Chapter 5
"Alright everyone, I understand that many of you may not be familiar with who I am. That doesn't matter. I am the new owner of this opera house, from this point on we are going to get this place in shape." Marinette stood before the small group of performers, many of them murmured, others gave unsure looks. "Excuse me, but with what funds do we have?" An old man spoke up, his weathered face was wracked with worry. "Glad you asked Monsieur?" Marinette trailed off as she looked at the old man. It took a moment of awkward silence before the old man's face lit up with realization. "Oh, Monsieur Dupont." He smiled softly as he pointed at himself. "Monsieur Dupont, well it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. In regards to the funds, I've taken a small loan out. We have six months to pay it back or we, more than you all, forfeit the loan and lose the opera house." Marinette broke a nervous sweat as a loud disapproval rose up from the crowd.
"Quiet down everyone, I understand the pressure we all feel. But given the fact that you all are upset about this, then there shouldn't be an issue with wanting to better this establishment. Those who feel strongly opposed you may leave, I won't hold that against you, this is a big risk I'm asking you all to take." A deafening silence fell amongst the small group and Marinette nervously looked at her aunt. Madame Giry stood stoically by her daughter, how she was able to keep calm was beside her. "Well, Miss, I'm nothing but a humble stage hand but I remember the glory this opera house brought. It's about time that someone came in and brought it back. I am at your service." Monsieur Dupont removed his cap and smiled brightly. "It would be nice to dance in front of an audience once again." A small ballerina squeaked. Soon the stage was full of agreeance and Marinette smiled with relief. "Alright, well this is going to be a team effort so let's get to work." Marinette clasped her hands together and the group dispersed.
"What do you mean this is out of budget?!" We sat together and talked about the numbers Rudolpho!" Marinette was at her wits end with the contractors, it's been nearly a month and the renovation was nowhere near done. "I'm sorry Miss Gippetti but the workers...they scared. They want more money because of the Phantom." Rudolpho whispered the last part and Marinette rolled her eyes. "Don't you think that if there were a Phantom he would have made himself known? I have wood rot and mold growing in these walls! You either tell them to get to work or you all will be dismissed without seeing a penny." Marinette walked away from the foreman and made her way to the stairs. "You look stressed my dear, you've been working nonstop since you've got here." Aunt Giry gently took her niece's face into her hands. Over the course of the month Marinette had begun to recognize Meg and her mother as her family.
"It's nothing I can't handle besides if I slack then the contractors slack." Marinette rose her voice and sent a glare to a group of men who were too busy working their gums than the tiles on the floor. The men smiled sheepishly and scurried away. "I will handle the men, you and Meg should go out on the town. You've hardly seen any of Paris since you got here and that in itself is a shame." Madame Giry and Marinette began to walk slowly past the chaotic construction. "Fine, but only because Meg won't stop raving about this lovely patisserie she found last week. Do you think this chaos will ever end?" Marinette looked around herself, while the Populair looked significantly better than when she first arrived, it still had a long way to go. "It can't last forever dear, now go have fun Meg's waiting in your room for you." Madame Giry smiled as she left Marinette to her own.
Since Marinette had become the new owner of the Populair she had been moved to her own quarters. It would have been great because her room was just off to the side of her own office, had the office actually been ready to use. "Mari! I'm so glad you've decided to take a break, you'll love Paris in the evening! The sunsets are divine and the men...well they aren't too bad either." Meg smiled devilishly as Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes. "Meg, imagine your mother hearing you say those words!" Meg giggled like a school girl as she linked arms with her cousin. "Shall we be on our way then?" The two young began to set off on their own, moving past the small crowd that had taken an interest in the construction. "Do you really think they're bringing it back?" A woman said to her companion in a hushed tone. "I've heard that someone has purchased it but I'm sure they're just gutting it out to make way for something new." Her companion was reassured. "Good, somethings should just be left to die." The two girls walked away as Meg bit her lip.
"Don't worry Mari, the opera will be a huge success." Meg pat Marinette's arms as she sighed. "I need to find a patron. It's only been a month and it already feels like we're running out of time. I haven't even found a headliner yet!" Marinette began to breath quickly. "Marinette, we're doing fine. We have auditions coming up and didn't you say we had a lot of candidates?" Meg always knew how to make Marinette feel slightly better. "Yes we do, but the real obstacle is determining whether any of them have a true talent or not. I'm not well versed in the world of opera, I'm just glad we found a music director to help us on that end." Marinette was way over her head when it came to the artistic side of running an opera house. "The only thing we have to worry about is finding a patron so we can pay our workers. Maman has already been running us through rehearsals." Meg smiled suddenly as she began to bounce on her toes. "There's the patisserie! Come along!" Meg pulled Marinette into the street, to the other side where the small bakery resided. On their way there Marinette accidentally bumped into a hooded man, his briefcase he was carrying was knocked out of his hand. It popped open much to Marinette's horror, his papers began to fly away as she released her cousin and scrambled to grab the papers. "I'm so sorry Monsieur!"
"If you had looked where you were going then this could have been avoided." The man's voice was dripping with annoyance. "Well as I've said before I am very sorry." Marinette matched his annoyance and looked up at him. The man turned his head away from her quickly but not fast enough to where Marinette hadn't noticed the bit of white mask peeking out from the hood. Marinette brushed it off and resumed picking up the papers. "You write music Monsieur?" She filed the papers straight and set them back into the briefcase. "It's no concern of yours. But yes I do." The stranger replied curtly. "Well not that you deserve it, but I have a position open at my opera house if you would be interested." Marinette shut the case and stood. "Your opera house?" Marinette shrunk back from the sudden venom in his voice but quickly recovered. "Yes, MY opera house, the Opera de Populair. I'm the new owner and were working to reopen. I'm sure you've heard of it Monsieur?" Marinette clasped her hands at her waist and looked over at Meg. She waved for her cousin to go on without her and she happily obliged.
"I am...familiar with the Populair." The man adjusted his hood and walked hurriedly away from Marinette. "How rude." Marinette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Who in their right mind just walks away in the middle of a conversation. Either way nothing was going to stop her from enjoying a buttery croissant any longer. When they returned later in the evening after eating pastries and some light shopping Marinette found herself much more relaxed. She bid her family goodnight and walked to her quarters with a satisfied smile on her face. She opened the door to her unfinished office and stopped when she saw a letter fall from the top of the door frame. She bent down to pick up the letter. It was quality paper sealed with a blood red wax seal, nothing strange about that at all. Marinette opened the letter and read it, with a gasp she spun on her heel and ran for aunts room.
"AUNT GIRY!"
