They decided to go to a bar with beers from “All around the world” And they tasted several really good beers, several very bad, and several.... weird, to say the minimum.
Eric found it a bit hard, but he just drank coke that night.
The night finished really late. Eric got the car and then they went to take Gustavo's girlfriend home, and only after that they headed back home. It was Thursday.
That Friday, Gustavo wouldn't be able to wake up in time for his classes. Actually he slept until two in the afternoon, and soon after his girlfriend appeared at their place again.
No one, Mike as an exception, was doing much those days.
Mike decided to eventually take Eric and Isadora to his school one day when he had a more chilled schedule. It was a relatively modest music school: an almost non-existent waiting room, a secretary and at that time they were about four or five music teachers.
They went to a small room – Mike's office, with not much rather than only one desk with two chairs.
- So tell me Eric, what did you think about my humble school?
- Nice...it's really... receptive
Mike smiled.
- Cool...
- How long have you had this school exactly?
- Hmm... Four months I guess
- Cool, not that long ago then
- Nops, not at all... Well, we've been in Paris for what? A bit more than five months, right...
- Yeah, I know... how exactly did that happened by the way?
- Well, we went back to Toulouse after...that vacation – Eric felt uncomfortable for a second, but tried to hide it, as did Mike – but Isa was already coming to Paris, soon after actually. Then... you know, I thought to myself “why the hell not, right?”... I found this school soon after we moved here...And I was still trying to learn French and whatnot... Damn, it's a hard language – Mike smiled– Anyways, it is a small school, and modest, I know. We are only five teachers and at the moment. It's been insane to fit all the students in our schedule, which I guess is good right...
- I see...cool, man
- Yeah, but I have bigger plans. Marie actually, is coming to work with us soon...well as soon as we set some things straight first, we actually don’t have any more space here... It was always a temporary thing here...
- Oh really? I did not know that...
- Yeah, she is kinda busy at the moment studying music though...
- Yeah, she told me that
- Cool... anyways, she's coming to help us as soon as we move in to the new school
- New school?
Mike and Isa smiled to each other.
-Yeah-p
- …?
- I had a lot of money ...stuck, right? There was also some money I had to pay for cancelling my contract … there was a bit of money that took forever to get to me...anyways. So I got to Paris, and I found this school, I bought the apartment and my car. What I mean to say is ...I've spent a lot of money these days, dude. I didn't actually wanted to buy the apartment, I wanted to rent it, but it wasn't possible on this particular case, and it was a very good deal actually, you know, the market is dead, nobody is buying, it was good for me...anyways, truth is it took me a good time to put my finances in order and know exactly...well, how much money I have and how much money I can invest. As I didn't have any experience with being a music school owner, or managing anything to be honest... I decided to start with something small, right...
- Right...and now you already have your MBA?
Mike smiled
- No, but I learned a bit, I got some help and I decided that's something I really want to do...
- Alright man...
- So, now that everything's getting organized and I actually have bigger ambitions, we are finishing this project for the new school.
- … Dad is also giving him a hand, Eric - Isa
- Hmmm....
- Yeah, he has been giving me good advices and some help to make this idea come true
- Which is...?
- Well, a cultural center … It's pretty ambitious actually. We have this Dance School interested in becoming our partner, and we already have some other teachers in mind... We already found companies like... hmm we're gonna have a coffee place, a book store, even a small instrument store and a small movie theater... and a recording studio.
- Uau, nice.... Now that's ambitious.
- Yeah, right.... It was pretty complicated to shape the idea, it took everything from us for a couple of months, but it's coming to reality now. And thanks to our partners and your dad, it's gonna be financially viable for me...
- Cool... Makes sense. What about the studio? Did you talk about it with Tom already?
- Yeah, Marie talked to him, he's kinda showing us the path... but having him here with us would be another level of awesomeness, Hun?
- Yeah, it would. But you know how it goes with him...
- Yeah...
- And how is it going so far?
- Oh...a nightmare, right. Bureaucracy, competitors, marketing, researching stuff.... Everything seems to be complicate around here. Especially when your French is as bad as mine. - Mike smiled again
- Your French is not that bad...it's getting better, for sure – Isa gently smiled at him
Mike shrugged his shoulders.
- It will get better, I promise – He smiled
Silence
- Man, I’m really happy for you. It seems this project is going to be awesome.
