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Beep Beep! The end of class bell signaled that it was two minutes time until the next class at Grandville High school started. For two girls locked away in a practice room though, it was a sign that they had stayed a bit too long. “Shoot!” they cried, dashing out and into the Chorus room. Mr. Reyer stood there practically laughing at them as they rushed to gather their things. One of the girls remembered to say goodbye to him as the door slammed and the two rushed out into the hall. “This always happens to us!” cried one of them, the other nodding in assent. They both dodged the oncoming crowd and met with a stairway. “Bye Susie!” “Bye Steph!” “Oh! Remember to bring your books tomorrow-- we need to sing!” With another slam the door to the staircase closed and the two were out of sight; rushing to their classrooms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the crowd dispersed, a mild laughter could be audible from within the walls, but as no one was there; the only things to hear it were the papers and food wrappers on the floor. A man no older than twenty was doubled up in laughter within the confines of a hollowed out wall. He was like anyone else, except that like everyone else he wasn’t walking the halls, he was “haunting” the walls. A gloved hand reached out to wipe a tear of laughter away from his left eye, which shone glassy blue. The other wasn’t as visible, as the gentleman wore an alabaster mask, covering the entirety of the right portion of his face. He smiled and stood, brushing the creases from his neatly starched suit. He opened his lips to speak, to himself it seemed for no one else was there. “Oh that child... she is most amusing...” He laughed again, his rich voice filling the space. “But she doesn’t know..... the potential is there..” He stood to leave, a stroke of idea crossing his face; and with the swirl of a cloak he was gone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I brought so many books today, Steph!” spoke a gallant and cheerful Susie. She wore a blue dress, which brought out her eyes; her curly blond hair cascading down her back. She was easily the apple of any man’s eye. She smiled radiantly to her friend, Stéphanie, palming the music books she had brought. “Oh! We’re going to have so much fun! I just hope Mr. Reyer doesn’t keep us too long-- I rather detest sightreading.....” Stéphanie turned towards Susie, smiling peevishly; her large green eyes lighting up; as she flicked an auburn curl out of the way. She too wore a dress, hers was of a delicate green and flowed as she walked. Susie started to laugh. “What?” “Don’t look now, but Mr. Wonderful is walking this way.” “Dave?” “Uh huh.” Stephanie let out a silent groan, quickly turning her head so that he might not see her. It was no joke he rather fancied Stephanie, and Susie thought it great fun to taunt her. “Steph, it’s not working....he’s walking closer!!!” Susie tapped playfully on her back, as Stephanie scowled. Turning, she met gaze with a stout boy with large brown eyes. Susie, turned the other way grinning at her friend’s uncomfortable stance. “I think... I’ll leave you two alone; I’m sure you are talking about things that would hardly interest me.....” grinning she walked by Stephanie, rolling her eyes. Her friend was too fast though. Quickly, Stephanie caught her by the arm, smiling rather giddily. “Oh, c’mon Suz, you know that we would never want to chase you away, right Dave? We’d be so happy to make this a threesome!” Dave however shot a hot glance to Stephanie. “Actually, I was rather hoping that I could talk to you alone, Stéphanie.” Her insides fell, as Susie walked away. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she hardly felt the same way about Dave as he did her. Smiling, she opened her mouth to say something, but was drowned out by the morning bell. Skipping to class, she thought she heard someone call her name, but she was among a crowd, and many had the same name. Stephanie wasn’t an uncommon name these days. Still, she could have swore she heard it nearby. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The man within the walls held his breath as he watched her walk to class. His mind was reeling. “Erik, how could you almost give yourself away?” he thought. The answer was clear, he knew that. It was her. He had become a bit attached to the graceful little choir child. Each day he showed up, exactly at ten minutes after ten, to view her chorus class through the two- way mirror he had fashioned within the chorus room himself. Everyday he felt the same. She had so much potential. He eyes lit up whenever music was played, and when she sang, he felt that his heart would break. She had the same dedication to music as he did. Erik wasn’t in love though. He told himself this over and over again; because he couldn’t