Vanille was a woman of simple tastes, and she didn't need a lot to be happy.

She shared her artist's loft in the creative neighborhood of Pilsen with three other girls, although it was only meant for one. As a full-time student at the American Academy of Art and a sales associate at Forever 21, she had a full plate most of the week. Even so, she enjoyed every part of her life, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

This was Vanille's first semester in school, and she loved all of her classes except Seminar; actually, no one liked Seminar because it was tedious and boring, As a matter of fact, Vanille and her friends were convinced that even the professors who taught Seminar hated teaching it, and that's why they were so dreadful most of the time.

Vanille doodled in her sketchbook during class. Today, she was working on a drawing of a fairy flying amongst the clouds. Vanille's drawings were almost always either mythical or plant-based in some way; her drawing of a speeding unicorn was pretty popular amongst the freshman student body. By the time class was over, she'd almost finished; she just needed to touch up some details on the stars and clouds, which she'd get around to when she got home.

Since she didn't have to work tonight, when school was over Vanille walked to Panera with her friends/roommates Dani, Arianna, and Gabriela. Out of the four, Gabriela was the only one who was a Chicago native; Dani came from Fresno, and Arianna was an Italian immigrant. And then there was Vanille, arriving in the Second City from a small Australian town.

"Somehow, today's Seminar seemed like it was going to go on until I turned thirty," lamented Vanille. "I tried to pay attention, but… ugh! Professor Nabaat is just dreary."

"I'll say," agreed Dani. "I tried to get a seat by you, Vanille, but by the time I got to class, this guy had taken my usual seat. Now I know to get there early."

"I'm sure she's not as bad as Professor Raines," Arianna said. "Sometimes he acts like he has multiple personalities. It's scary."

Vanille laughed, stirring her soup. "Well, let's look on the bright side, girls," she said, gently blowing the contents of her spoon. "The semester will be over really soon, and we'll have all new classes. All better classes, too, I hope!"

The other three girls nodded in agreement.

"I have more good news," added Arianna. "My dad knows a guy who owns an art studio in Elmwood Park, and he says we're welcome to have an art show there if we have enough pieces that we want to sell."

"Oh, that's convenient," Gabriela said. "My mom knows a guy who has contacts with this really good catering company, so we can call them to have refreshments at the show."

"This is so exciting!" Vanille squeaked, clapping. "I can't wait!"

Vanille finished her drawing of the fairy, and rounded up five pictures of flowers, one of a grassy plain, one of a tree, and four more of mythical creatures, including the popular unicorn one. She had eleven pictures to sell. For the next two weeks, she put in overtime at work so she could afford the nicest quality frames available for her art. By the time the show rolled around, she felt she was ready for action.

"Vanille, aren't you going to sell your drawing you did for our Life Drawing class?" asked Gabriela. "The one of the lady praying?"

She shook her head. "I donated it to one of the churches by our house. They really loved it, and they'd like to commission me for another if I can find the time."

As the show got underway, many strange people would come up to Vanille and ask her various questions about her drawings. That didn't bother her; she had always been a people person. What did bother her, however, is that for all of the questions these people were asking, they could at least make an offer for one of the drawings they asked about.

Her prayers were answered when a couple approached her section. "Look at this, honey," the man, a sandy blond with glasses wearing a suit, said. "This is just the right size to hang in our living room!"

His wife, a petite blonde wearing a cream sweater, shook her head. "I like this one more," she said, pointing to the drawing of the tree. "Oh, and this one!" she added, pointing to the fairy.

"Those are both too small, Nora," the man disagreed.

"Maybe we can get a different one for our living room," the woman, Nora, pressed her husband. "This fairy drawing fits perfectly with the design I have planned for my powder room."

Deciding to take her chances, Vanille approached the couple. "Hello there," she said. "Perhaps I can be of service? I'm the one who drew all of these."

Nora gave her a warm smile. "My husband and I have just moved home, and we'd like some quality art to decorate. I've fallen in love with this fairy you have here. Since this is an eleven-by-seventeen, would you accept an even hundred for it?"

"An even hundred?" her husband protested.

"It says here it was drawn with Australian charcoal, Bartholomew," Nora said. "Imported materials always make it more expensive- you know that."

Vanille giggled internally. She hadn't imported it, but they didn't need to know that. "I accept your offer," she said. "You can either pay in cash, or see the man over there about credit. Oh, and I almost forgot! Here's my card."
That was the one thing Vanille remembered from Seminar. Always give them your card.

"Thank you, dear," Nora said, as she began to walk toward the credit man.

Vanille grinned. Her first sale. Just wait until she told everyone back home about this.


[A/N]: I decided to give you all two chapters to start. Lucky you.
I've always imagined Vanille to be artsy, so I made that the basis of her story. Artists from all around the world shack up in Pilsen when they move to Chicago; if I had to guess why, it's probably because of the cheap rent. Cheap as Chicago goes, anyway.
I made Vanille work at Forever 21 because a lot of the girls who work there have high-pitched voices like she does. I swear once I heard a girl who worked at Forever 21 who almost sounded exactly like her.
The American Academy of Art exists, and there really is a Panera within walking distance. There is a Seminar class taught there (I'm pretty sure) and though I've never been, I'm sure it's just as dreadful as my Seminar class was when I was in college. There's an actual Life Drawing class too.
As for the names of Vanille's roommates, Dani is a play on "Dani California" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (if you recall, it's stated she's from Fresno) Arianna is derived from Ariana Grande, and I got the name Gabriela from Days of our Lives.
Elmwood Park is a suburb of Chicago, with a very large Italian population. The "knows a guy" thing is also a Chicago reference; in Chicago, everybody knows a guy.
I made Hope's parents show up at the art show because you cannot walk through their house and tell me they are not the type of people who would go art shopping.

P.S. I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I'll give you this piece of info: Snow is up next.