Distractions (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Christine stood in practice room 7 in a sort of daze. Her body was there, but her vision and mind weren't.  Every strange thing that had just transpired seemed to have finally taken its toll on her.

Moments later, a voice jolted her wandering mind. "Christine?"

She glanced around, her eyes somewhat glazed over.

"Scales." He stroked a chord on his violin and stated, "We will warm up a bit differently than usual. Your routine is not sufficient enough. Alright, from G to C and back to G, all ten notes, and then to the third and back to the fifth two consecutive times before dropping to the tonic. We will move by half steps. Sing on the vowel, '-ee'."

Christine blinked at his instructions and murmured, "Uhh.." Really, how could any human being comprehend all of that?

Erik could see her confusion from behind the practice room mirror and sighed.  He repeated his previous instructions slowly and made sure to word them with less complexity.

It seemed his voice cut through her daze.  Christine nodded and began singing on an '-ee' vowel.

"Posture," he reminded while watching her. She straightened but it didn't really help the problem. Examining her face, Erik noticed that her green eyes were not focused. Her face seemed paler than usual. He stopped playing.

She looked towards the mirror expectantly, for that's where it sounded like the violin was coming from.. although that was impossible.  The violin had to be coming from above, for that's where the angels were.  She shrugged.

Her shrug made him angry.  He took it as a sign of carelessness.  "Christine, you are not trying. You are not focused. What is your attention focused on right now?"

His question finally brought her back to reality. The way he spoke seemed insulting... and she didn't like it. "My attention is focused on the fact that this whole situation is just plain weird." 

"Can you elaborate on that?" he asked with a frown.

"Yeah, I can," Christine retorted.  "Why is it that it sounds like the violin is coming from the mirror in front of me?  Shouldn't it be above me?  Aren't you supposed to be looking down upon me?  Or..."  She noticed that her words seemed silly and blushed.

Erik actually chuckled, pleased to see her blush.  It meant that she really had no idea what she was talking about.  So it was time for him to explain.  "Christine, dear child, I am everywhere.  I am all around you.  Wherever you go, I will be there.  You are very lucky."

"Yeah," she responded softly, thinking about what he was saying.  "I guess I am lucky."

"Now, my dear, it is time to concentrate."

They proceeded with scales and, since Christine was out of her daze, she was able to focus solely on her voice.

They stopped on a high B. Erik paused considering what to say. Compliment her voice? Be critical? "I must insist that you relax. Relax your jaw, relax your shoulders. Feel as if you are floating, but do not lower your concentration. Now, let us repeat the same exercise on the vowel, '-Oh'. We will change vowels occasionally, so be ready."

She continued to warm her voice up until he finally seemed pleased.

"Are you ready?" Erik was most pleased with the outcome of their warm-up.

"Ready for what?"

"To practice your repertoire, of course."

Christine raised an eyebrow. He was very strict. Impatient, too. A perfectionist, as well. "Yes, I'm ready," she replied while hoping she could handle this.  The last thing she wanted was for him to leave her because she was not good enough..