A few days ter, Cyrielle was looking at the dispy in her living room. It was brand new, and she had taken great care to clean the gss so that the inside would be fully visible. There wasn’t much for now, only her album and the rosette she had earned by winning the show jumping competition, but soon her Rider Galop diplomas would arrive and decorate the shelf too.

  ‘It’s so satisfying ! That’s one less goal to achieve ! But now, I don’t know what to do… Should I work on another album ? Create another collection ? I want to try something else, though…’

  [Why not ask Julie to review all the offers you received ? She normally refuses the majority since you said you wanted to slow down, but maybe there will be a few interesting things in there.]

  ‘That’s a good idea, I should do that.’

  Cyrielle walked towards her door, putting on her long coat since the weather was getting colder, and exited the apartment. She took the elevator and walked towards the street, opening the door of the bck van waiting for her. Inside, Julie was on her phone, Hugo was driving, and a couple of staff members, including Vincent, were talking enthusiastically. They smiled when she sat down.

  “Good morning mademoiselle Cyrielle !”

  “It’s a big day, right ? You will record your feature on Manon Sarmer’s album !”

  “I haven't heard it yet, so I have no idea what it will sound like, I’m so curious !”

  “Oh, I heard it while they were working on the composition, trust me you’ll love it !”

  Cyrielle simply nodded, with her usual elegant expression, but inside she was a bit nervous. She was used to recording sessions, but one with an artist that was so well known was a first. Besides, today was an important day for another reason.

  Julie ended her call, smiled and waved at Cyrielle, then turned to the assistant sitting at the back of the vehicle.

  “Did you rey the information ?”

  “Yes ! I made an anonymous call saying that Manon Sarmer was working on a new album in her personal studio. The reporters will surely be here !”

  Julie smiled wide, her usual greedy expression.

  “Perfect ! I think Manon’s side did the same and talked about a feature, so we are sure to spark their interest ! Remember : When the articles come out that Mademoiselle Cyrielle was seen at Manon Sarmer’s studio, don’t confirm nor deny everything. Two days ter, we will first break the news in the fangroup, and then follow by an official announcement. Copy ?”

  “Yes, boss !”

  All the staff was excited. They were sitting on this news for a long time, and they wanted only one thing : For everyone to know that their artist was taking the next big step in her career. It might feel energizing for them, but it was unbelievably stressful to Cyrielle. After all, Manon Sarmer wasn’t only popur in France, but all over the world including the USA and asia. Being featured on her album would be groundbreaking for her career.

  [You must calm down, bigger things will come one after the other.]

  ‘I had guessed so, because my popurity was soaring so high in France, and one of my modeling opportunities made me known in all of Europe, so it’s only logical that I would one day make a break internationally if I keep at it, but thinking about it and seeing it actually happen is really different !’

  She took a deep breath and turned to Julie.

  “Could you give me the offers I received recently ?”

  Her friend raised an eyebrow.

  “Why ? Are you bored ?”

  Protecting her pride with all she had, Cyrielle elegantly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Now that I have a bit more time, I should take a look. Some opportunities may be good.”

  Julie seemed like she wanted to ask something, but instead she simply shrugged.

  “Well, if it’s you we never know. Okay, I will give it to you. But I must tell you, there’s a lot ! Do you want something in particur ? Modeling ? Singing ?”

  “Everything, please, I just want to skim through it and see if something speaks to me.”

  “You are the artist, how can I say no ! Tell me if you are inspired by something !”

  With that, Julie called the office to ask Yannis, the competent secretary, to assemble the offers. About an hour ter, there were exiting the van, everyone following after Cyrielle who was walking with poise towards the private studio, escorted as usual by Manon’s manager and his charming smile.

  “You seem so mature, you have a simir feeling than Manon even though you are the same age as me.”

  She didn’t answer, looking straight ahead.

  “You have that kind of charm, you will surely succeed in all your endeavors.”

  At this point, Julie was shooting him an annoyed gre, and the man quickly shut his mouth. However, when they reached the door of the studio, he opened it for Cyrielle with the most beautiful smile. But the woman simply nodded and entered. Julie was still looking at the manager with furrowed brows. She walked quicker to catch up to Cyrielle and whispered in her ear :

  “Is it just me or is he flirting with you ?”

  “It must be your imagination, he is a professional.”

  Cyrielle greeted Manon and they both started with some vocal warm ups before entering the recording booth. The sound engineer was waiting outside, his hands already on the equipment. When both women had the headphones on their ears, he pushed a button to speak to them.

  “We have all day, so you don’t have to be perfect from the start, let’s take it slow.”

  They nodded and he started the music. It was a slow and sad song that started with an orchestral feeling, the melody brought by delicate violins, piano, and the notes of a harp. Manon Sarmer started to sing first, her delicate head voice sounding like a young girl and gave an angelic feeling. The song got progressively more intense as more instruments were added, and when the first chorus started, the low and raspy voice of Cyrielle was added to the mix. It was almost the echo of Manon, but with a slightly harsher tone, as if they were representing softness and toughness, sweetness and passion, happiness and anger. Cyrielle took a breath before the next verse which was the one she was supposed to sing alone, but at this moment the time seemed to stop.

  [Congratutions, you did something great ! You are advancing quickly on your path. You earned a gift.]

  ‘Nice ! Is it because of the reporters outside ? I saw a few cars in front of the vil.’

  It had been a while since Cyrielle had seen this message, she almost forgot what the wheel looked like. With a big smile, mentally of course, she spun it and immediately obtained something really good.

  [Congratutions, you have earned the gold gift ‘Better intuition’. Would you like to proceed or spin again ?]

  ‘A gold gift ? I’ll take it of course ! What does that do, anyway ? Does it give me a sixth sense like a superhero ?’

  As soon as she accepted the gift, she immediately understood. Time flew normally again and as the first note of the verse was heard, she suddenly had a feeling. Her verse was supposed to be sung the same way as Manon’s, like a mirrored version. But she had a better idea.

  ‘It would sound so much better if I decided to rap some words instead of pinly singing them. Can I do that ? Well, he said that we were taking it slow, so we can start again if they don’t like it, right ? Let’s just try !’

  And she started her verse in a low raspy voice, rapping the words. Manon Sarmer immediately turned to her with her eyes wide open, same for the sound engineer and all the staff including Julie. She had been here for every training session and knew the song by heart, but she had no idea about what Cyrielle was doing.

  ‘Is she pying around ? Is it a warm up ? No, but in the first pce, how does she know how to rap ? And why does it sound so good ? Can’t you stop being unpredictable for five minutes ?’

  Contrary to Julie who didn’t have much knowledge about music, Manon was extremely excited.

  ‘Singing it that way makes the emotions even more apparent ! It fits so well with the feeling of the song, it’s perfect !’

  After rapping a few words, Cyrielle sang again, in an even lower voice, making the inside of the studio vibrate. And then, for the st sentence of her verse, she accomplished an impressive vocal run ending almost as high as Manon, which blew the sound engineer’s mind.

  He sprung up, sending his chair flying to the side, and turning to Julie.

  “How does she do that ? Is she really in her twenties ? Was it really her first album ?”

  Julie shrugged. If she was confused, then it was only right that the others would be as well. Of course, Vincent was capturing all of it on camera for a future MyTube video, making sure to close in on everyone’s face to record their reactions. People would love this.

  One st person was focused on Cyrielle, but he was standing near the door so nobody paid attention to him. It was Manon Sarmer’s manager, looking at Cyrielle with sweet eyes and a soft smile.