Phantom of the Opera

Part 1: Strange Music

"Mom!" I'd come home crying the last day of school. People always make fun of my face and threaten me. It put me in a really bad place. It's the day before my birthday now, weeks later and I'm turning 16.

"Fantine, you need to eat your food," Mom says this as I just pick at the mashed potatoes. I haven't eaten dinner in three days, having not been hungry. The only thing I've been interested in is my voice lessons, but they get tiring after doing them everyday.

"Why does Fantine not have to eat her food?" My little brother, Gustave, is always wanting what I have and is always jealous of me. But he's a little kid and that's what he does, I still love him to death though. My mother and Gustave start bantering back and forth for a while before I answer loudly to her.

"Mother, I'm not hungry," I put my right hand over the distorted side of my face. I do that when I look at everyone so they don't get frightened by the sight of it. The pain on my face never goes away and it hurts even worse when I put my hand near it.

Mom looks at dad and in her eyes I can tell she is worried. My dad nods and mouths 'Whatever'. Father hates me. My hand drifts down from my face, but I immediately put it back, "I'm going to my room," I get up from the table and walk through the long hallway towards my room. I look at one of the walls and mistakenly gaze into a mirror.

I start sobbing as I look at my ugly, damaged face. Tears stream down my hideous visage as I run straight to my room. Reminding myself of how ugly I am is the worst thing I could possibly do. I hear the mirror shatter as I close my door and lock it. Running to my couch, I scream into the cushions. I then hear some glass break behind and next to me. I sit up from the cushions and stand up. Glass is scattered all over my carpeted floor.

Moving my bed away from the wall that it is up against, I reveal a secret passageway. I know this passageway well. It's where I go to sleep or practice music. It's a place where I can hide.

Descending down the large and dark staircase, my bed locks back into place and I place a padlock on the trapdoor so it can't be opened from the other side. Continuing down the staircase, I hear someone knock at my bedroom door, "Fantine? It's your mother. Please open your door. Fantine? Are you in there?" her voice gets softer as my feet carry further into my damp darkness.

"FANTINE!" She yells to me in a worried tone. My feet reach the last step and walk me to my piano and music. The candles are lit. Someone is down here. I walk to my piano and look around. There is no one. But there is a red package on the music stand.

I open it to find music I've never seen before. There are many songs of all different styles. It must be written by a true professional. The parchment it's written on is old but the ink looks almost brand new. I play through the opera until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Closing my piano so the keys don't show I sit forward and lay my head on my arms.

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I wake up very refreshed and comfortable. I get up off the floor and lay a relatively large black blanket on the bench along with a pillow. Then something comes to me.

Wasn't I sleeping on my piano?