“It sounded great to me.” She smiles at him.
He laughs faintly. “Well…thank you.” Then he cocks his head. “You look familiar.”
Christine nods. “So do you! But I’m sorry, I can’t seem to remember your name…”
“I’m Raoul. Raoul de Chagny. And wait, you’re Christine Daaé, right? We were both at the same middle school for a year.”
“That’s it! Seems so long ago.”
“I’ve never forgotten you,” Raoul says, so quietly I can barely hear him from my box. “I don’t know if you remember, but I was bullied badly that year for giving a valentine to a boy in my class. You were there on one of the worst days, and you defended me.”
“Oh my god…I do remember!” exclaims Christine. “That was awful.”
“You made it less awful. I had a crush onyouafter that.” He gives an embarrassed chuckle. “Until things got so bad my parents moved me to a different school.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through such a horrible experience.”She’s moving nearer to him, being pulled closer by her compassionate heart.
Hatred for Raoul flames in my chest, tightening my throat with its vehemence. I want to bellow my rage at both of them. I want to seize Raoul by the throat and fling him against a wall and roar in his face that Christine ismine. I want to hear him panting in terror, feel him break in my hands. I want to know what he sounds like when he screams.
But by some divine exertion of my will, I manage not to move.
“I should tell you…” Raoul tosses a hand through his red-gold hair. “I wroteSidewinder.”
“Sidewinder?” asks Christine blankly.
“The musical you’re auditioning for.”
“Oh! Oh god… Of course. I promise I know what it’s called.” She presses her hands to her cheeks. “This is so embarrassing. I’m sorry. I’ve never auditioned for a voice role before… I’ve actually never sung in public before… I’m not even sure what I’m doing here…”
She’s falling apart. I groan inwardly, shrinking deeper into my chair.
But Raoul laughs. “Well, I’ve never written a musical before, so we’re both new to this. To be honest, I’m having second thoughts about the score. I’m great at lyrics, but not as good at composing. I had a couple friends help me with the music and the orchestration, but something is missing. I don’t know if I’m talented enough to take it as far as it can go.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“Are you? A few minutes ago, you didn’t remember me. And you have no idea what this musical is about, do you?” He doesn’t say it harshly, but with rueful humor in his voice.
Christine sighs. “I’ve made a mess of this already. I may as well not even audition. Clearly, I’m unprepared.”
“Hey.” When she turns away, he catches her wrist. It’s a light graze of his fingers, just enough to make her pause. “I’d like to hear you sing. Please stay.”
The look that passes between them is like a broadsword cleaving straight through the muscle of my heart, splitting it in two. I’m hemorrhaging hope, watching my plans bleed out onto the crimson carpet of Box Five. The attraction between them is unmistakable, almost tangible. I can practically smell the pheromones in the air.
“Okay,” Christine replies. “I’ll stay.”
“Good. Thank you. Marj should be backstage by now with the audition forms. Go ahead and fill one of those out, and we’ll get started soon. It’s so good to see you, Christine.”
Fuck him for saying “Christine” in that warm, intimate tone. Her name belongs inmymouth, not his.
“Agnes,” I whisper, and I feel the immediate response of the ghost as she rushes to my location.
She appears within seconds, adjusting her flowered hat. “Yes, sir?”
“That boy on the stage. I want to know everything about him. Get some of the others to help you, and find something I can use to ruin his life.”
“Right away, sir!” she squeaks and darts away.
I lean forward, propping my elbows on my knees and lacing my fingers together. Angry though I am, there’s a thread of excitement in the rage. I haven’t had a true adversary since the conflict with the vampires at Wicklow. I lost that battle, but I don’t plan to lose this one.
