In The Wings

Act II Scene VII

Christine was sitting in the chorus room, waiting fairly patiently for rehearsals to begin. The Light in the Piazza had consumed her mind for hours at a time, but it never seemed to fall at the same time as the actual practices. There was always something to distract her and make her look to the side.

Whenever Mama Valant asked Christine how her rehearsals were going, she would always respond with a single word just like any other teenager: "Good." Frankly, it wasn't that much of a stretch of the truth. There was nothing extraordinary about the rehearsals for the Light in the Piazza.

There were parts she dreaded, knowing that Carly would be flaunting her new lead role. But she enjoyed learning her own part, despite knowing that it would be far more suited to the prima donna of Garnier High School herself. Franca Nacarelli was a fun role, it was true. But she was sassy, full of herself, rude, and manipulative. Christine wasn't sure how she got put into a role like that. 

Sometimes the thoughts that ran through other people's heads were like complete mysteries to Christine. It made her feel almost like she was seperated from the rest of the world in a strange way. A thought at the back of her mind made her question if this was actually why the Angel of Music had singled her out. Her voice had some part to do with it, but why would he have put so much effort into training her and becoming her guardian of sorts?

After a long day of school, all of this deep thinking was making Christine's head hurt. She shook out her curls and tried to focus on what was going along with the rehearsals. She had been blanking out from the rest of the world when it came to retreating back into her thoughts. After shifting around to make herself more comfortable, she sat up straight in her seat. 

Most of the beginning rehearsals were focused on the music. It was all very difficult, but the students of Garnier were dedicated. At least that was something Christine could be thankful for. Her fellow performers always worked to do their best, no matter what the conditions were. She had been in far too many groups where no one cared, and nothing ever got done. 

But despite all of this, she couldn't help but let out a sigh as she relaxed in her seat. People had been flooding in until the entire cast was enclosed within the chorus room. The buzzing excitement of the beginning of a show was still with them, but it had faded significantly. 

On one side of Christine was Bridget Hadley, playing one of the main female leads. On the other side was Paul Chandler, playing the male lead. Christine in the middle was playing a supporting character. Even without a single word, she found herself reminded of how she had failed to get the role she wanted. 

She wished she could have leaned over and whispered something to Meg, but her friend had arrived far later than her and wasn't able to sit next to her. Besides, she had her boyfriend and her former costar sitting beside her-that had to be worth quite a bit. Nevertheless, she found herself with her mouth clamped shut as she waited for rehearsal to start.

"I believe it is time for us to begin again," Mr. Montegomery said, clapping his hands together. "I honestly can't say how much I love the beginning songs of this show. Carly, Bridget? We're going to run through the overture quickly and then Statues and Stories."

Bridget gave a thumbs up, standing up to make her way over to the piano. While Carly vainly flipped her hair over her shoulder while holding her nose up in the air, Bridget turned around briefly and gave Christine a smile. She just couldn't understand how such a nice girl could possibly be compared to someone like Carly. It simply didn't make any sense to her.

The two girls went up to the chorus teacher who began to explain what they were going to do, what he wanted them to work on. Christine watched them intently, wishing that she could be up there nodding at every other sentence just as they were.