When Julie came home, she was delighted. She started to jump around in excitement and screamed in her high-pitched voice :

  “It’s so perfect ! It looks as good as the houses in magazines, but it also has my personality, I love it ! You’re the best Cyrielle !”

  She hugged her friend tightly.

  “I’m so happy that you are coming out of your shell and you finally accept who you truly are ! I know it must not be easy since you don’t like attention, but I swear I’ll do my best to make you shine brighter than anyone else and be sure you are always happy !”

  It looked like another very big misunderstanding was being created.

  ‘Does she really think it’s normal for me to suddenly know home design ? I mean, I love that she is not prying, but maybe I overestimated her cleverness…’

  She just shrugged. Even if she was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, Julie was still Cyrielle's best friend, and it was obvious how much Julie cared about her. Thus, Cyrielle gratefully accepted her reaction, as it helped her to hide the presence of Path of Destiny.

  After taking a step back, Julie suddenly thought of something.

  “Oh, Cyrielle ! You remember Hyena, right ? The guy who said hello yesterday. Well he is a singer and a guitarist in a metal band named ‘Heavy Protector’. It’s not very famous, they just do small concerts in bars and get paid almost nothing for it, but I think they are quite good. Well, Hyena texted me to ask if you wanted to go on stage with them ? They would love it if you could sing a song or two !”

  Was it the opportunity brought by her singing abilities ? It came faster than Cyrielle expected. She thought about it a bit but her decision was easily made. Walking on the path that the strange system made up for her was the best way to receive another crazy gift, right ?

  “Give him my number, we can talk about it together.”

  Julie started jumping around as if she was the one who was asked to sing on stage, and immediately took her phone out of her pocket to text Hyena. In less than a minute, Cyrielle’s own phone started to react.

  -Brrr Brrr

  She looked at it and saw a new message.

  [Unknown : Hello, it’s Hyena. Call me when you are free.]

  Nodding to Julie who looked at her expectantly, she nonchantly said :

  “I’ll call him ter. For now I should probably head back.”

  “Ok, I’ll take you home !”

  She didn’t have to do it, but Julie loved to go on car rides with Cyrielle because they would sing together and have fun, it was always a precious moment. They took off in the direction of Marius’s apartment. Julie looked totally free of thoughts, but inside she was quietly scheming.

  ‘I need to call him. He could help Cyrielle. Or maybe her ? No, I know ! I’ll just talk about Cyrielle to everyone !’

  Another huge thing was brewing, but Cyrielle had absolutely no idea.

  ***

  The next day, Cyrielle was once again sprawled out on Marius’s dusty couch. He had gone to work and she was once again stuck at home. She had told herself that she would go outside and look for opportunities, but she had a big problem : She was in someone else’s home and she didn’t have the keys. It meant that she could not go outside and come back however she wanted. In fact, even if she wanted to, she could not go very far because she didn’t have a car and taking the bus or the tram would mean spending money she didn’t have. So despite her resolve, she found herself once again stuck in the dirty apartment.

  She could have done the same thing she did the day before, cleaning and rearranging the pce, but she knew very well that Marius and her weren’t close enough. And also, he was the type that hated when people touched what was his. In fact, cleaning his apartment would be an insult, telling him that he can’t even take care of his own stuff. It was true, but knowing it and having it thrown in your face by someone you are not close to is something else.

  With nothing else to do, she took her phone. There were a few emails and messages, all from companies who refused to hire her.

  ‘Well, it’s expected. I didn’t have my hopes up anyways.’

  Then she texted someone and in less than a minute her phone emitted a long vibration indicating a phone call.

  “Hello ?”

  She wanted to sound rexed but she was really nervous, so her voice seemed strict and a bit low. The man on the other hand seemed enthusiastic.

  “Hello, is it Cyrielle ? I’m Hyena, we talked briefly on monday.”

  “Yes I remember.”

  Why was she so curt ? Rex Cyrielle, rex. It’s just a phone call, you won’t go on stage right now. She discreetly took a deep breath and continued :

  “I heard you want me to go on stage. What do you want me to do exactly ?”

  “Just sing one or two songs. We can even perform a duet if you want, but we’ll have to practice it. You know the genre of music we do, right ? It’s metal. We don’t compose our own songs, we just do covers. Oh, we can send you our set list, tell me which ones you want to sing !”

