Erik's POV

The following morning, I found myself lying in bed, exhausted from the past few days. Usually, I would have been up and out to work by now, but I had no job, and therefore, there was no reason to get up. I rested until nine thirty and got up, ready to start the next chapter of my life. I dressed in my best attire, suit and all, heading out into the summer heat. Today I wouldn't be headed towards Luna Park. No, I was headed towards the administration office of the boardwalk. I had saved the newspaper article and the information I needed. I hadn't much money, but I was smart and knew the right words to say. I would simply outsmart them… When I arrived inside the office, I approached the desk where a young woman was sat. She looked up at me, her eyes seeming curious yet frightened by my appearance.

"Um…could I help you?"

I smiled. "Yes," I folded my arms gracefully behind my back. "I'm here to see a Mr. Dublair."

"Do you have an appointment? Mr. Dublair is a busy man and only sees people who have appointments."

"Of course I have an appointment," I lied. "I made one weeks and weeks ago. The fourteenth of May I came in here and made an appointment. The closest opening was July 16th, which is today."

The woman took out a ledger and flipped open the pages.

"And what is your name?"

Now that was a question that I didn't have an answer to. Yes, I had been born Erik Mulheim, but that wasn't good enough. No, I needed to come up with something fresher than that. Not only would using my birth name get me in trouble due to what had happened back in Paris, but it wasn't catching. No, if I was going to go through with opening my own park, my name had to be something everyone would know. In my mind, I quickly put my name together…

"Your name, sir…"

"E…" I blurted out.

"E? What is that?"

E…That had a nice ring to it, for that was the first initial to my name, but that wasn't enough…And then it came to me! If I spelled out Mister and placed the E at the end of it, it sounded like mystery! Yes! Brilliant.

"Mister E…" I replied.

"What does the E stand for?"

"The only thing you need to know is that my name is Mister E. Now, I had an appointment…"

The woman flipped through the pages, shaking her head as she did so.

"You're not in here…"

"Of course I am!" I growled. "Now, I demand service. I personally came in here weeks ago and made this appointment. I will not be denied again! I demand to see Mr. Dublair!"

"Sir…"

"Sir, nothing! I have a meeting…a meeting! I want my meeting, and I want it now."

This frightened the woman, for she got to her feet and entered an office of some sort. I heard low chattering, and then, a tall man appeared. He was tall, thin, and dressed in an expensive suit. He approached me and held out his hand.

"Mister E…"

"Yes," I shook the man's hand.

"My secretary tells me that you have an appointment to see me?"

"I do. I made it weeks ago."

"And what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm interested in purchasing some of your boardwalk."

The man nodded. "Well then, Mister E, step into my office."

I did as I was told and took a seat across from the man's desk and waited for him to be seated.

"So, you wish to purchase a piece of my boardwalk?" Mr. Dublair questioned.

I nodded. "Yes, I'm in business and think that I could bring in a lot of revenue for Coney Island."

"And what business are you in?"

I thought for a moment…Oh, I needed to be slick, otherwise, the man would most likely smell lies. Business men weren't stupid…

"I was in the freak show business back in France. I arrived here a few years ago and have worked at a few odd jobs here and there. And now, I want to purchase some land and open up my own amusement park."

The man chuckled. "Amusement park? Luna Park is the only park on the island. What makes you think that your park could make as much money, if not more? Everyone loves Luna Park, and I am good friends with the owner, Mr. Tilyou. Another park might possibly hurt him. When I placed an article in the local paper requesting to sell part of my boardwalk, I was doing so for food stands and shops. An entire park would take up that entire piece of boardwalk. There would be no room for anything else."

I was losing his interest, and I couldn't.

"Mr. Dublair, I can assure you that my park would make you more money than you could ever imagine. Yes, Luna Park brings in the big bucks, but if you allowed me to open my park, it would make millions."

"Millions? Oh, come now, Mister E, you're jesting."

