Fantom Chapter 1, part 2

  It was dark by the time rehearsal ended, even though it was early summer and the days were at their longest.  The members of the University of York Gilbert & Sullivan society went straight to the bar, as was their custom.  Ruth lingered for a moment outside, unsure whether she really wanted to, and then followed.  Half an hour or so wouldn’t hurt, although there were fewer people she could easily chat with these days.  She tried not to think of the past as some kind of golden era- it hadn’t felt that way at the time- but it seemed more of an effort these days.  She told herself she was just jealous of the friendships others had formed which she was not included in, but she knew that wasn’t it.  The others had moved on with their lives, finding jobs (even if not very good ones, better than hers), getting married, buying homes.  And she hadn't.  She would have liked to, she dreamt about it sometimes, but it hadn’t happened to her yet.  She sometimes felt trapped and lonely.  Perhaps her stories about her friends had grown out of that, of a longing for things to be different, more exciting.
  But there were still people that she could chat to, and she tried to put those depressing thoughts out of her head as she sat down between Tom and Adam.  They chatted for a while about the show and preparations for their trip to Buxton.  Rehearsals were going quite well, all the music was learned and they were well into learning the movements, but Ruth suspected that as usual there would be one (or more) things that were forgotten until the last few days before the performance.  But she was used to that, though she might fume at the time.  She had been on the committee that acted as producer enough times to know how difficult it actually was to create a show, how many things had to be borne in mind.  You had to be an expert multi-tasker, and Ernest was not.
  But he could create a good show, Ruth had to admit.  She felt sometimes that he didn’t always think of the show as a whole but as a series of scenes, but somehow it all fitted together in the end.  A good cast helped pull everything together too- chorus as well as principals.  
  She felt her phone ringing in her pocket, and pulled it out.  The number wasn’t recognised.  “Hello?” she said, standing up to move somewhere quieter so she could hear it.  
  “Is that Ruth?” a voice asked.  Ruth was puzzled.  It sounded like Tom, but he was...no, he wasn’t sat with them.  She turned and saw him going up to the bar.  It didn’t look like he was using his phone.  
  “Yes,” she said.  “Who’s calling?”
  “It’s Tom,” the voice said.  “It’s a bit complicated.  Could you come just outside the porter’s lodge?  I’ll explain.”  
  “Ok,” she said.  “I’ll be there in a minute.”  She hung up.
  “What’s up?”  Adam said, noticing her expression of confusion.
  “Tom just phoned and asked me to meet him outside,” she said.
  “But Tom’s just over there,” he replied.  
  “I know.  Will you come with me?  It sounds a bit...odd.”
  “Ok.  Where is he?”  
  They went outside and Ruth looked around cautiously.  Tom was standing to one side, out of view of the windows.  Ruth looked at him in the dim light.  It was definately Tom, but there was something not quite right- she wasn’t sure what it was.
  “Hello,” he said.  “Thanks for coming out.”
  “Why did you get us out here?” Ruth asked.  “Is something wrong?”
  “It’s all a bit confusing,” he said.  “I can’t explain now, and if I did you wouldn’t believe me.  Read this, you’ll understand after that.  I’ve got to go before I get back.  Bye!”  
  He disappeared round the corner, and a moment later they heard a door shut.  Ruth looked at the sheet of paper he had thrust into her hand.  “Hey!  Wait a second-” she shouted, and set off after him.  But when she turned the corner all she saw was a blank wall.  
  Ruth marched back inside, Adam following her.  She stopped short, seeing Tom sitting with the others, talking to Patrick.
   “How did you get back so fast?” she said.  “What’s going on?”
  “What?”  Tom answered, confused.  “I don’t know what you mean, I was only at the bar.  I got back a couple of minutes ago and wondered where you’d gone.”
  “We were talking to you outside,” Adam said.  “At least it looked and sounded like you.”  Ruth sat down, and looked at the piece of paper Tom had given her.
   “What’s that?” Patrick asked, looking over her shoulder.
  “I’m not sure,” Ruth replied.  “He said we’d understand when we’d read it.”  On one side there was a hand drawn map, buildings round a lake.  On the other, a set of printed instructions.
  “Clues,” Patrick said.  “It’s almost like a treasure map.”
  “Well, there’s no x marks the spot on this map, unfortunately,” Tom said.
  “You really don’t know what it’s about?” Ruth asked him.
  “No, sorry,” he replied.  “It sounds odd.”
  “Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Patrick said.  “Shall we follow the clues?”
  “Not tonight,” Ruth said.  “It’s past eleven, and some of us have work tomorrow.  We could meet up tomorrow night and try?  There’s no rehearsal.”
   “There’s one for principals,” Adam said.  “But I’m not needed.  Tomorrow it is.”

The story continues...