The next day, it was the first time in a long while since Coline could take the day off and come hang out at Cyrielle’s pce. The blonde model jumped in her friend’s arms.

  “Cyri ! It’s been so long, I missed you so much !”

  “I know, I missed you too.”

  Cyrielle patted Coline’s head, a smile pstered on her face, and they both sat on the sofa. They had a lot of things to say, having not seen each other in weeks.

  “I swear, it’s the biggest paycheck I ever had in my life ! It makes no sense for an agency to take such a small commission… How does Julie live ?”

  “Don’t worry, she is doing fine. Even if she takes a small percentage, considering our fees, the agency still makes a fortune. By the way, how is your new manager ?”

  Coline finally had her own manager, instead of being taken care of by Julie. They had been in training for months, but Cyrielle had heard that they were very competent.

  “She is so talented, I swear ! It’s my first time having a female manager, but it changed my life ! First : She doesn’t manage my weight, she only makes sure that it stays consistent between a fitting and the photoshoot, and she always has pads in her bag, that’s a big relief. Oh, also she is very scary so there are no weirdos following me around. She is funny too, it’s like having a big sister !”

  “Really ? Can I see her ?”

  “Yes !”

  Coline unlocked her phone, the wallpaper was a shot from the Versailles photoshoot, with Cyrielle and her on horseback in front of the Versailles castle, and showed a picture of her smiling wide next to an imposing woman with a scar on her face, that was sticking her tongue out. The manager indeed seemed scary, but seeing her goofing around made her seem like a good person. Cyrielle nodded.

  “I would love to meet her.”

  “I’ll introduce you two when I can… But more than that, what is it I heard about a tour ?”

  Coline had her eyes shining with excitement, jumping on the sofa. Cyrielle smiled.

  “It’s for next year, there is some time left.”

  “I know, but still ! Doing a tour means you are an international star !”

  “It will only be a European tour, nothing big.”

  “Nothing big ? I heard the CEO has contacted venues from eight different countries, how is it nothing big ?”

  It was news to Cyrielle, who started to feel anxious. She knew objectively that she was well known in Europe, but knowing and understanding were different. What if she went to a country and the room ended up being empty ? What if they didn’t like her songs ? Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down.

  “It’s for ter, anyway, I have a bit of time to prepare. Anyway, there are the awards first.”

  Coline nodded, settling down on the couch.

  “I know. The model of the year award is an online vote so there won’t be any ceremony, but the Music Moves Europe awards takes pce in the Nethernds this year, right ? Did you prepare a performance ?”

  “Yes, I’m grateful that Julie got me some dancers.”

  The blonde model froze, her mouth agape.

  “Wait… Dancers ? You will dance ? You know how to dance ?”

  Instead of answering, Cyrielle took her phone, pressed a button, and the medley started to py. She calmly walked to the center of the room, and started to sing. While belting her notes, she slowly lifted her right arm, with such lightness that it seemed to be flying on its own. Then, suddenly, when the electric violin of ‘to my weak self’ started, she bent backwards, stopping before she fell, twisting her waist to turn on herself with her hand grazing the ground. Coline was observing with the amazed eyes of a kid. The choreography was intense, with high energy, but Cyrielle’s voice didn’t shake. Her breathing was steady all throughout, never losing power. It was incredible.

  When the music stopped, Cyrielle came back to sit on the couch, not even showing a drop of sweat or a hint of fatigue.

  “What the heck are you…”

  Coline didn’t seem that surprised, just tired, it worried Cyrielle.

  “What’s going on ?”

  The blonde model fiddled with her sleeve, trying to find the words.

  “It’s really great, the performance will be perfect ! But… I guess I’m envious ? I mean, you have all those skills that you probably have perfected since you were young, you can accomplish so many things and you create stuff, projects, everything… And me ? I just know how to make use of my looks. I don’t know, I feel like a failure, like I didn’t work as hard as I should have and now I’m…”

  Coline’s voice broke and she hid her face in her hands. Next to her, Cyrielle was biting her lip. She knew very well what her friend was feeling, since it had been the same for her before Path of Destiny. When she had lost her job, living on a dusty couch, she had always asked this question : Why me and not the others ? Why does my diploma not mean anything to find a job ? Did I choose the wrong career ? Did I not work hard enough ? Should I have had better grades, or should I have worked on having a second diploma while working at the bookstore ? Seeing your friends around you succeed was very hard.

  Even if she knew what Coline felt, she had no idea how to make her feel better, so she simply patted her head while waiting for her to calm down. After a while, the blonde model leaned back against the backrest of the sofa, taking a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have broken down like that, it’s not your fault. I guess I’m a bit insecure about my abilities.”

  “It’s okay, I understand. Is there something you want to do besides modeling ?”

  “I always liked ballet, that’s why seeing you dance… But it’s too te now, I’m way too old.”

  “Who says that ?”

  Cyrielle furrowed her brows.

  “Are you short on money ?”

  “Of course, not ! I’m one of the most popur models as of now, and I work almost everyday so there is no way I would be out of money, I could even take a two year vacation and be fine !”

  “You know that if you ask for time off, Julie will accept, right ?”

  “I know she will.”

  “Then take ballet csses.”

  Cyrielle stood up, pulling Coline to her.

  “It’s not too te. It’s never too te. You like ballet ? Do ballet. With the money you have, you can afford a private tutor if you don’t want to be in a css with younger people. You know what you can do ? Ask for two days off per week. One to have your css, the other to rest because of the muscle ache. Julie won’t even bat an eye, she will accept right away. You can even add horseback riding in the mix and go ride Viroy every week if you want ! What is stopping you ?”

  Her friend looked at her for a while, slowly blinking. Then, as if she was awakened from a long dream, life came back in her eyes and she smiled.

  “You’re right ! You know what ? Yeah ! I’ll ask for some time off and do ballet ! And also dressage ! And you aren’t allowed to do it too because that will be my thing !”

  Cyrielle ughed softly.

  “I can’t promise, if an opportunity requires me to do it, I won’t be able to say no.”

  “Okay, but my ballet csses will be for me alone. I need to do something by myself.”

  “Fine by me. I already infiltrated horseback riding, I’ll leave you ballet.”

  The atmosphere became warm again, and the two friends sat back on the couch, spending the rest of the afternoon chatting and watching movies while snacking on sad pieces.

  At the same time, in Italy, a middle aged man with gray hair and blue eyes was looking at a stack of papers where sketches and spshes of color could be seen.

  “It’s no good.”

  He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Since he had gone to Paris for the Fashion Week, he could only see stoned petticoats, blue velvet costumes, and apple green aureoles. He couldn’t take Mademoiselle Cyrielle’s runway off his mind. Antonio Gabasace was a wonderful designer who had taken the lead of the Gabasace brand founded by his ancestors, but right now all his designs seemed cking.

  “How is it that she can create such outfits while having other projects on the side, but I only focus on my designs and I can’t be even half as creative as her ? What is wrong with me ? Am I getting old ? Or is she that incredible ?”

  His gaze nded on a business card that he had taped to his computer screen. It read ‘Julie Minet, CEO of Angel-Minet agency’. Yes, if he didn’t find the answer by himself, he needed to meet with the person that was setting his creative brain on fire.

  AmbreaTaddy