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“Mr. Khan, I don’t think I can do this”.
“Eric, it will be fine. They are a good group of kids, and I’m sure that they will be fine with how you look...and don’t call me Mr. Khan here at home, it makes me feel old!”
Eric laughed. “Okay...Nadir. But I’m really not sure about this. I...I don’t think I’m comfortable with them seeing...me.”
Mr. Khan gave a little sigh. “Don’t tell me you want to wear the mask.”
“I would really rather.”
Mr. Khan glanced at Eric slyly. “If I allow you to wear the mask, will you join the group? Just try it out! I think you would be a great addition.”
Eric paused for a minute. With a slight sigh, he said, “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. But no promises! They’ll probably hate me anyway...”
“Eric...”
“Look, I said I’ll try it, alright?” Eric snapped. He sighed, “Sorry Mr--I mean Nadir. It’s just...You know how uncomfortable this makes me. Even without my...unusual appearance, I’m not comfortable around people.”
Mr Khan smiled and said, “I understand. But you need practice, just like someone’s voice does.” He placed his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “I think this is going to be really wonderful for you Eric. Now! Off to bed, we’ve got to be at the theater bright and early tomorrow!”

Catherine and Ryan sat in the audience of the old theater, along with seventeen other students, waiting for Mr. Khan to make his introduction.
“Ryan, I’m so nervous! I know you and uncle say I’ve got a good voice, but I’ve never really sung in front of people. What if I make a fool of myself?”
Ryan, Catherine’s fifteen year old cousin, raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Cathy, you couldn’t make a fool of yourself if you tried. One, you really do have a lovely voice, and two, you’re too cute to look foolish”, he said with an impish grin.
“Oh, God, Ryan, stop! That’s just...sickeningly patronizing. You’re only, what, a year older than me?”
“Well, yes, but I’m still older. And you’re fun to tease anyway.”
Just then, Mr. Khan, the musical theater teacher appeared. “Morning everyone! I hope you’ve all had a nice summer?” Some of the students murmured and shouted yes, while most were quiet.
“Oh come now”, Mr. Khan bellowed, “This is a theater group! Can’t you be a little more lively?”. He chuckled and continued speaking. “As some of you know, I am Mr. Khan, your teacher and director. I see some new faces along with some familiar ones. To those of you who are new to the group, welcome! I’m sure you will have a great time. Now, I want everyone to come up here on stage and introduce yourselves, one at a time. Who would like to go first?”
At this, Ryan quickly raised his hand.
“Alright Ryan, come on up”.
Ryan practically leapt out of his seat and bounced up on stage. “Hey! My name’s Ryan. I’ve been Mr. Khan’s student for 3 years. I love sports as well as singing, I’m fifteen, and my cousin is here today!” At this, he motioned for Catherine to come up next to him.
“Go on, dear”, Mr. Khan said politely.
Catherine quietly got up from her seat and walked up on stage. “Hi. Um, my name’s Catherine. This is my first year here at Mr. Khan’s theater group. I’ve never sung in public before, so this should be quite an experience! Oh, yes, I’m 14, and my nickname is Christina, which is also my middle name.”
“Alright you two, you may come down. Who’s next?”
One by one, the rest of the students went up and introduced themselves. Finally, Mr. Khan said, “Alright students, there’s just one more introduction to make. My son Eric has decided to join the group! Eric?” Mr. Khan gently called offstage.
From backstage, an extremely tall and skinny young man walked up to Mr. Khan. He moved very gracefully, but he appeared rather insecure. Aside from his build, he had dark, curly hair that was rather uncontrolled. He wore a black T-shirt, and a grey hoodie. But what all of the students immediately noticed was the plain white mask that Eric wore, which covered his whole face. Nervously, he stood next to Mr. Khan.
“Eric, would you please introduce yourself?” Mr. Khan urged gently.
“Okay. Hello, my name is Eric. I am sixteen years old. This is my first year in Mr. Khan’s theater group. I enjoy singing and playing the violin. It’s...It’s very nice to meet you all”, he finished shakily.
“Thank you Eric, you may go and sit down.” Mr. Khan replied.
As Eric walked off stage, someone yelled, “Hey Eric, what’s with the mask?” The child was one of the youngest in the group, only twelve.
Mr. Nadir began to say something akin to, “Now, now, that is Eric’s business, not yours”, when he was interrupted by Eric’s voice, ringing out over Nadir’s strong baritone.
“Please do not touch my mask”.
While Eric’s words were polite, his tone was anything but. His voice was smooth and high, a nice tenor, but it held a strong threatening note. The poor child who was unfortunate to ask such a question was stunned at Eric’s response.
