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dirty looks, and she didn’t even give them a chance to say goodbye before forcefully pulling her into homeroom. But Rebecca felt his eyes on her until the moment that she disappeared behind the doors, and even then she wondered if he had some kind of x-ray vision because she swore she could still feel his presence all around her. She thought about him all day as she flitted from one class to another in a kind of half daze. If nothing else, it made the dull, rainy day go by a little faster, and before long she found herself back in the auditorium preparing for rehearsal.
     
    The first scenes went well, with no curtains crashing down. There were no accidents of any kind. Even the constant rumbles of thunder and the heavy rain pounding against the windows didn’t disturb the actors. Rebecca was starting to feel a little more comfortable on the stage, and her movements were a lot less rigid. When it came time for the scene where Christine meets the phantom for the first time, Miss King handed Justyn the signature white mask that was the opera ghost’s calling card, and told them they needed to start working on the drama of the unmasking.
     
    Justyn slipped on the mask, and Rebecca had to catch her breath. His standard Gothic wardrobe only enhanced the effect. The black t-shirt with the grinning white skull emblazoned across the front would have been a fashion must for any self-respecting, twenty-first century phantom. And Justyn was a modern day phantom, a modern day Erik—a tortured musical genius if ever there was one.
     
    The scene began and Justyn gently led Rebecca across the stage. The orchestra flared to life, with pipe organ blaring, and drums thumping. The constant booming thunder was just another instrument that blended perfectly with the intensity of the organ. She sang the famous, mystical duet with him, for him, and she realized that she was every bit as much a modern day Christine, drawn to the mysterious darkness and seduction of an unknown stranger who sang like an angel.
     
“He came to me, an angel in the night.
His voice is like a siren’s call.
Now I follow him though I know it’s not right.
His commands cannot be denied at all.”
     
    The stage wasn’t decorated yet. They had no candles or swirling mists, no underwater stream or flashy gondola. But even if there were, Rebecca wouldn’t have seen them. She saw only Justyn’s face and heard only the music. His eyes held her transfixed, and with those eyes he weaved a labyrinth every bit as enchanting as the underground fortress of the phantom. And Rebecca wasn’t sure that she would ever be able to climb back up to the surface that was reality.
     
    She couldn’t deny any longer that she was attracted to him. Her whole body was throbbing with the force of that attraction. Yet, somewhere in the back of her mind, there were still thoughts of Tom waiting for her in the real world. More than ever, she was like Christine. Torn between the handsome blond bearer of light and the dark lord of the night. In her heart, Rebecca had always believed Christine truly loved Erik, but was too weak to overcome her fear of his dark side. Looking at Justyn’s masked face, she had to wonder if she was letting fear hold her back from what she really wanted as well.
     
    The duet ended and gracefully transcended into the slower, more passionate love ballad which Justyn sang solo. His voice was like a vocal massage, a gentle resonating whisper. Each word touched her, stroked her, embraced her, until her knees quivered and her breath caught in her throat. She had heard him sing the song before, more than once, but not since that first audition did his voice overwhelm her so completely.
     
“The mysteries of music have been revealed to you.
You will never be free no matter what you may do.
You’ve journeyed with me to the world of the unknown.
This night I have claimed your soul as my own.”
     
    Now it was not just his words but also his hands that embraced her.