A middle aged man was sitting in a luxurious living room, watching TV. On the screen, the reporter was summing up this week’s news.

  “Let’s talk about the recent rising star, the woman nicknamed ‘the idol of french youth’, Mademoiselle Cyrielle. After starting a MyTube channel, she has quickly gained popurity for her numerous skills.”

  The man stroked his chin, a dissatisfied look on his face.

  “I didn’t expect to get blocked by her company too. What did I do to deserve this ? I always gave her food and clothes, I didn’t even hit her. I just don’t understand.”

  “Why do I hear that bitch on the TV ?”

  A skinny woman appeared, a gss of wine in her hand. She had an angur and pointy face, making her look like a shark. She didn’t seem like the type to be nice.

  “What ? Is she really that popur ? She must be rich then. Did you contact her ?”

  The man looked at his wife and sighed. Maybe he knew the reason his daughter didn’t want to see him.

  “It’s your fault. If you could control your temper, we would have that gem at home right now.”

  The woman looked at him in shock.

  “What ?! I only corrected her a little because she was way too arrogant ! It’s your fault in the first pce, you should have gained custody instead of letting her gain bad habits with your ex-wife !”

  The man, Laurent Laporte, stood up.

  “I thought you hated my kids and you didn’t want to see them anymore. And now that Cyrielle is doing well, you want me to gain custody ? Try to use your brain before spouting nonsense.”

  The woman spped her husband, who immediately returned the gesture. She fell on the ground and bumped her head on the sofa, spilling wine all over the carpet.

  “You’re a monster !”

  He looked at her with a severe look.

  “A monster ? You’re one to talk, when you brought home two kids that aren’t mine and ousted my own children. You’re just a leech who sucks on my money. If you never appeared before me after my divorce, I would still have three children.”

  The woman lifted herself up with a smirk.

  “I thought you wanted societal success to prove that your failure in marriage didn’t define you ? Well now you have two children who are going to prestigious universities and are dressed in the most luxurious brands, isn’t that everything you have dreamed of ?”

  Laurent looked at his wife. Sorrow was gleaming in his eyes. Long ago, so many years ago that he had almost forgotten, he was living in a dirty apartment after his divorce, and his three kids were visiting him every weekend. He couldn’t offer them more than a few books from the dolr store and meals made of pasta, but he was happy. Since he met his new wife, he had become a business executive with a sary he could have never imagined, and was part of the higher css of society. But was he happy ? No, he wasn’t. He had forgotten how to love and care for someone, to the point that even if Cyrielle appeared before him, the only thing he would know how to do was to take advantage of her. He had the vague knowledge that he had become a scum, but had no idea how to revert to his former self. It was probably too te either way.

  He looked down at his wife who was still gring at him.

  “Clean the carpet, we have guests coming tomorrow.”

  Then he left the living room. Immediately, a young man ran to his mother’s side.

  “Are you okay mom ?”

  The woman rose up and dusted herself.

  “It’s nothing unusual. But it has gotten worse since that bitch has been appearing everywhere.”

  The young man nodded.

  “It’s all Cyrielle’s fault. She is ruining our family.”

  ***

  Julie, in the passenger seat of the van, was looking at her notebook.

  “I can’t believe the shooting of a famous show is that unprofessional. What do you mean there isn't any script reading ?”

  Cyrielle was listening to her rant since an hour ago, when the staff had come to pick her up. Even Hugo, the road manager who was driving the vehicle, was starting to show signs of fatigue. Julie's anger was understandable, from a manager's point of view, because her talent had nothing to go off of, and couldn’t prepare herself properly for the shoot. But, truthfully, Cyrielle didn’t care. She saw this whole ordeal as an opportunity to learn, a nice experience that would help her understand the world of acting.

  They soon arrived on set, it was an old manor that was rented for the occasion. Inside, the main hall had been decorated to simute a throne room. The budget seemed quite small, as expected of a declining show. The director came to greet Cyrielle and her team.

  “Hello, nice to meet you ! I’m sorry but we don’t have much time, so we’ll skip the introductions and go straight into costume fitting.”

  Julie looked as if she was ready to strangle the man, but Cyrielle simply nodded and followed him to a secluded room. As expected, there was no heating or cooling system, a mirror was pced on top of a makeshift table, and a few costumes were put on a pstic rack. Three staff members, probably the stylist, hair, and makeup artists, were running around. The show might be a recurring one on TV, but the budget surely wasn’t much.

