It was lunchtime, and Harry could hear his stomach rumbling while he stood at his station. He only had five more minutes before his shift ended, and then he would go to the mess hall to see what Neelix had concocted for lunch.

Meanwhile, B'Elanna and Tom had just entered the mess hall. B'Elanna had taken a quick shower, and had put on her Starfleet uniform before reporting to duty in Engineering. Tom hadn't showered, but had quickly jumped into his uniform before rushing to the helm.

Just as Tom and B'Elanna where sitting down, Harry entered the mess hall. Tom nearly spit his leeola root stew back into his bowl; Harry still had the white half mask on.

Harry kept on walking like nothing unusual was happening, grabbed a bowl of soup, and then started to look for a place to sit. B'Elanna waved him over to their table; surely no one else wanted to sit with an Ensign with a half mask on.

"Harry, what on Jupiter are you wearing?" Tom asked as he swallowed a spoonful of soup.

Harry quickly removed his mask and swallowed some soup. He wondered how the Phantom ate soup with that thing on. Harry had a hard time breathing with the mask on, let alone trying to eat something.

"I was trying to get into character, you know?" Harry replied as he fiddled with the edges of this mask. "I really like this mask, too, even though it's uncomfortable at times. I wonder how that guy did it?"

Tom gave a sideways glance towards his wife, wondering if she knew what they were about to debate.

"Harry, everyone knows that the story of the Phantom of the Opera is just a fairytale. None of that really happened." Tom stated, quite sure that he was right.

Harry sighed. He had once debated this topic before in middle school with a few of his band members –and lost- but he still thought the story was true.

"Tom, you can't ignore the evidence!" Harry protested.

Tom laughed, looking towards B'Elanna for support. B'Elanna stood up, took her bowl to the kitchen, and left. She knew better than to take sides in one of Tom and Harry's debates.

"Harry, there's no evidence. That would like saying you found Cinderella's glass slipper!" Tom objected. "Face it, Harry. There's no Phantom."

Harry shook his head, not believing what Tom had told him. He believed in the Phantom basically all of his life- he wasn't going to give up now.

"What about that Opera House in Paris, Tom? You know, one Opera House actually had a chandelier fall!" Harry protested. "How do you explain that?"

"Faulty architect." Tom said blankly. "Those chandeliers were probably hanging by a string. They could have fallen by someone shouting loud enough, Harry."

"I don't think so, Tom. What about those different pathways that are under the Opera House, and the lake? Someone could have hid down there, and no one would have known." Harry said.

Tom had to think carefully before thinking of an excuse for the lake and pathways. It wasn't solid evidence, but it did cause one to wonder.

"That could have been a storage place or something that flooded during a rainy season. I don't think anyone could live down there, it's so filthy."

"It's filthy now, Tom, but then it might have been a livable place." Harry said, tiring of debating with someone as stubborn as Tom.

While Tom was trying to think of something to say, Neelix came by, holding two cups and a pitcher of hot coffee.

"Hello, guys. You want some coffee?" Neelix asked in his usual cheerful tone.

Harry refused, but Tom nodded his head, requesting that Neelix pour him a cup.

"I noticed that things were starting to get a little heated over here. Is everything O.K?" Neelix questioned as he took a seat at their table.

"I was just telling Harry about how the story of the Phantom of the Opera isn't true." Tom said, slurping his coffee.

"Oh, come now, Lieutenant. You don't know for certain whether it's true or not." Neelix said. "I like to believe the story is true myself. It keeps my mind occupied, wondering how true the story is."

Tom rolled his eyes. He could barely handle Harry's 'evidence' that the story is true. He couldn't handle Neelix, too.

"Well, I have to be back at my post in five minutes. I better go." Tom said as he stood from his chair, and walked out of the mess hall.

Harry said a quick goodbye, and returned to his station as well. Neelix, two bowls of soup, and a cup of coffee was left forgotten at a lonely table.