afford to love. Music was his only love, and that’s the way it would stay. He saw too many men meet their down fall on the wings of “love.” No, what Erik wanted to do was to teach this little ingenue; to instruct her, form a little prima donna out of her. And he would, for he reminded himself that whatever he wanted he always got. The only problem was that Stephanie was rarely out of the companionship of her dear friend, Susie. Often times they would sneak off to practice rooms, or the auditorium to sing; this was what Erik loved to watch most of all. Susie, he noticed, had a trained voice and whoever instructed her did an adequate job. She was powerful and controlling; her tone- commanding. It was rarely though that she would sing when the two were together. Stephanie, never having the ability to play the piano beyond simple chords, Erik noted, was unsuitable to accompany any song the two selected, so Susie was always the piano maestra. It was better this way though, he thought. Susie was a great singer, with a bright future, but Stephanie had something within her that he could mold. Talent was already there; she had such a pure and innocent tone that would rise and fall at the drop of a hat. Yet with him she could be more. Erik was well versed in voice, he felt it was time that he begin passing it on. He remembered the first time he heard Stephanie sing. At the time, he had been following Susie, for she was the only serious musical one of the chorus he spotted. “How wrong you were Erik,” he thought to himself. It was Susie that convinced Stephanie to sing with her in the auditorium. She practically stood Stephanie in front of the piano to make her sing. Erik recalled the day vividly, it was the day he decided to end it all. There was no point in going on; his life seemed pointless. He was a spectre, a mere shadow. With nothing to care for or keep him busy, except his music. He had walked onto the rafters of the auditorium for one last look before he took his life, when his lady, Susie walked in with a strange girl. She looked sickly and pale, but there was color in her cheeks and on her lips. Not a rose red like Susie’s, but a soft coral. Erik remembered even what the two wore that day. Susie, who was always beautiful in his eyes, wore a dress of a pretty scarlet, her golden curls neatly in a bun. This other girl, Stephanie, had long auburn hair, that spiraled as it fell. She wasn’t glamorous as Susie was, for she only wore a simple dress of white, which shockingly hung off of her frame and clashed horridly with her pale skin. She looked dreadful. But who was Erik to talk about appearance? Susie had selected a piece of music, and the other girl nodded. As the graceful chords of the piano were played, Erik cocked his head, curious. “Still as the Night” he had whispered, recognizing the tune. The girl inhaled, and then began to sing. It was like waking from a long sleep for Erik. Her voice was so pure and so full of passion, that he leaned upon the grate, for fear of falling. His chest was heaving, and his breathing staggered. This girl was an Angel. True, she wasn’t as trained as Susie was, but she had something an instructor could not teach, for her voice rang with the love of music. That day Erik felt that Stéphanie had given him his life back, and he wanted to live to pay her back, through the only way he knew how: through music. Shaking his head, Erik remembered that Stephanie’s chorus class would be starting soon, and he knew that Susie and her would be going off for a bit of fun in the auditorium. Erik was not going to miss this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Are you coming?” An impatient Susie had her hands on her hips, waiting for her friend to gather her things. “The auditorium is unlocked today, and we’re going to use it!” “Great!” exclaimed Stephanie, “You go ahead, I have to get some music- I promise I won’t be long!” Stephanie turned to pick up a manuscript at her side, and Susie strode off into the dark hallway to the auditorium. Fingering through a few songs she had learned, Stephanie smiled at the sight of one of them and took it with her as she too continued to the auditorium. Walking through the stage curtains was something she loved best. It was something about the velvety darkness that enraptured her. Ever since she was a kid she liked to hide and play pretend in the dark, and she hadn’t grown out of the habit either. She hummed a little tune to herself, making her way through the backdrops. For a moment she closed her eyes and imagined what it would be like someday to step out onto a real stage; in a real opera. Shaking the idea she opened her eyes adjusting to the darkness again. Susie had begun to play her recital piece, and Stephanie knew well enough that she needed to memorize it so she sat down in the darkness, humming to herself and reading