𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

Chapter-6

The day was here, it was time for me to head to Cannes. Kenji was going back to Osaka, we decided to get tickets on the same train, he had to get off at Nice for the airport connectivity.

"I'll miss you both a lot." Baba hugged us, "and take care of yourselves."

"I'll be back in a few days Baba! I'm going to spend all my time with you." I reassured her.

"I'm going to try and get my job transferred here, why did we even leave!?" Kenji laughed.

We bade our farewells and headed to the train station, while waiting for the train I couldn't help but grin. I couldn't believe myself for being so upset about having to come back. I didn't hate Monte Carlo and I certainly didn't  hate the people, if anything I just felt strongly about the memories. But the whole point of memories was that new ones are created, the older ones fade away.

The train ride was fun, I felt like a child again. I said goodbye to Kenji when we stopped at Nice's train station and continued on to the final stretch of the journey. Cannes was normally really sleepy and slow, the whole place came alive during the festival.

People everywhere, flashing lights, commotion and a little disorienting to be honest. It didn't take me long to find Gabriel, he was already waiting for me. He found me a taxi and sent me off to the hotel I was supposed to stay at, he had to stay behind for a colleague. I thanked him and got into the car, it was exciting to see the city through the tinted glass.

I was honestly pumped to see the city, that was until Katsumi called me up to tell me that I had a dress fitting in 30 minutes.

"What dress fitting!?"

"Sweetie, what are you planning to wear as you climb up the stairs?"

"Oh shit." How had I not even thought about that!? This was great, what was I going to wear? There was no way a designer was going to lend me their creations right now.

"Lucky for you I'm basically fairy God mother, I've been in touch with Jasmine Hussien she's a brilliant stylist. I'll send you the address, get there, put on whatever she tells you to and we're sorted."

"Okay, will I be free after that? To do whatever I want?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't know, we'll see. Did you meet Gabriel?"

"Yes I did but he had to wait up for a colleague, so I'm on my way to the hotel and boy is the traffic bad."

"That's Cannes for you! Glamour, pretty people, pretty things and agents that are slogging away." Katsumi laughed. "Make a good impression! I want to be by your side next time."

"Yes ma'am!" I assured her.

I thanked the driver and hurried into the hotel, the lobby was full of talent agents, journalists and people just arguing and trying to find themselves a place. The sheer amount of people and suitcases in this lobby made the whole place look cramped, it was eye opening to see what goes on behind one of the most glamorous events of all time.

I had to jump around and nudge past people to get the receptionist's attention, she was in a hurry to get the lobby cleared and literally threw my room key at me. Yet again, I thanked her but I doubt she heard it and decided to head to my room. After being bumped into more times than I could count, I made it to my room.

I could look at the street from my windows, Cannes was packed! There wasn't an inch to move around, it was only a matter of time before the traffic police has to show up to navigate people out of the area and stop choking the streets.

I quickly freshened up and I was off again, the hotel at which Jasmine and her team were staying was only a few minutes away. It was best to walk to the place for the traffic was literally stationary, people were vlogging and taking selfies, some trying to get invited onto yacht parties while others tried to get a glimpse inside the white tents.

It was the same at the other hotel, people pushing and shoving trying to make their way past the crowd. I texted Katsumi if she knew where exactly Jasmine and her team were because there was no way someone was going to lead me to her, Katsumi gave me detailed instructions. They had got the suite of the hotel, it made sense when I walked into the place.

It literally looked like a luxury garment store, racks after racks of beautiful robes and pretty shoes and accessories all over the place. A couple of the people looked at me funny as I continued looking at this place in awe, because I was! It's not everyday you get to see a hotel room look like a boutique shop in Paris.

A beautiful tall woman was giving out instructions that everyone was following. She had sharp features and long black hair, and she definitely knew what she was doing. I guessed she was Jasmine, I walked up to her uncertain what I should say to get her attention.

"Hi honey! Can you run and get us some safety pins?" She looked at me.

"Oh-" I looked in confusion, "me?"

"Yes you! All hands on deck!"

"I'm actually- were you in touch with Katsumi?"

She gave me a blank stare and then instantly placed her hand on her head, "I'm so sorry! I'm so embarrassed right now." She laughed.

"Don't be!" I laughed, "that's on me for standing around like a kid in a candy store. I'm Emiko."

"Hi Emiko! I'm Jasmine, let me find you a person." She looked through the clipboard on her hand. "Everyone's busy, your style is now in my hands!" She led me to the racks.

I browsed through them as she looked through the rest of them, pulling out one beautiful garment after another. Normally, I know what I want but everything was so alluring, for the first time I was indecisive."

"How do you feel about jumpsuits?"

"Uncomfortable." I blurted.

She let out a laugh and said dresses it was, after trying on three we settled on a flowy, powder blue gown. It fit me like a glove, she just had to make a little adjustment in the bodice of it with a safety pin. She said that it looked lovely on me, and I did agree, I felt like a princess, even if my hair was in a ponytail that was on the verge of coming undone and had huge bags under my eyes.

She led me straight to the makeup and hairstylist, they chalked down a look for me. And I was done, they told me I had to get here at 6am tomorrow morning. I was shocked because the festival only really commenced by 11am, they let out a hearty laugh. I was confused at first but thanked them anyway and continued back to my room.

I was starving! I needed to grab a bite, but first I wanted to freshen up. To my pleasant surprise, a giant bouquet of flowers waited for me at the room, I found a little envelope addressed to me. I opened it to find a little card that had something written in such delicate cursive.

Bienvenue à Cannes !

It was from Mister Barnville, I texted him a thank you for the flowers and said that I was looking forward to meeting him.