"Never…I was an architect for the Persians many years ago. I built things that no one ever dreamt of, creations that amazed people. Not only would my park bring you millions, it would bring more people to Coney Island than ever seen before. I…I could give you things one would only see in dreams…And, to top it all off, I would build the first opera house to ever open on the Coney Island Boardwalk…Headlining Christine Daae every night."

"Christine Daae?" Mr. Dublair gasped. "As in the Paris diva, Christine Daae?"

I nodded. "Yes, we're close friends. I could have her sing every night if I wished."

The man sat back in his chair. "If I do this, I would have to turn everyone else away, everyone that wishes to open shops and stands…possibly casinos. Do you understand how big of a risk I'd be taking on you?"

"I understand, sir, but I can assure you that I won't let you down."

"And what would this magical place be called?"

I thought for a few moments, thinking about Gustave's conversation about Pirate Island. He said it would be fantastic, but there was something about the word that inspired me. Fantastic? No, that couldn't be the name of the park. It had to be something better…Oh, I was the Phantom…Think…Wait…Phantom? Fantastic?

"Phantasma!" I excitedly blurted out. "A park of excitement and wonder…"

"I like it…A lot, actually. It has a ring to it, Mister E. Phantasma…Yes, that will do. But before I agree, I want rough drafts and blueprints."

"I'll have you sketches by next week."

"I'll make you an appointment for next Friday. During that appointment, I want sketches and I want a down payment of twenty five thousand dollars."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I can't possibly sign over my land without payment, could I? That's how much the entire slab of boardwalk would be."

Oh, how was I ever to get that amount of money in a week's time? It was impossiblw…I didn't even have ten dollars to my name. No, I needed to be smooth with this. I couldn't sound like a phony. Oh, think, Erik, think…

"Do you truly need twenty five right now?" I questioned.

"What are you getting at?"

"Yes, I could give you the twenty five by next week, but if you lend me twenty five now to open my park, I'll double the amount by the opening week's end."

"And why would I give you twenty five thousand?"

"Because if I give you the twenty five, I won't have any money to build. Lend me twenty five and when the park is built, I'll give you the twenty five, plus a bonus…I'll be sure to give you ten percent of whatever is made each night."

"Twenty…" he argued.

"Fifteen, and not a penny more…"

The man held out his hand. "You have a deal, Mister E. Next Friday produce the sketches and we will make the final arrangements."

Satisfied, I left the office with butterflies in my stomach. My own park, my own freedom… Oh, life would be worth living! I needed to tell someone, I needed to tell Christine. She wouldn't have to work at that horrible club any longer. She could work in my park and sing every night…I hurried to her apartment and knocked on the door, waiting for her to answer. When the door swung open, she stood there looking displeased. Though, as soon as she saw me, she slammed the door in my face. I began to wonder why, until I remembered the other night.

"I don't understand why you're so angry?" I growled. "I wasn't expecting it to be anything more than what it was…"

The door swung back open, and Christine stood there, glaring at me.

"And what was that?"

"Pleasure… Did you truly expect me to wake and feel all warm and tingly inside? If that's what you thought, then you're mistaken."

"You can be so cold," she snapped. "When I woke, you weren't there. You left me like a whore…"

"Would you rather have had me pay you? If that's how you truly feel, Christine, then I guess I shall pay you."

"I didn't mean that, Erik… You could have at least stayed until morning. You didn't have to leave in the middle of the night as if you weren't welcome."

"I had worn out my welcome, Christine. Look, I have some news. May I come in?"

"Don't you even wish to know how you were? I wish to know what you thought of me?"

I entered and folded my hands behind my back.

"Well, Christine, seeing that you were my first, I have no complaints. You, on the other hand can complain to me all you wish, for I was the inexperienced one. But, since you've asked, I will tell you nothing but the truth, and that truth is that you were marvelous…"

I took a seat at her kitchen table and looked at the woman.

