Cyrielle was skimming through all the offers she had received recently, that Julie had brought her earlier today. She still had her award performance to create and the show for the tour, but the first one was mostly done, she had sent the pns and roadmap to Julie and needed to wait for the dancers to be booked to make their stage outfits, and for the second one the dates and venues weren’t confirmed yet, so she wasn’t in a rush. As for her hotel, she wouldn’t be able to do anything as long as Julie didn’t find a pce to build it. All things considered, she was mostly free, and she didn’t want to spend the next two months doing nothing but waiting for her five minute performance at the award show.

  Julie had been reluctant to hand her the offers, saying ‘You have already a lot of things going on !’ but Cyrielle felt anxious if she was doing nothing but wait.

  ‘This one is no good… No, I don’t feel inspired for that… An ad again ? How many is it ?’

  She sighed and looked on her coffee table where another two stacks of papers were waiting for her. She wouldn’t be done by tonight. Cyrielle stood up to stretch, she really needed a break.

  ‘Oh, right ! I’m really successful now, I should send more money to mom !’

  She took out her phone and opened her banking app.

  [Me : Cyrielle Laporte has sent you an instant transfer. Amount : 10,000€. Message : A gift for the best mom ! I know you want to dig a pond beyond the chicken pen.]

  [Mams : Are you crazy ????? That’s way too much ! I’ll send it back right now !]

  [Me : If you send it back, I’ll send double]

  [Mams : Don’t you dare bully your mother with money.]

  Cyrielle ughed. It felt good to interact with her mom.

  [Me : I miss you so much. Before I couldn’t come because I didn’t have enough money for a train ticket, now I can’t come because paparazzis would swarm you. It’s really sad…]

  [Mams : I know princess, I miss you too… By the way, your brother is in Paris for another video game tournament, can’t you do something to see him ? Your agency must have ways for you two to meet in secret, right ?]

  Cyrielle scratched her head. It was true that her little brother loved video games, and it wasn’t rare for him to go to Paris on the weekends to attend a small tournament, but she had never even thought about meeting him. Technically it was possible, but she didn’t want to involve her agency, Julie already had a big misunderstanding about her family, and Léonard wasn’t the kind to go along with it. If the two were to meet, Cyrielle’s persona as a high society girl would crumble.

  ‘But I miss Léo… Isn’t there a way to see him ?’

  While she was deep in thought, a blue chat bubble appeared in front of her eyes.

  [Isn’t he going to a video game tournament ?]

  ‘Yes, he likes to compete. He doesn’t win, but he is still quite good.’

  [Then you can attend too.]

  ‘Nonsense, I don’t know how to py. The best I could do would be watch… Wait, some competitions have spectators, maybe it’s one of them ?’

  To confirm it without making it obvious, she needed to get creative. And the best way to get Léonard to talk was always to offer him what he cked : Money.

  [Me : Cyrielle Laporte has sent you an instant transfer. Amount : 500€. Message : You’re in Paris ? Gift for the train ticket.]

  [Léo the bro : Yeah, it's the 3rd time this year, why do you care ?]

  [Me : Should I stop giving you gifts ?]

  [Léo the bro : Sorry my oh so great sister, I apologize profusely !]

  [Léo the bro : Just here for the fighting game tournament.]

  [Me : Oh, you’ll go back soon then ?]

  [Léo the bro : Yeah, the event is this afternoon. They say it finishes at 8pm but let’s be honest, they are always te. So I’ll sleep at a hotel tonight and go back tomorrow morning.]

  Cyrielle immediately went on the internet to search ‘fighting game tournament Paris 19th november’. She found the address easily and confirmed that, even though it was held in a small city hall, visitors were allowed. She brightened up.

  [Me : Okay, good luck !]

  According to the website, the qualifications had already started. Knowing that Léonard wasn’t the best pyer, if she was too te she might not even see him py. She ran to her wardrobe.

