inquired.

   The Chinook immediately stood back up. "No, quitting is not an option!" He exclaimed, "We took this job because we wanted to get out of our slump, out of our boring, normal lives. This is an opportunity for us to finally become famous, to become something important, and to have our names in the papers! We all agreed on this, remember?"

   "Yeah, I remember." Nikki said, "We said 'Dogs who fail can't win.'"

   "'And dogs that win never fail.'" Star added, "Maybe you're right, Kal. Maybe we need to get our act together….but what about this ghost?"

   "This ghost is just rumor, Star, nothing more. This is all probably some elaborate plan to make us look like idiots. Well, I for one am not going to look like a fool in front of this entire establishment, in front of this entire city! We'll show this Opera House (and that ghost) whose boss!" He then placed his paw out, "Are you with me, guys?"

   "Yeah, we sure are!" Star cried, placing his paw on top of Kaltag's.

   "Definitely," Nikki said, placing his paw on top of Star's.

   "Vive le trois gestionnaires!" They all shouted at once, lifting their paws up.

   The three then fell silent after that, as they didn't really think of much to say to each other. Despite their little motivational gesture, it was clear that Kaltag wasn't all too happy about being ordered around by something as silly as a ghost. That damn Opera Ghost he thought, this is his fault. I don't understand why everyone believe this myth. I mean, is it out of fear, or is their something else that we don't understand. Perhaps I can message the Inspector about this, but first…

   "Guys, I've got an idea." Kaltag's ears perked up, as a little plan formed in his head.

   "What is it, Kal?" Star asked.

   "Star, when's the first performance of Faust?" The purple dog thought for a moment, and answered by stating it was next Monday, which was only two days away.

   "OK, here's what I plan on doing." Kaltag began, "If we want to show this Opera Ghost what's up, we have to disobey his orders."

"Wait, what-" Star exclaimed.

   "Just, here me out on this Star," Kaltag assured the husky, "We're going to break his 2nd rule, the one where he has Box Five as his private Box. Well, my plan is: We are going to have Box Five open for patrons for the first performance."

   "But, Kal, we'd be going against his rules," Nikki replied.

   "And I don't think the Box-Keeper would like this idea," Star added, "She kind of scares me." He then gulped at the thought of the collie getting angry at him, hitting him upside the head.

   "Look, this is just a test, OK?" Kaltag stated, "If this works, then this will prove that this ghost is not real!"

   "But, Kal, don't you remember what he said? If we don't follow his rules, then something bad might happen!"

   "Star, there is nothing to worry about." Kaltag assured him, "Like I said, this is just a test to see if this ghost myth is real. If he isn't, then we can just put all of this behind us."

   "And if he is?" Nikki asked suspiciously.

   Kaltag sighed, "Look, this ghost is not real, and these rules are not real. This is just a ruse to get us to be scared of something that doesn't exist. With that in mind, just remember who's in charge here? Is it the ghost, or is it us?"

   The two huskies looked at each other, and despite their doubts over whether this was a good idea or not, they responded, "We're the managers."

   "That's right." Kaltag smiled, "And don't you worry, it will be fine." He then went over to his desk, pulled out a cigar, and started smoking it, as he leaned back in his chair.

   The other two, however, looked at each other just as they did the other day, as doubtful, nervous thoughts ran through their furry heads.

   Philippe and Steele de Chagny were sitting in their parlor, as their Saturday had been a rather lazy one. Philippe hadn't any plans for the day, and neither did his brother, so the two were merely relaxing for the time being.

   Of course, the malamute had a few things on his mind, one of those things being Jenna. He hadn't gotten over that first date, and for the most part, he was a bit confused. He decided to ask what his brother thought about it, since he'd been in a few relationships before.

   "I agree that it does sound strange," Philippe replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "But I think you should respect that she wants to probably dedicate her entire time to the opera, which I think is a good strategic career choice."

   "Well, why can't she have a boyfriend?" Steele asked, "I mean, it's not like I insulted her. I just said I thought it wasn't a good idea." This was of course a lie, and Philippe knew from the start that his brother's attitude probably caused some bad air between him and his childhood friend.

   "I think you should just put it aside, and wait a bit, before you do something drastic. Maybe she doesn't want to be in a relationship at the moment."

   Yeah, then why did it seem like she wanted to be? The malamute thought, a bit ticked off with the way Jenna had told him about their current relationship. He didn't understand why she recognized him, but didn't say anything about it afterwards, despite the fact that Steele hadn't remembered until the night before. This was all making his head spin. Females, they really are a mystery, aren't they?

   "Brother, you've been with someone, right?"

   Philippe's furled his brow, "Hmmm, I think so," He thought for a moment. "Yes, I remember now. She was a...she was a golden retriever...Emily! That was her name. We met a few years ago."

   "What happened?"

   "We broke up." Steele was about to ask why, when a voice came from behind them.

   "Mail for you, Messieurs," A butler spoke from the doorway, holding a few letters on a tray, "And a letter for you, Monsieur Vicomte." The butler handed over the letter to the malamute and the rest to Philippe before bowing and walking out.

   "Who is it from?" Philippe asked, chuckling "Another girl, I suppose?"

   "Yeah, right," Steele replied sarcastically. Upon looking at the address, he froze when he recognized who it was from.

   "Brother, is something wrong?"

   "Um, it's nothing, just junk mail. I'll just…uh…throw this out." Steele then walked outside the parlor to the hallway, and as soon as he got a good distance from the room, he ripped open the envelope, and read its contents:

   To Steele de Chagny,

   I apologize for walking out on our date, and I feel like I should explain myself, and probably start over. I would speak to you directly, but I can't, since it is my Father's birthday today, so I'll be out of town for the weekend, to spend a few nights at Perros, were we met. Perhaps we can speak to each other once I'm back, over some tea or something.

   Sincerely,

   Jenna

   Steele didn't expect that Jenna was going to write to him, nor did he expect her to want to speak to him ever again. This was his chance to finally try and get her back. Of course, Steele couldn't exactly wait until Jenna came back from Perros, which was about an hour away from Paris via train. So, after telling (well, lying for that matter) his brother he was going out for the evening, he immediately bought a ticket to the train that would take him to Perros.

   Whilst the malamute sat down on his seat, he didn't exactly think of what might happen when his brother found out that he was gone, but he didn't care. He had to try and make amends with Jenna, seeing how she probably hated him.

   I just don't understand why she doesn't want to be with me, he thought, folding his arms, as he watched the sun begin to set as the city of Paris disappeared behind him. I mean, I'm rich, I'm handsome, and I'm everything a girl could want. So what's the deal here? I don't know, and I'll probably never know why. Maybe I could ask her…no, that's stupid. It's too personal, and she'll probably see it as an invasion of privacy..

   He sighed, as he remembered he was sort of invading her privacy by following her on this little journey to their childhood place. Well, it doesn't matter; she'll see that I'm the guy for her, no matter what.

   As the plains of northern France started to come into view, it brought a sort of peace to the malamute, as he remembered the days when he and Jenna used to play in them, rolling around in the tall grass blowing in the wind. They were the best times of his life, and now it was all gone. With this in mind, he definitely wanted them to happen again, no matter what the cost.

   At last, the train arrived