Cherilynn here, I forgot to mention before, the rating of this story is mostly for safety, the story has some very minor language, but some of the themes in this, while not inappropriate, would be hard for someone younger to understand. The story starts to get a little creepy, so brace yourself. This is a short, but very important chapter. *C.E.L
Chapter Four
Rom and I sat at a small coffee shop around the corner from the Grant, recapping yesterday's rehearsal. He kept on insisting that I was the best onstage and I kept telling him to shut up, that he was biased. It was really sweet and brought back memories from other productions that I had done in high school. We were both flirting and neither of us cared. Hanging out with Rom was just plain relaxing. After we finished and were walking out Rom stopped for a second, "Hey, Lissie?" He asked
"What? And stop calling me Lissie" I said.
"Never. Do you want to come over to my place after rehearsal? I was watching the Phantom movie the other day and something caught my attention. You're the expert so I wanted to see what you thought. If I'm right, some serious improvements can be made to my performance." He smiled, looking hopeful.
"Sure I'd love to." I was thrilled, hanging out with Rom once again. This show was a miracle. I should write to my headmistress to thank her.
As we were rounding the corned I noticed a familiar figure hurrying away from the direction we'd come. "Hey, is that Eric?" I asked Rom, pointing him out.
"Could be," he responded "same build similar height." He looked concerned, "Eric doesn't really like me, and I hope he's mature enough to not start spreading rumors around about us. Especially you, which would just be cruel." He frowned, but I just shrugged
"It probably wasn't him; this is a huge city, what are the odds that it was him anyway?" I shrugged it off. Eric wasn't a stalker.
Thursday's rehearsal began with Rom and I singing 'all I ask of you'. After having us run through it twice he informed us that, having watched the video Mrs. Phillips sent with the scene Rom and I created, he wanted us to do the same thing. The same graceful waltz, the same emotion and chemistry that we had worked with in high school. Reginald gave us the weekend to rehearse it on our own time, because we were spending this weekend getting costumes and props organized for us to begin using and working with them. Also we would be starting to figure out hair and make-up options.
Eric went around grousing about having to sing in a mask and sit in make-up for hours. The cast mostly told him to shut up; he had the lead part and if he didn't want to deal with the mask and make-up he should have refused the part. Only Maisy, who played Carlotta, seemed to feel any sympathy. She thought that it was an added challenge to sing while wearing a mask. I thought Maisy was just crushing on him.
Rom and I made plans to practice that Friday on the roof of my apartment, because neither of us had enough space to work on a choreographed waltz inside. "Let's just pray it doesn't rain" Rom laughed.
I was staying late with the choreographer to work on the dance in the very beginning of the show, we practiced for three more hours before she decided that I would be able to keep up onstage. I packed up, exhausted. I walked home as the city began to darken around me, street lights were lit and people were hurrying home. I got inside and mounted the six flights of stairs to my floor. I slid my key in the lock and noticed a letter on the floor of my tiny entry hall. My day instantly got better. My sister, Cece, was still in high school and she sometimes wrote me letters instead of just emailing me. Every time I got one of the letters she had some riddle or other amusing trick added to it which I used to fill time. I smiled and opened the letter.
Inside was a picture of Rom and I sitting together at the coffee shop. Scrawled under it in red paint were the words "He isn't good enough for you".