The Phantom's African Rose

Chapter 18: The Results

Evangeline's POV

"Our newest member and Opera House Prima Donna is... Number Thirty, Evangeline McKenna!"

Amongst the collective gasps of shock and mild applause, I froze where I stood.

Did I hear right? I thought to myself, Did he just call out my number?

"I got the job?" I whispered in awe.

Robert laughed as he walked towards me.

"Congratulations, Miss McKenna! I reckon you're officially the first Negro to ever become the Prima Donna of the Opera Garnier." He smiled as he shook my hand.

Johnathan, however, didn't seem all that thrilled, his disapproval evident in his eyes as it locked onto me. As he gave me one last glare, he then said in a loud voice, "Thank you all for coming. Miss McKenna, if you will follow us, please."

With that, the rest of the girls left, either voicing their congratulations or snarling at me in disdain as the three of us left for their office. We journeyed towards the office, all the while Robert giving me a tour of the entire backstage and pointing out important rooms.

When we finally arrived at the manager's office, I was shown the makeup rooms, the costume rooms, and I even saw my new dressing room, the gigantic mirror/ main entrance to Erik's lair fixed and looking as big and as impressive as it did in the 2004 movie.

"Well then, Miss McKenna, now that we're here, we can now go over the terms of your employment," Robert said as his father and I took a seat across from each other, their desk separating the two of us.

As Robert walked to one of the shelves that was neatly tucked away on one side of the room, Mr. Racist Bigot gave me a cold glare.

"Don't think for one moment that we will make it easy on you, negress. Never forget, I'll be watching you like a hawk, waiting for you to make one mistake, miss one rehearsal, have one slip-up, and when you do, you'll be fired." He sneered as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Aw. Well, Mr. Baptisté, I have a feeling that you should start a new hobby, 'cause you'll be waiting a long, long time." I replied, giving him a sarcastic smile.

Before he had time to react, his son came over with two copies of the contract.

"Here you are, Miss McKenna! Everything you will need to know is in the contract. As Prima Donna, you now have big responsibilities as well as some benefits. You must be on time for every rehearsal and every show, you must be present for important functions such as galas, balls, charity events, and the like. You are entitled to your own flat near the Opera Garnier if you do not feel at all comfortable with boarding inside the Opera House as well as your own personal maid and footman and a wage of 15,000 francs each month."

I looked over the contract while he was talking, making sure that everything was correct on both of them, checking it over and over again to make sure that I wasn't being ripped off. After I was sure that everything seemed legit, I nodded my head and said, "Where do I sign?"

Robert seemed thrilled as he handed me a black, inkwell pen and pointed to the dotted lines. When I had finished writing my full name on both documents, Robert took both of the copies, put a stamp of approval on both of them, placed one copy in a safe that sat right next to the bookcase, and handed me the remaining copy as I placed it safely in my satchel.

"Rehearsals start tomorrow morning at 8:30 sharp. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Is that clear?" Johnathan asked, his mouth forever set on a snarl.

"Yes sir," I replied, giving him a mock salute. All he did was give a sharp huff as I got up and headed out the door. I gave one final glance at Robert and gave him a smile. He turned to me to say something, but before the words tumbled out of his mouth, Mr. Kill-joy interrupted.

"Robert, get back here! We have work to do." He said in a gruff voice. Robert complied as he turned towards his father's desk as I headed for the outside world and into the secret entrance on Rue Scribe, my face full of smiles.

When I arrived at the lair, Erik was already in the music room, waiting for me in a white, billowy shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes, a white, porcelain mask covering the top part of his face, leaving a gap for the mouth to be seen.

"Ah, bon souir, ma aìme. By the joyful look on your face, I take it that the auditions went well? " He asked, his own smile spreading across his face. I didn't say anything. Instead, I rushed toward Erik and pulled him into a tight hug, taking him completely by surprise.

"Thank you so much!" I cried as he wrapped his pale, skeletal arms around me.

"Y-you're welcome." He seemed to stammer as he gently pushed me off of him. I quickly gave him my copy of the contract and watched as he placed it in our safe.

"Well, I do believe that this calls for a celebration. Since it's my turn to make dinner, how about I make some baked salmon with dill and thyme and we have some of the cookies that you made yesterday?"

I nodded my head as he rushed into the kitchen to prepare the food, his joy obvious as he began to whistle while he worked.

A/N: Hello my fellow Phantom Phans!

WE HIT OVER 1K VOTES AND 14K VIEWERS!!!!!😆😆😆😆😆

I want to say thank you for all of you who read, commented, and shared my story with your friends. You guys are so special! 😘

So, what do you guys think about our hero getting the job?

As always, vote, comment, and share and I'll see y'all in the next chapter.

M'kay, bye!💗