Madame Giry, and they exchanged greetings. "It's really nice to meet you all!" Madame Giry said quietly, and Firmin and Andre nodded in agreement. "And it's an honor to meet you all!" The Wizard replied. Behind him, Dr. Dillamond and Madame Morrible nodded in agreement. Then the group of six turned to the other four, who were watching them silently, but intently. The Wizard and Madame Giry both stepped forward this time. "Who are you guys?" The Wizard asked. Several minutes passed, and not one of the four stepped forward. They just exchanged glances with each other, and glanced anxiously at the other six. Then Madame Giry said gently, "It's alright guys. We're not going to hurt you!" There was another stretch of silence. But then, finally, the woman in the gray dress stepped forward. She drew herself up to her full height, set her jaw, and said firmly, "My name's Fantine." The Wizard and Madame Giry both smiled, walked over to Fantine, and extended their hands. Fantine shook hands with The Wizard and Madame Giry, and then shook hands with Andre, Firmin, Madame Morrible and Dr. Dillamond (who had all come up behind Madame Giry and The Wizard). Then the older man came up to stand beside Fantine. "Who are you?" Firmin asked. The man replied, "I'm the Bishop of Digne." They all shook hands again, and then they turned to the couple still standing against the wall. "Who are you two?" The Wizard asked. Fantine turned to them and said, "It's okay guys. Come on and introduce yourselves." The two looked at each other, and then stepped forward. The man said, "My name is Thénardier, and this is my wife." Thénardier and Madame Thénardier shook hands with everyone else, and then another silence fell over the group. Finally Fantine turned to Madame Thénardier and asked, "How's Cosette? Is she feeling better?" Madame Thénardier nodded. "She's feeling better. But you still owe us for all the medicine." Beside her, her husband nodded. Fantine nodded. "Alright. I'll pay you as soon as I can! How much do I owe you?" Thénardier and Madame Thénardier looked at each other, and then back at Fantine. Then Thénardier said, "You owe us 1500 francs." Fantine took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well. I'll pay you as soon as I have the money! And thank you for taking care of Cosette! I'm sorry she was so ill so often!" Madame Thénardier smiled at her (although it looked more like a grimace), and the said, "It's alright dear! She was no trouble! And we did what we could to take care of her, and try to keep her from getting sick." Fantine nodded. "I'll be forever grateful to you both for what you've done!" Thénardier and Madame Thénardier smiled at her. The others watched this exchange in silence. But finally Madame Giry broke in. She asked Fantine, "Who's Cosette?" "Cosette is my daughter. Her father abandoned us, and so I left her with the Thénardiers while I went to find work, and raise money to support us both." Madame Giry nodded. "So you have a daughter." Fantine nodded. Madame Giry smiled. "So do I." "Really?" Madame Giry nodded. "Yes. Her name's Meg. She's eighteen. Her father died several years ago, and Meg and I went to work at the Paris Opera House. Meg's now one of the star ballerinas, and I teach the ballerinas. Plus, we have a girl named Christine Daae, who lost both of her parents, and who I think of as my daughter." "And both Christine and Meg are talented performers!" Firmin said. Andre nodded. Madame Giry tried to hide it, but she smiled slightly with pride. "So you two have daughters?" The Wizard asked, looking at Madame Giry and Fantine. They both nodded. "Do you?" Madame Thénardier asked. The Wizard nodded. "Yes, I do. Her name's Elphaba." Madame Morrible said, "She was one of my students at Shiz University. She was a very smart, talented girl!" "Very kind too." Dr. Dillamond commented. "Were you close to her, Doctor?" The Bishop asked. Dr. Dillamond nodded. "Yes I was. She and I got along from the very beginning. Some of my other students, although I never knew who, played a very cruel trick on me, and Miss Elphaba stood up for me. And then she stayed after class and talked to me about it, and shared her lunch with me… She was the only one of my students who was ever truly kind to me…" Dr. Dillamond trailed off quietly. He sounded very sad. Madame Morrible gently squeezed his shoulder, and he managed a weak smile. "What was the trick they played on you?" Madame Giry asked. "Someone wrote, 'Animals should be seen and not heard' on my blackboard…" They all gasped, and Madame Giry put her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry Doctor!" Fantine said. "It's alright Miss Fantine." They were all silent again, thinking about the cruelty and horror of such a trick. Then Firmin said, "Where are you all from?" The Wizard replied, "I was originally from Kansas, but I've lived in Oz for twenty years now. So it's my home." "Dr. Dillamond and I are originally from Oz." Madame Morrible said. "Where are you all from?" "We're all from Paris." Madame Giry replied. "Where are you from?" Fantine replied, "We're all from France too." "That's interesting!" Madame Giry said. Fantine nodded in agreement. "Yes it is." "What did you do for work, Fantine?" The Bishop asked. Fantine hesitated. Then she