“That’s enough! Eric, please sit down”, Mr. Khan said. At that, the class settled. Eric went and sat in the emptiest row of seats in the theater, which only had three students in it: Catherine, Ryan, and Catherine’s friend Margaret. Eric sat at the seat farthest away from the three students, but Nadir gave Erik a small look, and Eric politely, if not stiffly, moved over and sat next to Catherine.
Ryan was whispering to Catherine about the new guy who wore the mask--why was he wearing it anyway?--when his cousin told him abruptly to shut up.
“Hey what’s with you...Oh.”
Eric glanced over at the three students and politely asked, “Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?”
Ryan gave a questioning look to his cousin. Catherine quickly replied, “No, no, you can sit here.”
“Thank you.” Eric said, and he quickly sat down.
Mr. Khan began to explain what the students would be doing, and how the group functioned. “First, I will just want to hear you sing, and then we can start casting people in roles”, he said.
While Mr. Khan continued to rattle on, Catherine glanced at Eric and asked, “So Eric, you’re Mr. Khan’s son?”
Eric twitched a little and quietly replied, “Well, not exactly. He’s my foster parent.”
“Oh! I didn’t know. Do...do you both get along?” Catherine asked nervously.
“Yes, fairly well. He is very kind to me.”
An awkward silence settled over the two.
“Um...Eric?” Catherine asked hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“May I ask you a question?”
The slender boy visibly tensed. “I’m assuming it’s about the mask”, he said in a guarded tone.
“Well, yes, but I really don’t mean any offense. If you don’t wish to say, you don’t have to. It’s just a little...odd, I guess”, the girl replied awkwardly.
“Yeah, I guess it is...odd” he said bitterly. “But...I really would rather not say, if you don’t mind. I’m not crazy or anything”, he added quickly, his yellow-gold eyes shining through the mask.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I don’t think you are. You seem very nice, Eric.”
“Ah, well. Thank you...”
“Catherine. Or Christina, it doesn’t matter”, she smiles.
"I guess I should ask which one she likes", Eric thought. “Which do you prefer?” he asked.
“Oh, nobody’s ever asked me that! I always liked Christina better than Catherine”, she answered happily.
“Well then, thank you Christina.”
Christina gave a happy laugh. “You’re welcome Eric!”
"Wow...she’s...nice", Erik thought.
At that, Mr. Khan called out for a break.

Description
“Mr. Khan, I don’t think I can do this”.
“Eric, it will be fine. They are a good group of kids, and I’m sure that they will be fine with how you look...and don’t call me Mr. Khan here at home, it makes me feel old!”
Eric laughed. “Okay...Nadir. But I’m really not sure about this. I...I don’t think I’m comfortable with them seeing...me.”
Mr. Khan gave a little sigh. “Don’t tell me you want to wear the mask.”
“I would really rather.”
Mr. Khan glanced at Eric slyly. “If I allow you to wear the mask, will you join the group? Just try it out! I think you would be a great addition.”
Eric paused for a minute. With a slight sigh, he said, “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. But no promises! They’ll probably hate me anyway...”
“Eric...”
“Look, I said I’ll try it, alright?” Eric snapped. He sighed, “Sorry Mr--I mean Nadir. It’s just...You know how uncomfortable this makes me. Even without my...unusual appearance, I’m not comfortable around people.”
Mr Khan smiled and said, “I understand. But you need practice, just like someone’s voice does.” He placed his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “I think this is going to be really wonderful for you Eric. Now! Off to bed, we’ve got to be at the theater bright and early tomorrow!”

Catherine and Ryan sat in the audience of the old theater, along with seventeen other students, waiting for Mr. Khan to make his introduction.
“Ryan, I’m so nervous! I know you and uncle say I’ve got a good voice, but I’ve never really sung in front of people. What if I make a fool of myself?”
Ryan, Catherine’s fifteen year old cousin, raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Cathy, you couldn’t make a fool of yourself if you tried. One, you really do have a lovely voice, and two, you’re too cute to look foolish”, he said with an impish grin.
“Oh, God, Ryan, stop! That’s just...sickeningly patronizing. You’re only, what, a year older than me?”
“Well, yes, but I’m still older. And you’re fun to tease anyway.”
Just then, Mr. Khan, the musical theater teacher appeared. “Morning everyone! I hope you’ve all had a nice summer?” Some of the students murmured and shouted yes, while most were quiet.
“Oh come now”, Mr. Khan bellowed, “This is a theater group! Can’t you be a little more lively?”. He chuckled and continued speaking. “As some of you know, I am Mr. Khan, your teacher and director. I see some new faces along with some familiar ones. To those of you who are new to the group, welcome! I’m sure you will have a great time. Now, I want everyone to come up here on stage and introduce yourselves, one at a time. Who would like to go first?”
