Student Fiction

The Ghost of Strawberry Fields - Part Two

Kalya Bauer
Manifest staff writer

As I leave school on this snowy winter day, ideas swirl through my head as to how I can cure my case of the “blues.”
Soon these thoughts give way to the repeated questions, “What do I want to do with my life,” “Where I am going,” and “Am I unhappy or happy?”

They may all seem to be rather stupid to everyone else, but this is me and no one else matters to me all too much, except one man. Not a boyfriend, not a friend, and certainly not my father, but John Lennon.

Again this may seem rather absurd, but if that is the case it just shows that people do not know me. Ever since I was little I spent much of my time listening to records and gazing out the window. And sometimes I would go for long walks and admire the beauty as songs replayed in my head. 

The Beatles’ music and especially that of John Lennon truly touches me. As I think of this my heart warms and I can tell that I feel happier just thinking of this great artist. And so I turn back to my case of the “blues” and suddenly it comes to me; I am happiest when I think of John Lennon.

Rushing home and heading straight for my room, I open up my laptop to check my bank account. I see that I have more than enough money for my second semester of school. Discovering this, I head online to buy a one-way plane ticket to New York City.

As I wait for the transaction to process, I look above my bed at the Beatles poster gazing back at me. I grab my overnight bag and cram it with a few clothes, my Beatles necklace given to me by my grandmother years ago, a few notebooks, and my journal. I then pack up my camera bag with my extra lenses and film. I print off my boarding pass for the plane I shall board in a few hours.

Settling down in my seat as the plane readies to take off; I gaze out the window at the hustle and bustle around the plane and airport. The plane takes off as I fall asleep and lose myself in a dream.

Screaming swells through my ears and I open my eyes to see around me thousands of screaming girls, looking ahead I see four young men dressed in suits on a stage taking a final bow. A flurry of screaming later I find myself at another destination, that of an extra in a film being shot on location. I sense the roar of screaming and then I realize where I am: London, at the time the Beatles shot their first film, “A Hard Day’s Night.”

I and dozens of other extras chase down our heroes until we hear the director cut the scene. Slowly everything fades away to a recording studio during the “Rubber Soul” session where music history is being made. Gone are the screaming fans. Only the dedicated musicians working on their masterpiece.

And here in my dream I am witnessing history next to my heroes that made it.

But it was only a dream and I awake as a flight attendant shakes me and I look out the window to see the beautiful cityscape of New York City. Grabbing my luggage I head off into the big city.

As I look at my environment, a smile spreads across my face and I can tell that just following this dream is making me feel happier by the minute.


The Opera and The Phantom Thereof

By Mike Paquet
Manifest staff writer

Before we start our story, there are a few main characters with whom you need to be familiar.

The Phantom of the Opera, is a man who wears a mask to hide his facial deformities. He is also in love with his student, Christine Daea, a dancing girl. Raoul, the Viscount de Cagny is the girlish patron of the Opera House, who thinks he is in love with Christine. Andre and Firmin are managers of the Opera House. 

At this point in the story, the Phantom has taken Christine away from the rest of the world, and down to his cavernous lair. The Phantom and Christine had just entered the Phantom’s lair (known as “The Phantom Zone”) by boat.

The Phantom gets out of the boat, looks back at Christine, saying, “Christine, I bid you welcome to my humble abode.” He takes Christine’s hand and helps her out of the boat, thereafter leading her around his lair.

“I have brought you here,” the Phantom explains, “to the foot of music’s throne.”

The Phantom and Christine walk past a sign reading, “PHANTOM’S WORD OF THE DAY: MUSIC.”

The Phantom continued, “For this is the kingdom where everyone must pay dues to Music!” Yet again, the same sign appears behind them.

The Phantom continues, “I have brought you here, Christine, because the moment I first heard you sing, I knew that I would need you to help me to sing! For my Music!”

The sign appears again. Christine is confused. The Phantom then explained to her, “My music.”

Again, the sign appears behind him. The Phantom smiles at Christine, and looks behind him. Tuning back to her, he says, “And down here, Christine, you can let your hair down; you can let your dark side give in!”

The Phantom opens a curtain that reveals a room of his lair that was decorated in Darth Vader and Star Wars memorabilia. Christine is amazed.

Rubbing his hands together, the Phantom says, “So, now that we’re done with the tour, anything else you’d like?”

Thinking for a moment, Christine replies, “Actually, I as expecting some kind of song; could you sing?”

The Phantom replies, “Honestly, I thought a song would be a wee bit of overkill, given that this whole tour has been about music and all, so I don’t really have anything prepared.”

Christine sighs in disappointment.

“Is there anything else you would like though?” the Phantom asks.

Christine stops to think, then replies, “Could you recite some kind of poem or a tale?”

Now it was the Phantom’s turn to think. He does not respond.

“Surely you remember something!” Christine implores him.

“Ah, yes!” the Phantom exclaims, “I remember now!” He leads her to a corner of his lair with a small fire-pit and a large comfy chair shaped like a giant peacock. Christine smiled, and sat in the chair. Suddenly, the Phantom explodes, saying, “Listen! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in olde days, the kings of tribes…”

And the Phantom told his story. And told his story. For four hours, the Phantom told his story.

Finally after the four hours were up, the Phantom finished his story, saying, “It was said
that he was, of all the kings in this world, the kindest to his men, the most courageous man,
the best to his people,” the Phantom sniffled, clearly choked up, “And the most eager for fame.” He pulled out a handkerchief, and blew his nose, also wiping away his tears.