  Cyrielle greeted the staff, and was fitted for her gown.

  ‘My ‘Character and Attire design’ is screaming that the dress isn’t historically accurate, I feel like I’ll go crazy !’

  [Unfortunately, it is not a documentary but a comedic show. Cheer up.]

  ‘I’ll try, but if everything is like this, I might cry !’

  The gown wasn’t bad in itself, but the garment was covered in cheap pstic fabric, and encrusted with false jewels. Maybe it would look passable on camera, but it was awful in person. The hairstylist added a badly made wig covered in white powder, and it was paired with an absurd makeup, that was both heavy and way too modern. Thankfully, Cyrielle had her natural aura of elegance and could pull it off, otherwise she might have looked like a clown.

  Defeated and a hair width away from crying, Cyrielle exited the changing room. Contrary to her gloomy assessment, the staff was gasping in awe.

  “She truly looks like a queen !”

  “I thought she was beautiful in photos, but she is ten times better in person !”

  “I can’t believe I’m working with Mademoiselle Cyrielle, I should tell it to my kids when I go home !”

  The director raised both his thumbs with a smile.

  “You look fantastic ! Now come here, I will expin the scene.”

  They really had no time to waste, Cyrielle couldn’t even take a break or greet the staff. She was brought to the center of the set, where the other actors had assembled. She recognized them easily, after all she had seen them on TV for years. She nodded in their direction and focused on the director's words.

  “It’s a scene where the family goes to greet the queen, a kind of social event that happens once a year at the beginning of the social season. There will be a dozen extras around you. Mademoiselle Cyrielle, you will sit on the throne over here, looking down at the crowd. It’s nothing special, you must accept the greetings of the people. You, Mathilde, you must try to stay serious when your children bicker. When the line ‘Won’t you shut up ?!’ pops up, it must be spoken louder. That’s how silence is cast in the room and the queen looks at you with angry eyes. And boom, end of the scene. Everybody gets it ?”

  The actors nodded, used to those kinds of blurry instructions, but Cyrielle was slowly blinking.

  ‘What did he say ? He didn’t tell me what to do at all ! What do you mean ‘accept their greetings’ ? Should I speak or not ? How should I sit ? How am I supposed to act when I don’t know what to do ?’

  [My hypothesis is : They will make you do the scene a few times, letting you do whatever you want, and choose the funnier version.]

  ‘So… Am I supposed to improvise ? It’s my first time acting, how am I supposed to do that ?’

  [Just activate your ability.]

  ‘Ok… I can already see this shoot becoming a disaster, I understand why the show fell off !’

  Cyrielle braced herself and walked towards the throne, sitting with perfect royal etiquette. The extras, who were going to their pces on the set, were whispering while looking at her.

  “I’m getting nervous, I feel like I’m really standing in front of the queen !”

  “How can she exude this kind of pressure when she isn’t even an actress ?”

  “Isn’t she ? I mean, nobody knows about her, it’s totally possible that she can act.”

  “Then is it method acting ? Is that why she seems so noble, she is already in character ?”

  “I think so.”

  Misunderstanding was spreading in the film industry. Meanwhile, Cyrielle was discreetly taking deep breaths.

  ‘I can do it. It’s nothing complicated, I just need to greet people. I’m good at that. It will be okay.’

  “Ok, and… Action !”

  Immediately, the actors started to animate. The woman pying the mother, Mathilde, was standing elegantly in her big frilly gown. Next to her, two younger actors were bickering.

  “Don’t you think she looks like a big cupcake ? I mean, that dress looks really uncomfortable, can she even breathe with that ?”

  “She is the queen ! Can’t you show a bit of respect ?”

  “I am reviewing her outfit respectfully, and it looks hideous.”

  “I won’t come to see you in prison when you’ll be dragged out.”

  “Oh yeah ? Well, they should imprison you for indecency, your face looks like a butt !”

  Reaching the limits of her patience, the mother finally exploded.

  “Won’t you shut up ?!”

  Noticing the silence, she raised her head to find the queen’s eyes on her. Normally, the scene should have ended here, but for some reason, Cyrielle spoke.

  “Is my voice that unpleasant, or do you disagree with the fact that your daughter has a butt face ?”

  The director dropped his jaw. The scene had become so much better.