by Amy Magaw
A Dance with the Phantom
~A Short Story~
Amy Leah Magaw
A Dance with the Phantom
Copyright © 2013 Amy Leah Magaw
All Rights Reserved No part of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means mechanical or electronic, including recording or photocopying, without prior written permission from the author, with the exceptions of brief cited quotations in reviews, indexing for internet search engines, and brief cited quotations for use by libraries and retailers.
“I got another one today,” Stephanie began as she pulled a piece of candy from her backpack.
“What did The Phantom leave you this time?” asked her best friend Madison. The two girls whispered with a child-like giddiness that mirrored Christmas time—not Halloween. The chorus room was full of singers, but the soprano section sat quietly as the director was preoccupied with the other sections.
“A Krabby Patty Gummy Sandwich,” she answered as she handed the Spongebob-themed candy to her. “How did he know I liked Spongebob? That was way back in third grade!”
Madison examined it thoroughly. “How did he even get this into your locker? It’s too thick to go through the vents!”
“I know! And it had a note with it too...” Stephanie began as she reached into her pocket.
“Of course it does, just like all the others...” Madison answered sarcastically.
Stephanie produced a small red piece of paper containing the words, ‘A sweet for my sweet. Yours Forever, The Phantom.’ She passed the paper to Madison while the baritones belted out low notes at chorus rehearsal.
Madison read the note. “That’s so corny!”
“Candy corny?” asked Stephanie as she offered Madison some of the sweet Halloween candy. “He left me some of that yesterday! “
“And you’re just as bad!” she answered as she took a handful of the candy. “What else has he brought you?”
“Monday it was a rose; Tuesday it was a Hershey chocolate bar; and Wednesday it was roll of Smarties; but the sad thing is, I can’t think of any connection between the items he’s brought me to a possible identity.”
“Do you think there is a connection? The Spongebob thing was from Elementary school. That’s got to mean something. Has he been admiring you for that long?” she asked rhetorically. “I can’t wait to find out who he is tonight.”
“You can’t wait?” Stephanie responded. “And no, I still don’t have a clue as to who he might be.” She looked down sadly at her latest gift from the Phantom. Why would anyone be leaving gifts for me? Could there really be something to this? She didn’t know what to make of it all. She looked up and saw Effie Williamson looking in their direction. Even though the girls were whispering, their volume had to be heard over the baritones. Stephanie decided she needed to whisper more softly. “Do you really think he’ll be there tonight?”
“Girl, please!” Madison said in boisterous frustration.
Stephanie grabbed her arm to quiet her. She looked around to make sure no one else was attempting to mind their business.
“Why do you think he’s gone to all this trouble this week? There hasn’t been one day that you haven’t received some gift from him in your locker,” Madison said as he toyed with the candy corn. She lifted a piece to her mouth.
“I know; you don’t think he’s a stalker, do you? I haven’t eaten any of the candy he’s left me, just in case!” Stephanie said with a grin.
Madison’s hand stopped in mid-air. She was one second short from becoming a guinea pig! She looked at Stephanie in silence for a moment. “Naa,” she said as she popped the candy corn in her mouth.
The girls continued to sit in Chorus class with nothing to do. The director was still working parts with the baritones, and now the altos had joined in. They continued to whisper so as not to disturb the rehearsal.
“You know, the walls are really drab in here with all that grey. We need some posters, or something, you know—to liven it up!” Stephanie suggested.
“Yeah! We need a ‘Phantom of the Opera’ poster!” Madison said as she jabbed Stephanie in the ribs.
“Ouch! Stop it! What character are you going as to the Masquerade dance tonight—an evil torture doctor?” Stephanie asked.
“No, I’m going as Pocahontas,” Madison answered. “By the way, remind me to go pick up my feathers from the Dollar Tree this afternoon.”
Stephanie frowned at her friend. “Isn’t that a little Disney? What are you in the fifth grade?”
“Well that’s what I want to be—a beautiful Indian princess. And what character will you be portraying? Oh! I know!” she shouted with excitement.
All eyes in the alto section looked their way. Madison got the hint and ducked down in her chair.