The Phantom became SO involved with telling the story he loved so, that he had forgotten about his guest. After telling his story, he remembered Christine. He scanned the room, looking for Christine. The Phantom found her sleeping in the large chair he had set her in. He walked over to her, gently picked her up, and carried her to another room of his lair, and set her on the bed that lay in the center of the room.

After laying her in the bed, the Phantom whispered to her, “Help me, Christine, to make the music of the night!”

Behind the Phantom appeared another sign, reading, “PHANTOM’S WOR? OF THE ?AY: MUSIC.”
As the Phantom backed away from Christine’s bed, and drew the curtain, he tripped over the
sign, thereafter knocking it over.

Now that his guest was asleep, the Phantom was bored. So, he decided to order pizza.  Being as he did live in the sewer, the Phantom knew that his home would be hard to find.

After a time, the Pizza guy finally arrived above ground, looking for the Phantom Zone. “432, 433, 434, 435, 435 and an 8th?” The Pizza Guy read his directions from a slip of paper.  

He double checked his directions, and took a few steps back. “433, 434, 435, 435 and an 8th?”

He repeated, and then pondered for a few seconds. “Where is 435 and an 1/8?” he asked seemingly no one.

“You’re standing on it, dude,” the Phantom’s Voice replied from the sewer grate the Pizza Guy stood on.

The Pizza guy jumped away from the sewer entrance that the Voice had erupted from.

“Okay, now just slip the pizza down here,” the Voice ordered.

The Pizza Guy hesitantly slipped the pizza through the sewer entrance grate, and something sucked the pizza into the sewer. A coin popped out of the sewer.

Puzzled, the Pizza guy, looking around to see if he was being watched, but, non-the-less picked up the coin, and started to walk away.

The Pizza guy stopped dead in his tracks, examining the coin, saying, “Hey, this is only a ten!
The bill’s 13!”

“You’re 10 minutes late, dude!” the Voice replied.

The Pizza guy bent down to plead with the Sewer Voice, “Oh, come on, I couldn’t find the place!”

Yet, the Voice replied, “Wise man say: ‘Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.’”

“I’ve gotta get a better route…” The Pizza guy said as he walked away from the stubborn Sewer grate.

Now that the Phantom had his pizza, he was happy, and returned to his lair to compose some music.

After a time, Christine awoke from her deep slumber, opening her large, blue, beautiful eyes. Yet, when she awoke, she was met with a puzzling sight; above her bed was a sign that read, "DO NOT TOUCH THE MASK!!!” in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Latin, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, Flemish, Japanese, Pig Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Aramaic, Runic, Korean, and Norwegian.

When she reached the main room where the Phantom was composing, she saw that he too was surrounded with signs that read things to the effect of, “Touching the Mask: Just say “NO!” and THE MASK: DON’T BE STUPID!!!”
 

When the Phantom realized that Christine had entered the room with him, she said, “Oh, hey Christine.
Sleep well?”
 
She smiled in reply.
 
“Good, I am glad to hear it. There’s some pizza over on the table if you’re hungry, I think
it’s still warm.”
 
He turned back to the organ, and continued to compose. Christine smiled and continued to approach
the Phantom.
 
Almost out loud, she said, “That’s a pretty mask…I want to touch it…”

She put her hand on the Phantom’s back…and…She tore the mask off!

The Phantom cringed, and sunk the floor, but when he finally turned back, he had a
large inflatable skull in the place of his face.

Christine shrieked, terrified

The Phantom put down the skull, revealing that he has another mask on under the first mask,
the mask has “Ha, ha, fooled you” and “Sorry, please don’t try again!” written all over it.

“Ha, ha, thought you had me, didn’t you?” the Phantom laughed.  

Christine tore the Phantom’s second mask off!

The Phantom covered his face and shot from his seat.

Christine shrunk back from the Phantom, very scared.

The Phantom yelled, “AH! You stupid dancing girl! I told you, NEVER TOUCH THE MASK!!! For crying out loud, I wrote it in seventeen different languages! As well as a freaking dialect! ?o you have any idea how long it took me to do that???”

After he was done with his rant, the Phantom regained his composure, straightened up,
and slicked his hair back.
 
Taking a deep breath, he said, “Wierder than you thunk it? Can you even dare to stare, or take a think of me: This icky gargoyle, who burns in Hell, but secretly yearns for heaven, secretly…” Another sign appears, this time reading, “PHANTOM’S WOR? OF THE ?AY: ‘SECRETLY’”

And he continued, “Christine...Fear can turn to love - you'll learn to see to find the man behind the monster: This repulsive carcass, who seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty,” the sign appears again, “Phantom’s Word of the day: ‘SECRETLY.’”

”Secretly…” he repeated, and passed a phonograph that skipped on the word “secretly. The Phantom looked at the phonograph, at Christine, back at the phonograph, and kicked the machine, making it sputter, and erupt a plume of smoke that read, “OUCH.”

The Phantom approached Christine, and sighed, “Oh, Christine…” he took another deep breath, and said, “I’m sorry for my harsh response to your,” he cleared his throat, “lapse in judgment.”

Christine gently picked up his first mask and gave it back to the Phantom.

“Please forgive my stupidity, Phantom?” Christine asked.

“Please, my dear, call me Erik?” he replied.

“Of course…” she smiled, “Erik.”

He took the mask from her, and held it up, “Please do not touch this again?”  

Christine smiled, and he put the mask back on.

“Well, I guess we’d better get you back to those idiots who run my theater, they’re probably missing you,” the Phantom paused and looked behind him. Turning back to Christine, he asked, “But first, d’ya want some pizza?”
 

Wanna know what happens next? Read the next Manifest to find out!!!
 

…To be Continued…