more. She was being silly and superstitious. Justyn was just the new kid in town. He was reaching out, trying to make a friend, and she was being rude and uncommonly judgmental. It wasn’t like her, and she decided she was going to put a stop to it. She gave Justyn a warm, heartfelt smile. “I’ll look for you at rehearsal tomorrow. It really is an honor to get to play Christine opposite your phantom.”
He seemed appeased. “Until tomorrow then, my lady,” he whispered, and actually bowed as she passed by him. It certainly was dramatic, and might have even been silly coming from anyone else, but with Justyn it seemed perfectly natural.
They parted ways, and Rebecca actually made it to her locker without any more interruptions. She didn’t notice which direction Justyn had gone and she didn’t hear his footsteps in the empty hallway. She was tempted to look over her shoulder to see where he had gone, but the small part of her that was still being irrational was too afraid that he might have vanished into thin air. Or possibly morphed into a bat. So she kept her eyes straight ahead.
Her heart fluttered wildly as she worked the numbers on her combination lock, and she wondered what it was about the Gothic boy that made her feel so . . . so undone. It was like he unraveled her with his eyes. Undressing not her body, but her soul, and seeing things inside of her that she didn’t even see herself. Was she attracted to him? She didn’t really think so. It was more like she was mystified by him. And maybe a little drawn to his beautiful voice, the same way Christine was drawn to the genius of the phantom. But being enraptured by the music and actually having feelings for the singer were two very different things. Justyn was just a little too strange. She couldn’t have a crush on him. Could she?
Rebecca had finally managed to get the numbers right on her combination, and she shook her head to clear all thoughts of Lord Justyn away. She had more important things to worry about. Like how she was going to get through the entire play without having a heart attack.
Thinking again about the auditorium filled with people turned out to be more dangerous than thinking about Justyn. The panic of stage fright was starting to overwhelm her again, and she wasn’t even on the stage yet. But when she finally pulled open her locker door, that panic was quickly replaced with fear—a fear that had nothing to do with singing in public.
Rebecca covered her mouth with her hands, and took a few unsteady steps backwards. She was too surprised to scream, and even if she had, there was no one around to hear it. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the grotesque scene that was in her locker.
A doll, dressed in a late nineteenth century gown, dangled limply from her coat hanger, hung by its neck with an elaborate noose. Its eyes were blacked out with markers to make them look closed in death. Above its head there was a note taped to the metal, with a few lines scrawled in large black letters. It was a well-known and eternally foreboding threat from the play they were performing.
“Keep your hands where you can see.
Or the hangman might just come for thee.”
Chapter Five
“Keep your hands where ?” Carmen asked, making a face. “It sounds a little perverted if you ask me.”
“The phantom always used a noose to kill his victims. If you keep your hands raised up near your eyes, where you can see them, you would be able to stop the noose from strangling you,” Debbie explained.
“Eww, that’s gross.” Carmen gave a little shudder. “You don’t really think someone wants to hang you, do you, Becca? That’s a little extreme.”
It had been twenty-four hours since she had found the note and the doll in her locker, and still, just the thought of it made Rebecca shudder, too. And even though she had thrown the doll in the nearest trashcan, its
He seemed appeased. “Until tomorrow then, my lady,” he whispered, and actually bowed as she passed by him. It certainly was dramatic, and might have even been silly coming from anyone else, but with Justyn it seemed perfectly natural.
They parted ways, and Rebecca actually made it to her locker without any more interruptions. She didn’t notice which direction Justyn had gone and she didn’t hear his footsteps in the empty hallway. She was tempted to look over her shoulder to see where he had gone, but the small part of her that was still being irrational was too afraid that he might have vanished into thin air. Or possibly morphed into a bat. So she kept her eyes straight ahead.
Her heart fluttered wildly as she worked the numbers on her combination lock, and she wondered what it was about the Gothic boy that made her feel so . . . so undone. It was like he unraveled her with his eyes. Undressing not her body, but her soul, and seeing things inside of her that she didn’t even see herself. Was she attracted to him? She didn’t really think so. It was more like she was mystified by him. And maybe a little drawn to his beautiful voice, the same way Christine was drawn to the genius of the phantom. But being enraptured by the music and actually having feelings for the singer were two very different things. Justyn was just a little too strange. She couldn’t have a crush on him. Could she?
Rebecca had finally managed to get the numbers right on her combination, and she shook her head to clear all thoughts of Lord Justyn away. She had more important things to worry about. Like how she was going to get through the entire play without having a heart attack.
Thinking again about the auditorium filled with people turned out to be more dangerous than thinking about Justyn. The panic of stage fright was starting to overwhelm her again, and she wasn’t even on the stage yet. But when she finally pulled open her locker door, that panic was quickly replaced with fear—a fear that had nothing to do with singing in public.
Rebecca covered her mouth with her hands, and took a few unsteady steps backwards. She was too surprised to scream, and even if she had, there was no one around to hear it. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the grotesque scene that was in her locker.
A doll, dressed in a late nineteenth century gown, dangled limply from her coat hanger, hung by its neck with an elaborate noose. Its eyes were blacked out with markers to make them look closed in death. Above its head there was a note taped to the metal, with a few lines scrawled in large black letters. It was a well-known and eternally foreboding threat from the play they were performing.
“Keep your hands where you can see.
Or the hangman might just come for thee.”
Chapter Five
“Keep your hands where ?” Carmen asked, making a face. “It sounds a little perverted if you ask me.”
“The phantom always used a noose to kill his victims. If you keep your hands raised up near your eyes, where you can see them, you would be able to stop the noose from strangling you,” Debbie explained.
“Eww, that’s gross.” Carmen gave a little shudder. “You don’t really think someone wants to hang you, do you, Becca? That’s a little extreme.”
It had been twenty-four hours since she had found the note and the doll in her locker, and still, just the thought of it made Rebecca shudder, too. And even though she had thrown the doll in the nearest trashcan, its
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