“Sorry,” she whispered to Stephanie. She was trying to keep her best friend’s secret, but she was way too excited. “You should go as Christine so that your Phantom will recognize you!”
“No! I don’t want to seem like I came to the dance just to see him!” she retorted.
“But isn’t that why you’re going to the dance tonight?” Madison asked with the look of the bad cop in the interrogation room.
Stephanie paused. She knew Madison had her dead to rights. “Yes, it is why I’m going. But, I’m not going as Christine; I’m going as...a...fairy,” she said meekly.
Madison shouted again. “...and you think I’m Disney! Tinkerbell is their logo for crying out loud!”
“Shhh!” Stephanie said as she slapped Madison’s arm. “I didn’t say that I was going to be Tinkerbell; I said I was going to be a fairy. There’s a difference.”
“Not much...” Madison chided.
“Well, I picked up my wings from The Dollar Tree yesterday and I’m not changing my mind now! My high school senior budget won’t allow it! Thank the Lord for the Dollar Tree!” Stephanie replied.
“Oh! That also reminds me—we have to get our traditional Lone Ranger-style face mask...” Madison pointed out.
“In matching colors, of course...” Stephanie interrupted.
“...of course!” Madison agreed. She stopped for a moment while the altos and baritones sang their parts together. She began to look through the rows of singers in the bleak room that was obviously built for acoustics, and not aesthetics. “I just had an idea. Since he calls himself ‘The Phantom’, like ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, do you think your Phantom is in this chorus class?” Madison asked.
“You’re just now thinking that? I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out who he could be! I just don’t know who in the world would reach out to me like that!” Stephanie said as she glanced down at the music in her lap.
Both girls scanned the faces in the rows directly across from them. Madison snickered, remembering Effie’s nosiness a moment ago. She nudged Stephanie’s elbow. “What do you think Effie Williamson will go as, if she goes at all?”
Stephanie glanced down at her Krabby Patty Candy. “Probably Mr. Krabb’s daughter, Pearl the Whale!” she snickered. “That was ugly. I shouldn’t have said it...”
“...but it was funny. That’s what she gets for stealing everyone’s cookies from their lunch bags in K-5!” Madison interrupted with a sense of justification. She looked over the men’s section of the group. “How about Jesse? He’s talk, dark, and handsome.”
“And he’s also dating Jennifer Beatson in the junior class,” Stephanie added.
“Really? When did that happen?”
“I don’t know! Focus! Who else do you think he could be?” Stephanie said bringing Madison back to the more
important matters at hand.
Madison perused the baritones again. “I don’t know, Stephanie. There’s not much left: Garrett the football player...”
“...who could have any girl he wanted,” interrupted Stephanie.
“Well, then there’s Jeffrey the nerd...”
“...who wouldn’t know what to do with a girl...”Stephanie interrupted again.
“Would you let me finish looking, for crying out loud? Okay, there’s Jonathan, the preacher’s kid, but he probably won’t even be there. I can’t see his dad letting him go.”
“I know, right? His locker is next to mine. I try to avoid him, but sometimes he’s there. It’s definitely not him,” Stephanie said.
“Well, there’s also David McGibbney, Jacob Jones, and Shane Hadley.”
“No, I don’t think so. Shane’s locker is two down from mine. He’s okay, but he probably doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body. None of those guys has even shown any interest in me, why would it be any of them?” Stephanie said with a frown. “Maybe it’s just someone’s sick joke. I’m not the most popular girl at school. I’m not even the best singer in the chorus. I’m just a regular girl.”
“And what’s wrong with being a regular girl?” Madison asked.
Stephanie smiled. “Nothing! I’m just not used to all of the attention.”
“Well, we’ll know what to make of it later tonight.” Madison said with delight.
“We?”
“That’s right! I’m not going alone. And since the Phantom hasn’t officially asked you to the dance, I assumed you and I would be conquering the dance floor together!” Madison asserted.
“Right, then I won’t be alone in case the Phantom does turn out to be a stalker...”
“Sopranos, it’s your turn,” the director announced.
Madison rolled her eyes.
“So, pick me up at 6:00,” Stephanie whispered with a smile.