Viviane could not wait to share the news of her upcoming photo shoot with the well-known photographer Acel Yu with Anaelle and Marielle at their High School. Although the twin teenagers knew nothing of Acel Yu nor Louna Lapin, the famous fashion designer, the fact that Viviane would be working with people who work with celebrities struck them as glamourous and enviable.

Anaelle and Marielle, who often spoke together for no good reason that anyone knew of, were breathless yet excited for their friend. “It sounds all so exciting!”

Viviane, breathless and excited for herself, replied, “I know! I’ve always wondered if I have what it takes to model for a famous designer like Louna Lapin. I’m sure the clothes will be really unique and artistic.”

Anaelle was confused. “Artistic?”

Marielle, naturally, was also confused, too. “Why would clothes be ‘artistic’?”

“Why sure!” explained Viviane. “Clothes can be just as artistic as drawings or paintings or music or acting. In fact, clothes worn on stage or in movies are called ‘costumes’ even if they look like ordinary street clothes. A lot of thought goes into how the costumes reveal the personalities of the people wearing them. You two must never have thought of clothes as art before?”

“Not like that.” Anaelle appeared less confused.

“But I guess when you put it that way, it makes sense.” Marielle finished her sister’s sentence.

“And it’s not just the designer of the clothes who’s the only artist, so is the photographer and the model, that’d be me.” Viviane pointed at herself and smiled to hear herself say that she, too, was an artist.

Anaelle and Marielle tried to imagine their friend Viviane as an artist. In their mind’s eye, all they saw was a mean looking Viviane staring down her nose at them. It just seemed too out of character for Viviane. The sight of it, even if only in their imagination, unsettled them to the point of an emotional crisis.

“You can’t become an artist!” they wailed together. “We like you just the way you are!” The twins became misty-eyed at the thought of mean-looking Viviane.

Viviane giggled a bit to hear the twins think that becoming an artist would change her for the worse.

“Oh no?” teased Viviane her voice coy, “Acel says I have a ‘beautiful soul’ and an ‘artistic spirit’ he’s drawn to.”

Anaelle and Marielle were on the verge of tears. “Oh no!” they wailed some more, “We don’t want you to become an artist! Don’t change on us!”

Viviane just smiled. She enjoyed teasing the girls when she knew nothing was going to change between them after all.

Luc, however, hovered nearby and within earshot of Viviane’s conversation with the girls. He worried about what he heard. It concerned him enough that he shuffled over to ask Viviane about it.

“What’s this I hear about you going to visit some famous photographer, Viviane?” Luc was as sarcastic as usual.

“Oh, did you hear all that? You’re an awful eavesdropper, Luc!” scolded Viviane.

Luc’s brow knitted on his forehead. “Something doesn’t sound quite right about this Acel guy if you ask me.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” asked Viviane.

Luc thought hard but did not have all the facts. He told Viviane what he was thinking anyway. “I mean, look at the situation here. Why did this Acel guy take so much interest in you? You’re just a catalog model. He could probably get any model he wants. And this designer, what’s her name?”

“Louna Lapin,” replied Viviane. She was getting less and less excited about what Luc had to say.

“Yeah, her!” Luc continued. “Did she even agree to having an unknown, amateur model her clothes for her?”

Now Viviane started to get upset. By his own words, Luc did not think much of Viviane’s work as a model.

“I’m NOT an amateur model,” protested Viviane. “Just because I shoot for a catalog doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing!”

Luc pressed on with his analysis. “But come on, Viviane, you’re just a part time model. You don’t even have a contract or an agent. And these guys, if they’re that famous, they can get anyone they want who has a lot more professional experience for this kind of job. They don’t need you to do this for them. What’s so special about you?”

Viviane’s eyes welled up with tears, but she did not cry, at least not yet. The fact that Luc, who she had always thought of as her friend and protector of the twins, disparaged her modeling work was a big blow to her admiration of him.

“I am special!” she fought with Luc. “Acel told me so and you wouldn’t know anything about being artistic would you, now? You’re just a security agent with no sense for anything creative!”

Viviane shut her misty eyes, turned her head and pointed her defiant nose into the air. Luc, realizing that he may have said too much, tried to back away from further offending Viviane.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Viviane.” Luc sounded more apologetic now. “It’s just that, you know, it’s my job to be suspicious of everything and something doesn’t smell right.”

Still with her nose in the air, Viviane confronted Luc. “So you think I’m not special? That my modeling jobs could be done by amateurs with a pretty face?”

Luc backed way off trying to defuse Viviane. “No, Viviane, it’s not like that. I’m just trying to figure out what these guys want from you, that’s all.”

“Well, maybe they want someone who’s going to bring a fresh breath of air into their creativity and maybe they’ll see the potential I’ve got to be something much more than a model for a catalog company. Did you think of that?” Viviane accused Luc of not noticing the obvious.

She decided she heard enough from Luc and stood up to leave, but she turned back to the twins who heard everything that was said.

“Anaelle. Marielle. I’m going back to work now.” Viviane sounded serious. “Don’t you two worry about me. I’ll never treat you two any different than before. You’re both very dear to me and I’ll never abandon you.”

That made the twins feel a lot better. “Thank you! Come visit us again soon!” called out the twins together at the same time.

Viviane walked off leaving Anaelle and Marielle to their schooling and leaving Luc the time to extract his foot from his mouth.