the music in her hand through a small crack of light. Oddly, she thought she felt a breeze, like one where someone has just walked past you. The air smelled funny, like burned candles. She shook her head and continued humming; keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Erik was beating himself up internally. How he had waited for this moment, the moment when he would tell Stephanie who he was, and offer his tutelage. But for once in his life he couldn’t speak, and he walked aimlessly around the shadows, searching for bravery that he needed. Erik never suspected that he would become so engrossed by his thoughts that he would walk straight past her. True, it had been dark, but what if she saw him? He listened to Susie’s playing, and watched Stephanie’s reactions quietly from a corner. Maybe she hadn’t seen him. He blinked, and in that moment she rose to go toward Susie, to start their little musical rendezvous. He cringed. She had been mere inches from him, he could smell her faint perfume. Erik watched silently as she walked to Susie, held out her music, and smiled. Erik had never seen her this close before. Stephanie looked so different at this level. She had big, beautiful green eyes, and her hair had a red tinge when it met with the glow of the stagelight. True, Susie was a true inexorable beauty, but Stephanie was... breathtaking. The auditorium filled with sound as an audible click announced that the school intercom would be turned on soon. Sure enough, a woman’s voice over the loud speaker spoke: “Susan Jolink to the office please, Susan Jolink to the office.” Susie slammed her fingers on the piano in frustration and headed off to the office. Stephanie chittered goodheartedly, and sat down at the piano. “This is your chance Erik, this is the moment,” he thought. Heart beating, he made his way toward Stephanie. She began to play the piano, gently, though without the grace Susie had. Erik stood in shock, recognizing the tune. Funny, how she would know it- it’s a song native to Paris. She sang softly, words Erik last heard being sung by his mother. Yet he knew them nonetheless. “Hear those bells, ringing soft and low... Bringing peace to the twilight glow....” Erik thought he’d better take his chances now. He breathed in and sang. “Calling to everyone, night has begun. Turn from your weary toils.... Day’s work is done....” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stephanie froze to her seat. That voice. That voice! It was heaven on earth! But it frightened her a bit, for she did not know where it came from. It seemed to be from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She closed her eyes, taking in the rich, deep melodious tones. “Stephanie... aren’t you going to finish the rest of it?” She jumped back to reality, turning around. A man stood there in evening clothes wearing a mask that covered half his face. immediately she tried to speak, but could barely find her tongue. “Umm... I can’t seem to remember the words.” She looked down, her face red. Oh where could Susie be?! An odd silence filled the room, and she spoke without thinking. “That was beautiful.. I mean... I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t of-” “Shhhh.” He held a gloved finger to her lips, barely touching them. “A singer with a voice like yours shouldn’t stutter.” Her eyes opened wide. “Oh. umm,, I mean...” She inhaled deeply seeing his gaze of disapproval. Trying not to stutter she tried again. “You don’t really think... I ... can sing?” He laughed. “You’re so coy and so confident when you’re around friends...yet, you haven’t a word to say to me now!” He laughed rather hard. Stephanie liked the sound of his laugh, it was warm and golden, like his voice. “I suppose so.... it’s hard to talk to someone so, so....” She faltered. “Strange?” He added “ I was going to say mysterious, but yes, I suppose strange could work.” She rose from her seat, facing him. “Yes, the unknown is always strange, is it not? But I’m not here to discuss formalities with you.” “Than why are you here?” She chided herself, for her reply came out a bit more harsh than she meant it to. “I’m here,” he said, edging closer to her, “To tell you that you will now take voice lessons from me, and only me. And you will tell no one of these either.” He was so tall, she thought. She almost completely missed his words. Stephanie shook her head, not understanding. “What? ...But .... Why?” Still edging nearer, his face contorted into a coarse look. “Because, I see in you real potential... and I want to. It’s simple enough. Do you consent to allow me to do so?” She stepped closer, looking at his eyes. They were so cold, and so blue, yet ever changing, like clouds.
Approximate Word count = 10312
Approximate Pages = 41.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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