  The conversation went on for a while, and after it was over her phone vibrated again.

  -Brrr Brrr

  It was a message, the set list of ‘Heavy Protector’. To sum up, she had to choose a few songs on the list and practice singing them. Then she would come to a rehearsal a day before the first concert and try it with the band. She could also rehearse a duet with Hyena if she wanted to.

  It was a huge task for someone who was just good at reading books, and the pressure felt heavy on her shoulders.

  ‘I mean… I know that I can sing well thanks to the singing ability, but being on stage for everyone to see is another thing. Will I be ok ?’

  If everything went well and the stage was a success, Hyena wanted Cyrielle to come with the band to several other bars. She wouldn’t be paid but she could gain a bit of recognition. It wasn’t a bad deal for Cyrielle who didn’t even sing just a few days ago. But if she was to gain the interest of people, wouldn’t it be better if she could profit from it ?

  Calming her beating heart, she opened a new tab on her phone and started searching for a particur topic : ‘How to create a MyTube channel’.

  She spent the whole day on the web, and when Marius came back he helped her take a few pictures against one of the only white walls of the apartment. He didn’t really understand what was going on but he thought it was for another job interview so he didn’t say much.

  The next day came and finally a new channel appeared on MyTube : ‘Mademoiselle Cyrielle’. It wasn’t the most creative name, but it was sufficient. The profile picture was a photo of an elegant woman with a slightly strict face looking away from the camera, leaning against a white wall. The banner was just a bnk space with ‘Mademoiselle Cyrielle’ written in beautiful letters. Nothing seemed really professional, the whole setting screamed ‘hobby’, but it was the kind of feel Cyrielle wanted. Now all that was left was to post a video.

  She looked around her but she couldn’t possibly record anything in this filthy room, it would be way too embarrassing. And even if she could film, what would she do ? She had absolutely no experience with social media. Maybe she should talk about books ? It was one of the only things she was good at, she could read very fast and she knew how to sell a book well, having worked in a bookstore for quite some time. But she had a feeling that using her newly acquired abilities would be much more successful. After all, each of them made her a master in their respective domains, it would be crazy not to use them at all. But once again, she couldn’t do anything in this pce.

  She walked to the rusted window and looked outside. Next to the big building she was in, there was a small park. It was very green, not well maintained except for the middle where the grass was mowed. On the edges there were trees and bushes that must have been forgotten a long time ago. It almost looked like those gardens that celebrities love, half a jungle and half a tamed scenery. It would be perfect as a background.

  Nodding along to her own thoughts, Cyrielle started to note down her ideas. She only had her cellphone, but it wasn’t of bad quality so the recording would turn out well. She didn’t have anything to turn on music though, so if she wanted to sing it would be a cappel. If she wanted to showcase her ‘home design’ ability, it would be much more complicated. She would probably need to go to someone’s house and expin her thought process and then show the final result, but it wasn’t feasible as of now. And for her ‘handicraft’ ability… Well, she needed something to craft.

  Ultimately, Cyrielle could only start with songs a cappel. But even for that she needed Marius to come home so she could go outside. Nevertheless, it was a fruitful day. She was ready for this new challenge.

  She opened a tab she had saved. It was lyrics for the songs she chose from ‘Heavy Protector’ set list.

  ***

  A beautiful woman opened the door to her apartment. She was shaking, the outside wind was way too cold. Finally home, she took off her high heels with an immense ptform that made her almost 190cm. Moving her liberated toes in delight, she headed to her couch where she let herself fall face first, taking off her long curly wig. It was a man. No, a drag queen. He had just gotten home from a gig in a neighboring city and needed to remove his makeup but he was too tired to even move.

  -Brrr Brrr

  Furrowing his brows, he looked at his phone.

  [Little Julie : Hey Fabergé ! Remember my friend I talked to you about ? She posted her first video ! Look, you’ll like it !]

  Followed by a link. Without any strength, the man pressed the link. He didn’t have any expectations. But a few minutes ter, his expression had changed. He had sprung up and had his eyes fixated on his phone, as if hypnotized. At this moment, another message came.

  [Little Julie : She is doing a few concerts this month with ‘Heavy Protector’, want to go see ?]