In The Wings

Act II Scene II

Auditions were over, but Christine couldn't leave. The nerves from auditioning still fluttered through her as she sat next to her friend Meg yet again. She could feel a prescence in the air around her. She looked over at Meg, and said quietly, "Do you feel that?"

Meg tilted her head, obviously confused. "Feel what? I mean, the air conditioning is a bit too high so it's rather cold in here but other than that..."

"Never mind," Christine said, shaking her head. "I'm going to stop by the bathroom real quickly, okay?"

Meg nodded in response, and although Christine felt bad for lying to her friend she still continued on. She was formulating plans left and right in her head, calculating for all of the "what ifs." But when she arrived backstage, the planning stopped. There was only one thing in her head.

Find the voice. Find the Angel of Music.

He had told her to come find him again or else he would leave her. Christine would never let that happen. She sang lightly, gently, just a single ringing note. There were no words. It was just a "la" that she could and would hold out as long as she needed to.

But soon the voice joined in, creating a two part harmony that somehow sounded more beautiful and intricate than even a four part harmony. She savored in the moment for a second. The voice was almost too beautiful to bear.

But then her breath began to run out, and she cut off the note.

"My voice. My angel," she said, already starting to get under a haze. It was like someone had flicked her brain off and her only conscious wish was to speak to the voice. "I have returned to you, just as you have asked."

"You are the voice, you are the angel. Tonight shall be ours," the voice said in response. If only Christine could see past how wrong all of this was. But she was blinded by the sheer beauty of all of it.

"I have missed you," Christine said. "It's been just a month or two since Cinderella ended, and yet I wanted more from you. We only ever met on the stage. But now we can share music again, because I am here. I have chosen you and your music, my Angel."

The voice was silent for a moment, thinking about what he needed to say next. "There is something I have been considering for a long while. I feel that perhaps now that I know you are loyal, I may carry through with it."

"Yes?"

"Perhaps you would like to meet me, in person."

Christine's eyes widened. "Oh...of course! The honor..." she began. But now she had been rendered speechless by this offer. It was almost too good to be true.

"It may take all night," the voice said. Christine didn't even pause to think about what else that might mean. She just began making up a new plan to hide it from her mother. She picked up her phone and dialed Meg's number.

"Hey, Meg? This is Christine," she said.

"I have caller ID," Meg said with a small laugh. "And why are you calling me from the bathroom, anyways? You can just come back and talk to me in person."

Christine realized that she didn't have a reasonable explanation for any of this. But she wasn't leaving backstage, she just couldn't. The Angel of Music was so close, she could feel it throughout her soul. She had to stay close. She wouldn't dare waste a single moment they could spend together.

"It doesn't matter," Christine finally decided on. She knew Meg would be suspicious of her, but she needed to move on. "I need your help with something."

"Er..." Meg hesitated for a moment, a bit put off by Christine's behavior. But in the end, she knew she could trust her best friend, even if all of those curls were blocking her brain from functioning sanely. "Okay, shoot."