Pen a Pal (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Hey Meg, it's Christine Dupree. Remember me?" Christine asked jokingly into her cell phone.

Meg let out an excited squeal. "Christine! It has been forever!" She wished she could hug her best friend, but alas, they were having a phone conversation and she was 3,000 miles away visiting her dad in California.

Christine laughed and held the cell phone away from her ear a bit because of how loud Meg was. "I know! We haven't talked once since you left." Not that she'd really had much time to talk to her friend, which was an interesting fact. Christine had really thought she would be bored over the summer without Meg around to keep her company, but that wasn't the case at all. It was all because of a website on the Internet, too.

"Well, I've been kind of busy exploring the city and finding a job. Get this, I'm working at a pet shop. Me."

She was surprised to hear that, considering Meg pretty much detested animals. A cat she used to own had turned out to be quite the little demon. Meg still had scars from its scratches. "You? Really? How did that happen?" Christine relaxed in her computer chair and turned away from the computer screen to prevent herself from clicking the 'Refresh' button.

Meg explained, "Well, it's harder than I thought getting a job over here. Searching for a job in Richmond is so much easier, trust me. So I applied everywhere, no kidding, and my very last choice was a pet shop. As it turned out, with my bad luck, they were the only place that called. I went for an interview, and voila. Here I am. But, you know what?"

"What?" Christine asked, although she had a feeling she knew what Meg was about to say.

"It's really not so bad. I'm growing to appreciate animals again. I think that psycho cat I used to have was rare, because most of the animals at the pet shop are nothing like she was." She shrugged. "And that's all I've been doing this summer so far, except for shopping every chance I get. You know me." She remembered something and said, "Oh, but there is this guy I'm talking to at work. He's so hot, Christine. He has his eyebrow pierced!"

Christine laughed. All she was hearing was so very Meg-like. She really did miss her. "You always did think guys with eyebrow piercings were sexy. I'm glad you've found someone who agrees." She laughed again.

"Yes, I definitely found someone who agrees… But enough about me. What have you been doing? Tell me everything," she demanded cheerfully.

"Oh, you know, the usual," Christine said with false boredom. "Getting a new job, emailing a guy constantly, and getting ready to get a new step dad…"

Meg's eyes widened. "What? A new step dad? Are you serious?"

"Yeah," she replied. "My mom's been seeing this guy named Jeremy behind our backs. I was really mad at first, but it turns out that he's nice. And she's happy, so I'm happy for her."

"That's great, Christine," Meg said sincerely. "I'm really glad she's happy. I remember how we used to always think she was so sad all the time."

Christine agreed. "She was sad. She was miserable, actually. But not now. She's so in love, it's really funny to see."

Meg gasped. "When are they getting married? Am I going to be able to be there for it?" She'd always loved weddings. "I'll freaking fly over there if I have to."

"I don't know yet. I'll tell you as soon as I find out, though."

There was a short pause before Meg moved onto the other things Christine had told her. "You got a new job? Where at?"

"The Macaroni Grill," Christine replied. "I'm a waitress/singer. I started last night and made 105 dollars, so I'm pretty happy at the moment." She laughed.