At this, Ryan quickly raised his hand.
“Alright Ryan, come on up”.
Ryan practically leapt out of his seat and bounced up on stage. “Hey! My name’s Ryan. I’ve been Mr. Khan’s student for 3 years. I love sports as well as singing, I’m fifteen, and my cousin is here today!” At this, he motioned for Catherine to come up next to him.
“Go on, dear”, Mr. Khan said politely.
Catherine quietly got up from her seat and walked up on stage. “Hi. Um, my name’s Catherine. This is my first year here at Mr. Khan’s theater group. I’ve never sung in public before, so this should be quite an experience! Oh, yes, I’m 14, and my nickname is Christina, which is also my middle name.”
“Alright you two, you may come down. Who’s next?”
One by one, the rest of the students went up and introduced themselves. Finally, Mr. Khan said, “Alright students, there’s just one more introduction to make. My son Eric has decided to join the group! Eric?” Mr. Khan gently called offstage.
From backstage, an extremely tall and skinny young man walked up to Mr. Khan. He moved very gracefully, but he appeared rather insecure. Aside from his build, he had dark, curly hair that was rather uncontrolled. He wore a black T-shirt, and a grey hoodie. But what all of the students immediately noticed was the plain white mask that Eric wore, which covered his whole face. Nervously, he stood next to Mr. Khan.
“Eric, would you please introduce yourself?” Mr. Khan urged gently.
“Okay. Hello, my name is Eric. I am sixteen years old. This is my first year in Mr. Khan’s theater group. I enjoy singing and playing the violin. It’s...It’s very nice to meet you all”, he finished shakily.
“Thank you Eric, you may go and sit down.” Mr. Khan replied.
As Eric walked off stage, someone yelled, “Hey Eric, what’s with the mask?” The child was one of the youngest in the group, only twelve.
Mr. Nadir began to say something akin to, “Now, now, that is Eric’s business, not yours”, when he was interrupted by Eric’s voice, ringing out over Nadir’s strong baritone.
“Please do not touch my mask”.
While Eric’s words were polite, his tone was anything but. His voice was smooth and high, a nice tenor, but it held a strong threatening note. The poor child who was unfortunate to ask such a question was stunned at Eric’s response.
“That’s enough! Eric, please sit down”, Mr. Khan said. At that, the class settled. Eric went and sat in the emptiest row of seats in the theater, which only had three students in it: Catherine, Ryan, and Catherine’s friend Margaret. Eric sat at the seat farthest away from the three students, but Nadir gave Erik a small look, and Eric politely, if not stiffly, moved over and sat next to Catherine.
Ryan was whispering to Catherine about the new guy who wore the mask--why was he wearing it anyway?--when his cousin told him abruptly to shut up.
“Hey what’s with you...Oh.”
Eric glanced over at the three students and politely asked, “Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?”
Ryan gave a questioning look to his cousin. Catherine quickly replied, “No, no, you can sit here.”
“Thank you.” Eric said, and he quickly sat down.
Mr. Khan began to explain what the students would be doing, and how the group functioned. “First, I will just want to hear you sing, and then we can start casting people in roles”, he said.
While Mr. Khan continued to rattle on, Catherine glanced at Eric and asked, “So Eric, you’re Mr. Khan’s son?”
Eric twitched a little and quietly replied, “Well, not exactly. He’s my foster parent.”
“Oh! I didn’t know. Do...do you both get along?” Catherine asked nervously.
“Yes, fairly well. He is very kind to me.”
An awkward silence settled over the two.
“Um...Eric?” Catherine asked hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“May I ask you a question?”
The slender boy visibly tensed. “I’m assuming it’s about the mask”, he said in a guarded tone.
“Well, yes, but I really don’t mean any offense. If you don’t wish to say, you don’t have to. It’s just a little...odd, I guess”, the girl replied awkwardly.
“Yeah, I guess it is...odd” he said bitterly. “But...I really would rather not say, if you don’t mind. I’m not crazy or anything”, he added quickly, his yellow-gold eyes shining through the mask.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I don’t think you are. You seem very nice, Eric.”
“Ah, well. Thank you...”
“Catherine. Or Christina, it doesn’t matter”, she smiles.
"I guess I should ask which one she likes", Eric thought. “Which do you prefer?” he asked.
“Oh, nobody’s ever asked me that! I always liked Christina better than Catherine”, she answered happily.
“Well then, thank you Christina.”
Christina gave a happy laugh. “You’re welcome Eric!”
"Wow...she’s...nice", Erik thought.
At that, Mr. Khan called out for a break.