"Is that all you have to say?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "And what more do you wish to hear from me? Do you want me to lie and say that I feel love…that being in bed with you makes my heart flutter with joy? I think not…You have given me something that no one ever has, and for that, I can only thank you."

"In that case, would you like to have dinner with me one night?"

"No, Christine, I would not…I told you before that I didn't love you, and I stick by my words. If you regret fucking me, so be it, but I tried to warn you that it was nothing more than that…You needed it and so did I. Nothing will ever come of it. I can assure you…"

I could sense tears welling up into Christine's eyes, but I didn't dare question it. She never loved me before, and I knew she didn't now. She didn't have Raoul…She was missing that piece of her life and I knew she was trying to replace him with me. But I was not her boy, and I never would be.

"Look, Christine… The reason I came over here was because I lost my job at Luna Park."

"Yes," Christine pouted. "Gustave told me. He really is sorry for what he did."

"I may have said some cruel things to the boy, but I didn't mean them. I will apologize to the child later, but the most important part is why I came over here."

"Which is for what reason? It obviously wasn't to tell me how much you enjoyed what we did with one another."

"Woman, enough… I enjoyed it, I told you myself. There will be nothing coming out of that evening. I warned you, and yet, you still wanted me in your bed. I was weak and filled with want… You were the same. Now drop it... So, to the reason I came over here… I just met with Mr. Dublair. Do you know who he is?"

Christine shook her head.

"He is the owner of the Coney Island boardwalk. He has been auctioning off his parts of the boardwalk that haven't been occupied yet. I went to him today about purchasing a substantial amount of his property. He agreed, and so, by next week, I will be the owner of the remaining boardwalk."

"For what reason?"

"I'm going to build my own park on it."

"Your own park?"

I nodded. "I'm going to out run Luna Park and that bastard Tilyou… I know I can do this, Christine. I can make a world filled with things that no one has ever seen before, and in doing so, I know I can succeed."

"I'm happy for you, Erik…" she pouted, looking down at her feet.

"Of course, I didn't come over here to brag. Coming here had a point and that point being that not only will I be opening a park, but I will also be building an opera house on the premises."

"An opera house?" Christine questioned. "There aren't any opera houses on the boardwalk."

"Not yet," I reminded her. "Mine shall be the first. And in doing so, I would like you to headline every night."

"Me?" she gasped. "You wish for me to sing at the opera house?"

I nodded. "Yes, it will give you time to spend with Gustave and get you out of that despicable club. You will be safe working in my park, Christine…and Coney Island will bow before you."

"Erik, I couldn't possibly…"

"You can, and you will."

A smile formed across Christine's lips, one that I had not seen in a very long time.

"Thank you…"

"Thank me when I open Phantasma…"

"Phantasma?"

"Yes, that's going to be the name of it. Phantasma…"

"It's very catching."

"Catching and it will be Coney Island's greatest success. I have to produce sketches to Mr. Dublair next Friday, and from there, we will fill out the paper work. Phantasma's construction could start as early as the 1st. It won't be open until next May, but it will be successful."

"If you need any help, Erik, I would love to lend a hand."

"I'm sure I will be needing help once everything begins. But for now, I have to apologize to Gustave and tell him the news. Where is the child?"

Christine shrugged. "I'm not sure. He went out a few hours ago, but wouldn't tell me where he was headed. He seemed upset…'

"I know where he's at," I assured. "I'll go and search for him. So, I guess I will see you later…"

Before I was out the door, Christine called for me.

"Yes?"

"Erik, even though we're not in love, I still enjoyed the time we spent with one another the other night."

I nodded.

"And I know nothing will ever come of it, but perhaps once in a while, we could…You know…"

"Perhaps I will take you up on that offer, Christine. Anyway, I shall be in touch."

"Of course, I have work tomorrow evening."

And with that, I stepped down the stairs, headed towards Pirate Island…Or in this case, the abandoned boat that was beneath the boardwalk.

So Phantasma is going to get started...whoo hoo! Anyway, please review. It always helps me write more chapters when I have opinions. Thanks!