  ‘Let’s see… I’m going incognito, so I can’t wear any of the clothes sponsored by designer brands. None of my usual outfits, that would be too recognizable, and none that were made by me. It doesn’t leave much…’

  She ended up settling for clothes that she mostly wore at home, bck cotton pants and a flowy top paired with an inconspicuous grey vest. Thankfully, in 2022 the paranoia from the pandemic was still palpable, and it wasn’t rare for people to wear masks when they were sick, so she had no trouble hiding her face. People were used to her flowy brown hair, so she took great care to tie them up in a messy bun, and looked at herself in the mirror.

  ‘I think it’s not that bad.’

  [You look like a normal person.]

  ‘That’s the goal.’

  Satisfied, she sent a text to Hugo and ran outside. The road manager arrived quickly, surprised to be called on her off day. Contrary to usual, Cyrielle sat on the passenger seat which made him even more confused.

  “Where are we going ?”

  He was looking her up and down, having no idea of what all of this was about.

  “You know, if it’s something illegal I won’t do it !”

  Cyrielle gred at him.

  “Do I look like someone who would do something shady ? I just want to avoid being recognized. We are going to a video game tournament, here, I’ll give you the address.”

  Hugo had reached a point where he was so surprised that his eyes seemed like they would pop out any moment. He took a deep breath and turned his GPS on.

  “Okay, a video game tournament… Got it… You won’t compete, right ?”

  “Of course not, I just want to watch.”

  The road manager slowly nodded, he didn’t know what to say anyway, and they took off. The ride was silent for a while, but Hugo was still confused.

  “A video game tournament is not new sng for a party or drugs, right ?”

  “Don’t stay stupid things, I’m just going to watch people py, what’s wrong with that ?”

  When they arrived in front of the city hall and the banner taped on the wall was indeed advertising a fighting game tournament, somehow Hugo got even more confused about the fact that Cyrielle wasn’t lying. Ignoring him, she got out of the van.

  “They say it finishes by 8pm but they are always te, so I’ll text you when I get out.”

  Without waiting for an answer, she walked away.

  The inside of the convention hall was very unassuming, a few tables were pced in the back of the room with screens pced on them, and people were sitting in front of it with controllers in their hands. In the middle of the room, several rows of pstic chairs had been aligned for the visitors, but most of them were empty. It wasn’t a big event by any means. After all, the winning price wasn’t much, just 100€.

  ‘His train ticket costs more than what he could earn, what’s the point ?’

  She ughed inwardly and sat on a pstic chair towards the back. She wasn’t able to see much, but it would lower her chances of being recognized.

  ‘Do you see Léo ?’

  [I see a young man looking simir to you in front of the third screen on the right.]

  She followed the instructions and soon she saw a familiar back, with short brown hair that definitely needed a haircut. She couldn’t see his head nor the screen, but from his tense posture she knew that he was in trouble.

  ‘That rascal, I hope he doesn’t get eliminated so soon, it’s only the qualifiers !’

  Cyrielle didn’t know a thing about fighting games, but she was getting invested watching her brother move his shoulders with energy. After a while, he sprung up with his arms in the air.

  ‘I guess he won. Good for him !’

  She intended to watch for a bit and then get out, finding a way to see Léonard after the tournament, but she ended up staying for the whole duration of the tournament, seeing her brother win all the qualifiers and advance to the fourth of finals.

  Starting from now, the matches would be shown on a video projector for the visitors to enjoy, with commentators expining the actions. Cyrielle was getting excited, leaning forward when she saw Léonard sit in front of the screen.

  [Host…]

  ‘Not now, it’s starting !’

  Léonard’s character started the match strong, destroying his opponent before he could block his attacks.

  [Host, it’s important…]

  ‘Sht, wait a minute !’

  The situation was reversed suddenly when the opponent finally blocked the attack and started a deadly combo that left Léonard no chance. With one win each, the next fight would be the st. They both fought with all they had, and they were even all thorough, until the opponent found a chance and made a deadly move. Léonard had lost.

  Cyrielle sighed and straightened her back.

  ‘What did you want to say ?’

  She felt annoyance coming from the system.

  [You have been recognized.]

  ‘What ?’

  She lifted her head and looked around her. All the pyers in the room were stealing gnces at her. It included Léonard, who looked annoyed.