In her quest for the perfect drag number, Cyrielle had read historical sources, watched drag reality TV shows, searched MyTube for drag influencers, and even studied hours long documentaries about the underground scene, essentially creating a crash course about drag for herself. She didn’t become an expert overnight, but she could easily describe all the important aspects, and the legacy of today’s artists. It was a bit overwhelming to know she was to share a stage with people who fought for their rights and for the freedom to express their authentic selves, but with understanding came respect. Now she was very excited about this opportunity.

  Cyrielle looked at the notes she had written during her research. There were a few numbers she could perform at a drag show.

  ‘Comedy is out, I’m way too nervous on stage and I’m not that funny. Dance is a big ‘no’ too, I’ll probably be frozen in pce. Lipsyncing might be fun but it would be a shame not to use my abilities. So I guess it leaves me with singing, right ?’

  Now that she had chosen, the rest was easy. After all, Julie had made her learn and sing pop songs that were popur at drag shows. But if there was one thing that worried Cyrielle, it was her looks.

  ‘I saw videos of Madame Fabergé’s shows, everyone is so beautiful and sparkly with extravagant outfits ! I will really look shabby next to them if I dress as usual…’

  She didn’t have the money to buy any jewelry or stage clothes. But either way, drag outfits were oftentimes sewn by the hand of the artists themselves, and those who didn’t have the capacity needed to borrow or to buy at a high price.

  ‘Wait… Sewing ? Does it go under the ‘handicraft’ ability ?’

  She wasn’t sure, but she had to test it.

  Cyrielle opened Julie’s closet, looking into the pile of random stuff that she didn’t have the heart to throw away. There was an old zipper hoodie full of holes and worn out shoeces. It wasn’t much but it would be sufficient to try her theory. She grabbed the little metal box that contained her sewing tools. Until now she had only learned how to change buttons or stitch a small hole, but if she ever learned to sew… The possibilities were endless.

  She put all the materials on the table, and…

  ‘What am I supposed to do, now ?’

  That was to be expected. To start creating something, you need to have an idea. And since she never made clothes, she didn’t know how to go about it.

  ‘Guess it means more ‘studying’…’

  She once again grabbed her phone and searched everything she could about fashion and outfit design. But something strange happened.

  ‘...Huh ?’

  Somehow, the principles of garment creation seemed familiar. The meaning of different colors, the way the fabric took the light, knowing the different styles depending on the time period…

  ‘It’s simir to ‘home design’ !’

  Of course it wasn’t exactly the same, there is no notion of ‘movement’ when talking about furniture, and you don’t have to worry about the fit, but a lot of things seemed to follow a simir pattern. Thus, it was no surprise when…

  [Congratutions, due to your own efforts, ‘Home design’ has evolved into ‘Home and Attire design’. Path of Destiny rewards you by offering a gift.]

  And it didn’t stop there.

  [‘Home and Attire design’ interacts with ‘Handicraft’ and creates ‘Sewing’]

  What a good day it was ! Even if her whole body felt scorching hot, Cyrielle had her mind at ease.

  ‘I still have 19 abilities left but I gain so much even without taking from my stockpile ! I’m so smart !’

  She didn’t wait a single second to turn the wheel of gifts. She was in such a good mood, she wouldn’t even get mad if all she had was a bronze prize. Well at least that’s what she thought. Because in reality…

  ‘No, are you kidding me ? You’ve been so nice until now !’

  She nded two bronzes in a row. And even her st attempt wasn’t glorious.

  [Congratutions, you have earned the silver gift ‘Moderately better hair’. Would you like to proceed ?]

  The same prize she had gotten a while ago, when she was depressed. But this time she didn’t have any remaining attempts, so she had to accept it.

  ‘Well, it’s still better than ‘Slightly slimmer toes’. But what difference does it make anyway ?’

  She went to the bathroom to check on herself. The change wasn’t as dramatic as ‘Better skin’, but it was still noticeable. Her hair was smoother, shinier, and less dry than before. It had a healthy glow, and you could see the few golden strands amidst her brown hair. Nobody could replicate a color like that with dye, it was a purely natural feel.

  ‘I can see the upgrade but it isn’t drastic. I don’t think Julie would notice.’

