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I nod quickly. “Of course. I will come better prepared tomorrow.”
Dr. Arnaud doesn’t say anything, yet I can see the doubt glimmer in her gaze. She opens her mouth, about to say something, when I see a familiar figure enter from behind. A girl about my age, with long brown hair, still wet most likely from her shower, wearing a simple black dress and black flats.
“I’m here!” She gasps while running towards us, her eyes widening on me for a moment. “What are you doing here?”
I inwardly groan, wanting to smack my face, wanting to look up at the ceiling and ask God, why? Why is Lauren of all people here, in Paris, attending the same internship program? Instead, I force a smile, my hand on my purse tightening while I say, “I could ask you the same thing.”
“You’re late,” Dr. Arnaud says, irritation laced in her tone. She purses her lips while she stares at Lauren sternly.
If I was still friends with Lauren, I would feel bad for her. I wouldn’t want that look set on me in a million years. I would probably melt to the floor and never be whole again. Lauren visibly shrivels in front of Dr. Arnaud and she lowers her gaze, a slight blush setting into her cheeks. “I’m sorry, my alarm clock didn’t go off.”
Dr. Arnaud clucks her tongue. Her gaze lifts to the ceiling for a moment before shaking her head. “Excuses, excuses, excuses,” she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Whatever am I going to do with the both of you?”
Lauren and I glance at each other for a moment before Dr. Arnaud continues, “Just put your things in the closet and meet me in the main lobby. Maybe I can find something useful for the both of you to do.”
I grimace, watching Dr. Arnaud stride down the hall, feeling like this whole thing was a bad idea from the start. Sure, Mr. Brown believes in me, which is great, but maybe his perception is a bit off. Maybe I’m not cut out for this kind of work.
I mean, I’ve already made a mess of things.
And Lauren, of all people, is here.
“Seriously, what are you doing here?” Lauren whispers harshly while brushing past me. She uses her badge to open the door and tosses her backpack onto the small table in the middle of the room, which is pretty much the size of a closet with space only for two chairs. Papers are scattered on the table, and I wonder if anyone could possibly use this place as a small office.
If they do, they must never see the sunlight.
I really hope Dr. Arnaud doesn’t expect me and Lauren to use this space. We’ll probably end up killing each other within the hour.
“I applied,” I say simply, setting my bag down next to hers before closing the door. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were interesting in drawing.”
Lauren scoffs while crossing her arms. “Because I’m an art student and this,” she gestures towards the whole museum around us, “is an art position, available for all artists.” She smiles bitterly and tilts her head to the side. “Or did you forget that there are other creators besides you?”
“What is that supposedto-”
Lauren groans. “Ugh, I’m done talking to you.” She raises a hand in front of her, as if she’s suddenly the speaking police holding up a giant stop sign. “Stay away from me, Rachel.”
“Fine,” I say while crossing my arms, watching her leave before quickly realizing that we are going in the same direction. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, that’s perfectly fine. I don’t want to talk to her. I can avoid her. It’s not like we’ll be spending our entire time together.
And I’m not going to let Lauren ruin my time in Paris.
***
I sit near the edge of the water near the Louvre Pyramid, hearing the splashing of the fountain behind me. Grimacing, I stuff my face with the small baguette sandwich I had prepared for myself in the morning. I sniff, trying to keep my tears for myself. This is my one chance in a lifetime. This is an amazing opportunity.
And here I am, sitting outside the museum, close tobawlingmy eyes out because of an ex-friend who I should ignore.
Although, ignoring Lauren is easier said than done.
Once again, I mentally kick myself for not going to the meeting yesterday. I had no clue where anything was, or what to do, and of course, Dr. Arnaud was irritated with me for asking so many questions. Questions, which would have easily been answered yesterday. Lauren, of course, was smirking here and there, being rude whenever she had the chance.
“The Mona Lisa is the other way,” I remember her saying when I was running down the hall in my heels, trying to fix the display of the paintings before the tourists were permitted inside. It’s not like I hated her giving me directions. I hated that she gave me the wrong set of directions. I had actually been going the right way towards the Mona Lisa, but Lauren sent me on a wild goose chase, which left me absolutely lost. When I finally found the painting, Dr. Arnaud had been standing in front of it, tapping her shoe so ferociously I thought it was going to fly off and kick me in the face.
“Miss. Miller, I would really appreciate it if you would tend to your duties rather than gallivanting off,” Dr. Arnaud had said. “I run a tight schedule and I can’t be waiting around for you to finally show your face.”
So much for making a good first impression, I think with a sniff, quickly wiping my eyes.
Just thinking about all the running makes me groan and I turn my attentions to my swollen feet. I point them, trying to stretch the tops and release the tension in my soles before wiggling my red and bruised toes. Angry welts have formed on the tops of my toes while my little one has a large blister threatening to burst. I’m definitely not wearing these shoes tomorrow.
I check the time on my watch, seeing that it’s nearly four. I was sent out for a fifteen minute break after working all the way through lunch. Hopefully, not every day would be like this. I would get very skinny pretty quickly. Maybe I should start eating bigger breakfasts?