said, "I worked as a factory girl for the mayor of the town that I lived in. But his foreman dismissed me when he found out about Cosette…" "What was the mayor's name?" "Monsieur Madeleine. Why?" The Bishop chuckled slightly and smiled. "What?" Fantine asked. "That wasn't his real name." Fantine gave him a very puzzled look. "What do you mean that wasn't his real name? How could it not be?" "It was a pseudonym. The man's real name was Jean Valjean." Fantine gasped, and her eyes widened in horror. "Who's Jean Valjean?" Andre asked. "And was he a bad man?" The Bishop shook his head. "No, he wasn't. He went to prison for five years for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's child, who was starving to death. And he earned another fourteen years for trying to escape so many times. And then when he was finally let out, I let him stay with me. He tried to steal two silver candlesticks from me, but he was caught and brought back to me. I lied and said that I had given them to him as a gift, and then made him promise to follow God and become an honest man, which he did." "So you basically gave him another chance at life?" Madame Giry said quietly. The Bishop nodded. "I suppose you could say that, yes. Why?" "Because I know how it feels." Madame Giry said quietly. "I've done that too." "Really? Who did you give another chance to?" "His name was Erik Destler. I met him when we were both young. I was studying to be a ballerina then, and a band of gypsies came to Paris from the East, and they had a fair. And one of the more popular exhibits was 'The Devil's Child'. It was a boy my age, but he was locked in a wooden cage that was filled with straw. He had a deformed face… The skin on the entire right side of his face was pink and raw… The gypsies were beating him… Torturing him… Cursing at him…" Madame Giry paused. She was choked up, and there were tears in her eyes. Once she had regained control of herself, she continued. "I helped him escape, and then I hid him in the cellars of the Paris Opera House. He's lived there ever since, and it's his home now." Firmin and Andre gaped at Madame Giry. "Wait a minute!" Andre said. "So does that mean…?" Madame Giry smirked and nodded. "Erik is the Opera Ghost. And he's the one who's been coaching Christine. He's very talented Monsieurs! He can sing and play piano. He's an architect and designer. He's a composer and a magician. He's a genius!" Andre and Firmin were completely speechless. But finally Andre said, "So you're friends with the Opera Ghost Madame Giry!? And I suppose you've been helping him concoct all his little schemes?" "Yes and no, Monsieur." Madame Giry replied. "I'm Erik's friend, yes. However, I haven't helped him with his plans. He gives me orders, and I make sure that they're carried out. But that's the extent of it." "What kind of 'schemes' does he have?" The Wizard asked. Firmin replied angrily before Madame Giry could speak. "He's been sabotaging the career of our lead soprano, and trying to get am amateur to take her place!" Madame Giry glared at him coldly. "Christine is not an amateur! She's been learning from Erik, who is the best teacher she could have!" Firmin let out an exasperated sigh. "We ought to fire you Madame Giry!" Madame Giry laughed. "You can't fire me!" "And why would you if this girl is good?" Thénardier asked. "If she's putting money in your pocket, keep her!" Madame Thénardier nodded in agreement. "And if she's a sweet girl…" Fantine said. Madame Giry grinned triumphantly and turned to Firmin and Andre. "You see gentlemen? As I've told you a thousand times before, Christine is much better than Carlotta! She's also younger and kinder, and she sounds better! And she's prettier, and not as high maintenance! And she and the Vicomte are in love!" Andre and Firmin just grunted. Madame Giry smiled, knowing she had won. There was another long stretch of silence. Then The Wizard said, "Wow! I know I've only known most of you for a short time, but I feel like I've known you all for years!" "I know!" Madame Giry said quietly. "I agree!" Fantine said softly. The others nodded in agreement. "It's weird how that happens." Dr. Dillamond said quietly. The entire group smiled at each other. They were all standing in a large group the middle of the room. The Wizard gently put his right arm around Madame Giry, and his left arm around Dr. Dillamond. Madame Giry put her right arm around Firmin, and her left arm around The Wizard. Firmin put his right arm around Andre, and his left arm around Madame Giry. Andre put his right arm around The Bishop, and his left arm around Firmin. The Bishop put his right arm around Fantine, and his left arm around Andre. Fantine put her right arm around Thénardier, and her left arm around The Bishop. Thénardier put his right arm around his wife, and his left arm around Fantine. Madame Thénardier put her right arm around Madame Morrible, and her left arm around her husband. Madame Morrible put her right arm around Dr. Dillamond, and her left arm around Madame Thénardier. And Dr. Dillamond put his right arm around The Wizard, and his left arm around Madame Morrible. They huddled close together for several minutes, but then, suddenly, everything went black, and they were all sent back to their own stories…