Chapter 11
Monday at school was very interesting for Christine. Before the bell even rang, Robert walked straight to her locker to greet her.
"Hey," Christine said, completely not expecting him.
"Hey, Chris! How are you?" He leaned up against the locker beside hers.
"I'm good. Ready for another hellish Monday?" She closed her locker door and started walking down the hall. Robert followed.
"No, but I guess I'd better be. So, I was wondering-"
"Robert! Hey!" Carlotta, the most popular girl in the twelfth grade, stepped in between Christine and him. "How are you?"
"Hey, Carlotta.. I'm fine.." He and Christine walked a little faster to get away from her, which made her furious.
Under her breath, she murmured, "Damn you, Christine Daae.."
"That girl scares me," Robert whispered when they were far enough away.
Christine laughed. "Yeah, me too. So, what were you saying?"
"Oh, yeah! Um, you want to do something tonight?" Then, he quickly added, "I mean, if you're not busy or anything."
They stopped walking. This could be it. This could be the thing to get my mind off of Erik. I should do this. Yeah. "I'm not busy." She smiled and blushed. "What did you have in mind?"
Robert inwardly celebrated having just gotten the girl he'd had his eyes on for the past four years. "I was thinking dinner and a movie?"
"That sounds perfect." Her blush deepened.
"I'll pick you up at your house, if that's ok?"
"Oh, yeah. Let me give you directions." The warning bell rang, and she sighed. "Well, I'll give them to you in math, ok?"
"Sounds good." He couldn't stop staring at her. "I'll see you then."
"Bye." They parted, and Christine headed to English.
When she entered the room, things really got interesting.. in a bad way. Carlotta was in this class. She and her cronies. The popular girl was instantly in front of Christine when she entered the room.
"Hey, bitch," Carlotta bluntly said.
Christine gulped but kept composure. "Move."
"Not until I've had my say." She crossed her arms against her chest. "Listen to me carefully. Hang out with Robert anymore, and you'll wish you hadn't."
"Are you threatening me?" Christine was angry now.
"What do you think, dumbass?"
Christine moaned, sick of her enemy. "Look, just get out of my way."
"You'd better listen to what I say. Got it?"
With a roll of her eyes, Christine walked past the horrible girl and sat at her desk waiting for the day to end. I don't give a damn what she says…
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Erik sat in the den of his apartment drinking a glass of brandy. It was almost time for the voice lesson to begin. Nadir's words kept repeating themselves in his mind. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea continuing to see Christine..
Then, the doorbell rang. With weary feet, he headed for the door. He'd never felt so down about seeing her.
Erik opened the door, and it was as if time stopped. They both just stared at one another. Did I really just consider never seeing this beautiful woman again?
Christine thought to herself, How can I even be thinking of doing anything with Robert when the person I want to be doing something with is standing right in front of me?
Then, the moment of silence ended. "Hello, Christine."
"Hi." Both were acting so shy.
What am I doing? each thought. With that thought, their shyness came to an end, replaced with a sense of distance. Acting unusually detached, Erik said, "Come into the music room, and we will begin."
Today, there would be no tea. It shocked Christine, but she was also rather glad. It would keep things strictly on the lesson.
So, Erik warmed Christine up. At the first sound of her voice, Erik's thoughts went crazy. That voice… So lovely… He had to shake his head to get rid of the intrusive feelings. "Did you practice during our time apart?" He knew she hadn't.
Christine's head lowered. "I'm sorry. I couldn't. I just couldn't do that to my mom."
"Well, you are a bit out of practice. But, let us continue."
His words upset her but also made her strive for more. Concentrating fully on her voice and her voice alone, no matter how difficult it was, they proceeded.
The hour passed slowly for the two. It was so hard to keep the civil atmosphere. Christine considered the situation one of the most awkward she'd ever been in. The whole thing exhausted Erik.
Finally, though, the lesson came to its end. They left each other with simple good bye's, and both let out deep sighs when they were finally apart.
Erik fell into a chair in the den and gulped down another glass of brandy. That was terrible! And, it showed in her voice! He decided something had to be done. It wouldn't be enough to continue with the goal they had now. If only the goal of her eventually becoming a star was all they had, his feelings for her would deepen from lack of timed target.
They needed something to strive for. Something with a time limit. Thinking hard, he reached for the day's newspaper.
A story on the front page caught his full attention. He read it thoroughly over and over again.
The gist of the article was this: There were going to be auditions at the opera house for a new soprano. Someone to take Beth Daae's place..
