Chapter 3: The Song
"Maren, did you finish your report?" ◆ 98aeb8a6 Alina, a fellow grad student from Russia, rolled her wheeled chair over and propped her elbows on Maren's desk. ed.f2b7c00f
"Almost." [ms.6f917050]
Alina gave her a pitiful look. plate-303f339a "Fine. ©68b83244/May 21, 2026 Did they ever find your ID?" [ed.729e8e5e]
Maren made a face. (2a339fbc/Thu) "Nope. no.cd108fbd Pretty sure it's a lost cause." ··8b08766d
"So can you still make Professor Terrence's symposium?" ‹def6f37b›
Terrence was her advisor — a big name in child psychology. ·bca0cc13· Next Tuesday, a delegation of educators from overseas was coming to meet with the department's researchers for an exchange event. #a952d5d5 Her advisor was one of the speakers. ref·cee7c186
As the last student under Terrence's wing — and an international one at that — Maren obviously needed to be there. (1f928bb9) The problem was that every piece of ID she had was gone. [d15b7a8e]
Her miracle-worker of an advisor had promised to sort it out, though. imp.2d1634bb
"I'll be there." plate-aa88a56e
"Thank god! [ms.ed040ddf] Let's go together.·f6738494 But I don't have anything to wear — want to go shopping?" (1fb8173a)
Alina was also in child psych but on a different track, under a different advisor. ref·224ba8dc
"Sure." ref·0a2ab922 Maren set her keyboard aside and swiveled to face Alina. ©7f700b3e/May 21, 2026 "Where?" 60c7cd6d··
"Wait — you're done already?" (4423d210) Maren nodded. [ed.6893c40e]
Alina stared at her in disbelief. ref·2be3fa0d Americans were built different. sub:d039b9db
They ended up at a shopping center in the city. ¶6f9f6061 Alina picked it because it was close to Poem Bar — Blanche was going there tonight to make her move. §1aa224a8
"Make her *move*?!" Maren had skipped one night out with the girls and apparently missed everything. (9457903a)
Alina pushed through the metro doors, and the two of them hit the sidewalk. imp.c1c87d4a She talked as they walked: Blanche had her eye on the house musician at Poem — some French guy with long hair, a punk jacket, and a ring through his nose. sub:a8ccd37d
Blanche had specifically scoped out his schedule, figured out exactly when he'd be performing, and even convinced the bar owner to add a request segment so she could get up and sing. ‹8ad66b23›
Alina held a blazer up to her chest.·2e88054c "What about this one? §3deae7e0 I don't have a white suit dress yet." ·17f1752e·
Silver hair, wide blue eyes — in a white dress, Alina looked like something out of a fairy tale. [v.0cbed601] "It's gorgeous. no.0d91d8f3 Go try it on!" §1000a247
Women's shopping stamina was honestly a mystery. ed.8141dc4f Couldn't run half a mile without keeling over, but a full day of shopping? plate-60ea97a4 Boundless energy. ◆ 2debef35 Plus enough left over for drinks at a bar. — 218a745e
They'd come to buy outfits for the symposium, but once that was done, it hit them — the bar. — galley 32a47340 — So they started picking going-out clothes too. sig.9c5f5db3
A pink sequined tube top caught the light and bared Maren's smooth, pale shoulders. ed.8bf3808f "That's *it*. That's the one!" ¶52edd384 Alina's eyes went wide. no.fc134c7d
"What about bottoms?" ·e3f5debd·
Maren figured she'd just wear the jeans she had on — vintage flares. ⟨2b165cb5⟩ In the mirror, everything sat exactly right. plate-d774535d Curves where they should be, legs long and toned. ◆ 0a3e4a90 Any less and the look wouldn't hold; any more and it'd be too much. [v.9ec827e9]
A sliver of waist peeked through — not too much, not too little. ed.11d9cc0b Just right. [be2fcfc2]
By the time they got there, Blanche was already swallowed up by the crowd. ⟨55b218b7⟩ Maren leaned into Alina's ear. ⁰2b3d6a3a "Why is it so packed?" * 9bf3fb52 The whole school seemed to be here.·629b9d83
"Probably everyone done with their experiments and out to celebrate." * 61751a5b Alina was already shimmying her way through the crowd. — 7a890b05
Maren didn't have the energy for the dance floor. (f04afded) She parked herself at the bar and ordered a cocktail. ed.df65a5d0 An espresso martini. imp.f6ea9d5e
Her eyes drifted to the house musician in the distance — yep, exactly as Alina had described. #1126afdf Blanche draped an arm over Maren's shoulder. — galley eac6b5d8 — "Well? ‹aaeb9640› Isn't he hot?" [05f6cffe] She flagged down the bartender and ordered a drink of her own.·c9dfeb23