- We hope so... I'm putting all I have and what I don't have on it – Mike smiled
Eric smirked back.
- Well, you have my dad helping you out. Just follow his advices and everything will be fine.
Mike agreed with his head.
- I'm sorry for killing the bro-bonding here, but Gustavo just sent me a text. He's asking us if we can go pick him up at his girlfriend's place.
Next morning, a Saturday, they all woke up pretty late. When Eric woke up and went to the kitchen for a coffee, he found Gustavo's girlfriend only wearing her panties and a batman t-shirt... Gustavo's batman t-shirt.
- Ahn...hi
- Hey – She smiled, without a hintch of embarrassment, without even stop doing whatever she was making to eat.
Eric and her ended up talking a bit during that `breakfast` of theirs: She was a good talk.
When everyone was finally awake, they just kept chilling and being lazy around the living room: They had no idea of what to do during that day...again. So they just waited the time to pass without doing anything special until they decided, for some reason, to go to the movies, but as it was a pretty day, with a good weather, they decided to go first for a walk in the Champs Elysses.
When they were finally arriving at the movies, walking down the Boulevard, Isa stopped and started to look somewhere across the street.
- Hey! Isn't it Marie over there?
They quickly tried to find about who she was talking about: Across the street, the most impressive black car in the world was parked in front of a “nice little store”
It was indeed Marie. She had by her side this two huge bodyguards, and each of them co
uld have probably beaten up Eric's entire band very easily...
She was, as Isa described – extremely well dressed, talking to this young woman, in her late twenties, also extremely beautiful and equally well dressed. They noticed that on the car behind them there was two more bodyguards.
- Geez, Eric – Isa
- Yeah?
- You know who that blond girl is?
- Yeah, sure, one of my ex-girlfriends...
- Ha, I'm serious. She's a princess, if I'm not mistaken. Cousin of Monaco's heir...I think...maybe...maybe from Denmark? I'm not sure... Some royalty like that...
- Incredibly hot, Can you ask Marie to introduce me to her, Eric? - Gustavo
Gustavo's girlfriend hit him with her elbow on his ribs, but he just kept smiling with that same ironic and dissimulated face.
“So she's definitely in good terms with her family again”
Without thinking much, Eric just got his phone and called her.
- Hello? - They saw her picking up her phone and stop, moments before getting into the store. By the way she smiled, it was definitely her – Eric?
- Hey Marie, how's it going?
- I'm great, what about you? - She made a hand sign to the bodyguards wait.
- I'm great. You are really beautiful with this dress, you know that?
Marie understood in the same nanosecond. She started looking around, smiling.
-Thaanks
- You're welcome. Isa asked where you bought it
Marie smiled.
- It was a gift...Don't you guys want to come over here?
- And get beaten up by your friends?
Marie smirked again.
- Sure
- Ha, anyways, I just called to annoy you
- Haha, never...Eric?
- Yeaaah?
- You don't actually wanna come here? I really would like to talk to you.
- I'd like to but we have to go, we're running late for something - Eric smiled
- Oh well then...
Marie waved goodbye, still trying to find their group, which ended being a very weird situation for the bodyguards.
- You know that was very weird, right – Eric smiled
- Ha, I bet it was – She smiled -... So do you wanna have dinner tonight? I think you kind of own me this one...
- Sure, where? - He didn't think twice
- You tell me, man
- What about Montmartre? Somewhere near the Sacre Cœur? I'm kinda trying to discover the city, I wouldn't mind going there...I can pick you up at home. - Eric
- That's perfect. Around eight?
- Sure
- Alright, byee
- Byee
On a public square with several options for food, near the Sacre Cœur, they quickly decided to go for a restaurant that had a couple of musicians playing (on an old red piano). They tried to sit close to it, by a window.
Marie was absolutely gorgeous.
They ordered food, ate the first meals, she drank a little bit of red wine and then they started to catch up for real.
- So... I can't believe you're in Paris for almost a month and you're just calling me now... - Marie smiled
- Well, you didn't call me either!
- You said you're going to Toulouse!
- I did, I'm already back. I was there only for four days...
- Hmmm … I guess I can forgive you, but only because I was super busy...Well, are you enjoying Paris so far?
- Yeah, yeah. What about you? - Eric smiled
- Hmm, it's been ok
- … What about your family?
- So... about that – Marie raised her eyebrows and laughed
Eric smirked back.