This had never occurred to Erik. Of course! Why did I not think of this before? He leant against the head rest of the chair with a smile showing on the visible part of his face. Auditions were just what Christine needed. And, competitive auditions were the answer to his hopes.
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Christine got out of her car still thinking about the lesson. I sucked.. It was so obvious. I'm sure he's so angry.
But, her thoughts were not on her voice alone. Just seeing the man brought the familiar racing heart and warmth to her body.
She had to get her thoughts off him, though. They would do her no good. It was time to focus on Robert. What will I wear? was her first girly thought. She went straight to her bedroom and began searching through her closet.
Six o'clock came quickly. She barely had time to tell her parents where she was off to when the door bell rang. Looking in a mirror one last time, she then walked to the door and opened it.
Robert looked really good. He was wearing different clothing than he had to school that day. But, of course, so was Christine.
"Hi," Christine shyly said.
"Hi. You look great."
"Thank you. I'm glad you found this place. I was afraid the directions weren't clear enough."
"No, they were perfect." He found he couldn't keep his eyes off her. "You really look beautiful, Christine." He couldn't help but tell her again.
She smiled and blushed. "Thank you, Robert."
With a debonair smile, he gently took her hand and led her to his car. "Your chariot awaits, my lady."
Christine laughed and got in when he opened her door. He's treating me like a prized possession. She found it to be really sweet.
As they were driving, Robert decided to speak his mind. "Christine, I just want you to know, I'm so glad you agreed to this. I- I've been wanting to ask you for a while now.."
He should have asked me before I started liking Erik.. She ignored those thoughts. "I'm glad I agreed. You know, you could have asked me before now. I would have said yes." I think..
"Really? I wanted to. I did. But, I guess I was afraid you'd say no." Then, he found he wanted to speak his mind even more. Christine just brought the truth out in him. "I've liked you for a while now."
Christine blushed. She found she was doing that a lot lately. "And, how long is a while?" she asked softly.
"Well, since, umm.., freshman year."
Her eyes widened. Freshman year? That's a long time. "Wow, I had no idea."
"I guess I've kept it pretty well hidden." He found her to be so intriguing. Her beauty was what first caught his eye, but her cute ways and the mystery she unintentionally let out caused him to care for her even more. There was something about the girl that he couldn't get enough of.
There was some silence before Christine asked, "So, where exactly are we going?"
"Well, there's this nice restaurant pretty close to the theater I thought we'd try. Then, if you want, we could walk to the movie from there."
"That sounds nice."
So, when they got to the restaurant, the couple ate and talked about school related things and personal interests. Robert was incredibly interested in knowing more about the girl he had a crush on.
From there, they walked along a nicely lit sidewalk with lovely surroundings to get to the theater. Robert badly wished to hold her delicate hand but decided against it in case she wasn't ready.
Really, to tell the truth, Christine wasn't ready. She was still in the process of really studying and taking notes on the entirety of the date.
They watched a movie that was made for both girls and guys appropriately, and then they drove back to Christine's house. On the way, Christine couldn't help but say, "I think Carlotta likes you."
Robert sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, that's what people are saying. I don't understand why. I've never really talked to her much. I mean, I guess we were pretty close in middle school, but that was a long time ago. She needs to know that I really don't have feelings for her. My feelings go towards somebody else I know." He smiled and suddenly did something he'd wanted to do all night. He reached out and held Christine's left hand as he drove.
It was dark, so Robert could not see her reaction. A slight frown formed on Christine's face as she studied her feelings from the action. It was very important that she do this in order to compare.
They reached Christine's house moments later. "Robert, I had a really good night tonight. Thank you so much."
Robert smiled proudly. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. "No, thank you so much. I had a great time."
They walked to the front door together. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Christine said, a shyness returning to her once more.
"Yes, I will see you." He looked into her eyes asking something with his body language.
Christine knew exactly and immediately looked down under his stare. He sighed but seemed to understand. Instead of kissing her, which was what he wanted, he moved forward and hugged the girl of his dreams.
"Good night, Christine."
"Good night." Christine went inside and closed the door. She stood frozen in place until she heard the engine of Robert's car rev up. Then, she sighed and sat on the ground in the middle of the foyer.
What is wrong with me? Tonight would have made any girl go head over heels for him. Why don't I feel that way? Christine did discover what she was looking for in the night, though. She had succeeded in one area.
It could not be denied. I like Erik far more than Robert. Robert is no comparison…