  That being said, Cyrielle didn’t need the old hoodie and the shoeces anymore. She put them back in the closet and took out her sketchbook. She roughly wrote down her ideas and started drawing a few interesting designs. Once she was satisfied, she opened her wallet. 130€ were enough to go buy fabric and thread. She probably could finish a few outfits in a day if she had a sewing machine, but since it wasn’t the case she needed to pn carefully.

  ‘A single outfit that can reveal a second design.. Yes, it would probably be the best, and it would allow me to perform the two numbers back to back.’

  She started sketching again, using her ‘handicraft’ ability to better the mechanism that would change the clothes. After a few hours, there was only one thing left to do. She looked on the internet ‘fabric shop Bordeaux’. There was a big one in the city center.

  ‘Julie will be back in an hour, it will still be open’

  Everything was ready to test her new ability.

  ***

  Cyrielle simply had to ask and Julie happily drove her to the fabric shop. She seemed to have another really big misunderstanding but at this point Cyrielle didn’t care anymore. She just worked on her outfit all evening long while Julie was asking her questions about general culture and worked on her new ptop. She had bought a secondhand one with her savings, saying things like ‘How can I be a good manager if I don’t even have a computer !’

  It was worrying Cyrielle. She knew Julie had a lot of savings since she was educated about money from a young age by her parents, and that her family was well off enough to send her a few hundred euros if she ever needed it. However, the idea that her friend was spending money for her sake was a tough pill to swallow for Cyrielle. She dreamed of a day she could repay Marius and Julie, and have a home that was truly hers as well as food she bought herself. But it was still far away.

  That thought made her double her efforts in the following days. She spent her time sewing while listening to free online csses or to TV shows like ‘Question for a Champion’ as advised by Julie. When her friend came home, she immediately went to her computer and Cyrielle had no idea what she was working on.

  She discovered it on the st day of november, tuesday 30th. It was the date written on the paper Julie had handed her.

  “What’s this ?”

  “A contract.”

  Julie seemed tired but her eyes were shining with pride.

  “A contract for what ?”

  “Well to work for me, of course ! Or is it me that is working for you ? It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Cyrielle was looking at the paper but she couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

  “Did you just…”

  “Oh yeah, didn’t I tell you ? I created a start up. It’s a talent agency centered around you.”

  ‘What in hell ?! Are you crazy ? You have really done it now !’

  She just couldn’t comprehend. Was it an administrative way to gain the money from MyTube without being accused of tax evasion ? No, it would have been easier to make an auto-company. So why did she go all the way to create a start up ?

  Sensing her astonishment, Julie expined in a serious tone.

  “Listen, Cyrielle Laporte. Maybe you do not realise your value because you have lived all your life with those abilities. But let me tell you, it’s not common at all. In fact, you are a rare hidden gem. Even I, who was by your side for years, can’t guess everything you know how to do, but I can see your talent and can imagine where it will take you. If I don’t take the chance right now and keep being a cashier in a supermarket, I’ll regret it my whole life.”

  The snowball of misunderstandings had become an avanche before Cyrielle could do anything about it.

  ‘She is staking her whole life on me ! I can’t take it anymore ! I must really make it clear !’

  But just when she was about to speak, she stopped herself.

  ‘Wait, is it really a bad thing ?’

  In two weeks she had already earned money and was monetized on MyTube. And with her growing abilities, she was guaranteed to gain more and more success. Maybe in a year they could both earn way more than a normal sary.

  ‘Thinking about it like that, it’s a good idea right ?’

  She could repay her friend by making a lot of money, and Julie would be doing something she likes and she is good at. It seemed perfect.

  Cyrielle looked at the contract in front of her. It was exquisite, full of conditions that were beneficial for her. Maybe a little too much.

  ‘What do you mean a share of 9:1 for me ? It should be the opposite ! She is the one who does all the work !’

  When she raised her gaze, she met Julie's eyes and froze. She had that sly smile with an unreadable expression, the exact terrifying and crazy face she made when something was going her way.

  ‘Huh… Maybe I’ll just accept it…’

  She reread the paper several times and then finally signed at the bottom. She was officially part of the agency ‘Angel-Minet’, a mix between the nickname 'angel' people gave Mademoiselle Cyrielle online, and ‘Minet’ which was Julie’s st name.

  ‘So now I’m officially an artist.’