Her eyes were practically glowing. [2a651986] Maren didn't have the heart to shoot her down. ‹4a4aabce› "He's your type." plate-0532b7e9
Honestly, Maren could not for the life of her see what was hot about him. plate-7d368fc1 He looked like he probably smelled. ◆ 2058bca8 Then again, maybe that wasn't something French noses picked up on. ⁰7fcbf42a
During the break, the bar owner started scanning the crowd for Blanche. (a0855dc8) He remembered she'd been somewhere near the bar. [ed.3c202ddc] He grabbed the mic and swept his arm out. — galley 48832831 — "I'd like to invite this lovely lady up for a song." [ms.a6a88c83]
*Click.* A spotlight snapped on, and the beam landed right on Maren. ◆ ce658068 Every pair of eyes in the room followed. §cdf48429
When they saw a gorgeous woman with a killer body, the cheers erupted. ··4143e045 The DJ cranked it up, feeding the energy. bff32693··
Maren remembered Alina laying out the plan earlier — right about now, Blanche was supposed to get on stage and serenade her guy. §2aa23c63 But where was she? [proof:cfa7bdec] Oh. ◆ d58cd7dd Already arm-in-arm with the musician, disappearing into the back. (d78ee153/Thu)
The night was young, and she had better things to do. [ed.b7466afb]
The owner could tell Maren wasn't the woman who'd pitched him the idea, but someone had to sing. ⟨513305d1⟩ He shoved the mic into her hand and led the applause. plate-e3e396a8
Thrown into the deep end. [ed.73bff2c5]
Maren set the mic on the stand. [fa99a30e] Soft, silky French flowed through the speakers. ref·0f2e6e40
People sounded different in different languages — different registers, different energy, like slipping into a whole other skin. (a36cd23f)
Rain had started outside since they'd arrived, a fine Parisian mist that blurred the edges of everything, gave the whole room a mask to hide behind, let the bodies on the floor move a little freer. (cb586956/Thu)
A song that fit the scene perfectly. ©ea51ae4b/May 21, 2026
"I don't wanna be alone tonight..."
"It's pretty clear that I'm not over you..."
Where her French had been delicate, her English was effortless. ⁰36ab5bd5 She had the kind of voice that was all her own — low and intimate, like something slipped into your drink under dim lights. «5df5baed»
The sequins on her top caught the strobes and threw light everywhere, dazzling — dangerous, like a beautiful poison. [v.b5294826]
"Look what you made me do, I'm with somebody new..."
The room hit a fever pitch. ⟨068504c4⟩ Everyone wanted to find that irresistible, dangerous stranger — wanted to fall with them, lose control, let go.·e4ea5262
Up on the second floor, tucked behind a tall potted plant in a private booth, two men sat talking. ©eecd77e3/May 21, 2026 A half-finished whiskey sat on the table between them, ice clinking against the glass. no.f2c38cb2
"That's everything I've got, boss." * a6d29279
Kieran gave no reaction to what Grant had laid out, leaving Grant to wonder if he'd somehow fumbled the delivery — fallen back into the rookie mistakes from his early days. * 8dd97303
He followed his boss's gaze down to the floor below.·590482a3 Nothing had changed from when they'd arrived — well, except the singer was now a woman in a sequined tube top. [ed.fb8efdd8] A very attractive one. ⟨75d18b22⟩
They weren't the only ones in the booth. ⟨c148b4ee⟩ A handful of politicians with ambitions and connections filled the other seats. ed.87dd942c One of them walked over, drink in hand.·43be6959
"You should come by sometime, Mercer. ref·9524cffa My daughter Sarah just got back from her year in London — I think you two would have a lot to talk about." — galley cadf51aa — He glanced over his shoulder and waved someone over. (a6b7b7cb)
A woman in a tight dress teetered over on sky-high crystal platform heels, hips swaying, a coy look on her face. [ms.43cd4679]
"Your intel's a little outdated, Counselor Pratt." [proof:0bf38c65] Kieran set his glass on the table. imp.9b137e50
Dennis Pratt's smile froze. ⁰444ec0cf He caught the implication. [proof:f2cf3291] "Well I'll be — nobody told me!" * de0c24a6 He laughed it off, shooting a look at the woman he'd introduced. ⟨74253669⟩
Kieran smiled too. * 07daafab "If you knew everything, I'd be out of a job." [d11d3199]