- Yeaah, I talked to my dad... I'm about to get on this Mike's school thing for a while, and I've been trying to create some music... I don't think he considers nothing of this very useful, but I guess he accepted it after … some talk. I wanna learn how to be a teacher and a good musician. And I wanna have some time to write music...I'm also taking classes with this really amazing teacher so I can have ...you know, “a path”, or a career, by the eyes of my father and my family name...So yeah, I guess I can deal with that, so he can deal with the fact of having a musician as a daughter....We are actually having a pretty good relationship now, believe it or not...
- That's good, isn't it?
Marie nodded
- I guess.... Anyways, that's just because of what happened in our tour, you know.... I guess he realized a bit of incentive could avoid what happened again in the future. That's how he sees it, I'm sure... And... Yeah, that makes me feel a bit stupid I guess... Anyyyways, what about your family?
- Hmm, Gustavo just came to Paris too. So I just imagine my old peeps in that huge house of theirs by themselves... But hey, my siblings are happy here, so I think that's all that matters.
- Ha, uhum...
They kept eating and drinking and Eric was feeling incredibly mature by being with Marie in that restaurant. Incredible, Hun?
-...Oh, what about Mike's project? - Marie asked
- What about it?
- What do you think about all that?
- Pretty cool....I guess – Eric didn't know much what to say
- Don't you think it's too risky?
- No idea. I don't actually know exactly how it's gonna turn out to. I also don't know how much money Mike has and how much money he is putting into this. Neither how much money he has to burn...
- Hmm I see... But why do I feel like you don't feel very confident about it?
- Well... - He sighed - Mike is one of the best’s musicians I've ever met... I remember when I met him, he would barely go out of his house, and didn’t party or anything like that. He was this... freak, playing guitar for like twenty hours a day... – Eric smiled – He always dreamed about having a band and touring around the world and whatnot... The son of a bitch has always been a romantic, always dreaming. I don't know, maybe it's a bit of prejudice, but for me, he's place is on a stage, not teaching...
- I see... but at least he looks pretty excited about it, Hun?
- Yeah … I can't deny that. He has the same energy he had years ago when we first started our music together... But it's been a while he was not happy, for sure... And well, then Isadora came along. I guess I didn’t do the right things to keep him around.... I hope the best for him and for my sister, that’s all.
- Good, good. Well, in my opinion, I see he's pretty happy here. And he has the potential to be the best teacher ever if you think about it.
- Yeah... I know
- I am actually very curious to see what's coming out of this project.
Eric smiled and said:
- Well, it looks like it will be ready pretty soon, Hun?
- Yeah, like a couple of days...
- What about all the reforms?
- Yeah, that's still happening...
- Cool
- But now you, tell me about your plans...
“Why people always ask that?”
- I don’t know...
- I do... What about visiting the Louvre tomorrow? - Marie smiled
- Are you inviting me out?
- Nah, I’m not giving you the option to refuse... - Marie winked at him
They laughed.
- It's just a bit of curiosity I guess. I mean, it's kinda unreal, isn’t it? This afternoon you were probably spending thousands of euros with a princess. Fuck, a princess. That's like another level, isn't it? And now you are here with me, completely different.
- Yeah, I guess... – Marie smiled – But I'm still me, right? Or by any chance did I treat you differently before?
- No, you did not...
- … It's just about my clothes, Eric. The circumstances I'm facing. I don't do that to hide anymore, both of them are me. I used to hide that side of me, but... It just depends where I want to go, with the clothes I think I'll feel more comfortable with.... And yeah, sometimes it screams “I'm my dad's daughter”....sometimes it doesn't. I guess it took me forever to accept and understand this.
- Yeah, I understand... I went through exactly the same you know. I guess a lot of people in the end do exactly the same... But you did take it to another level.
- What exactly?
- The whole: People can't know where I came from.
- Yeah, I guess for a while it was about that, yes. But I don't think is about that anymore...
- … Awesome then – Eric smiled – I always love the way you dress yourself by the way.
Marie smiled
- Thank you
- … What about your friends, where are they?
- Ugh...That's complicated... Fernando is on an exchange ...in the States, by the way. And Sophie, well.... she became best friends with....Filipe. Probably like a fuck-buddy too, I really don't know what happened to her... Cécile just went along with Sophie, after everything got settled and done. The rest of people I knew just disappeared...
- Really? Auch...Then you decided to get closer with the European royalty?