Year 2018, Paris, France.
Quinn was happy. Or so was the image she projected of herself. She had a Liberal Arts degree from an Ivy League university, from which she graduated with honors. She had friends. Not good friends, but the kind of friends you call up to go out for drinks every couple of weeks and make small talk. Best of all, she had a boyfriend. Émile Dupont was a picture of perfection; a striking face with sharp features, and a smile that could break any woman's heart. His face isn't what Quinn liked about him, though. She was dating him because he was a safe choice, for her feelings and for the approval of her parents. She knew he wasn't the kind of person she could fall in love with, which meant that no matter how hard he tried, he could never break her heart. Quinn had only felt what that was like once before, and she knew it was something she never wanted to feel again. So for now, with Émile by her side posing as the love of her life, Quinn's heart was safe. Being with Émile also meant that she was supported financially, his father had offered him a position at his company as a market researcher. So, with her degree, her mediocre friends, and her successful boyfriend, Quinn was everything her parents had ever wanted her to be.
Of course, being with Émile also meant that she would have to move to Paris when they both graduated from Yale. Paris was Émile's hometown, and it was over four thousand miles away from Lima, Ohio. That's four thousand miles between Quinn and all of the memories she'd spent years trying to erase. Quinn had no problem with this. The further away from Lima she could get, the better.
Sometimes it was harder than others to banish her old feelings and live this new life. Quinn remembered Rachel every day, even though there were seven years between them now. A lot of the time, her heart ached to hear the sound of Rachel's voice. She often wondered what Rachel would say if Quinn called her now, out of the blue, and tried to rekindle their friendship. But Quinn would never do that. She would never put herself through what she felt that day at the train station again.
I have a good life here. She thought. I am happy. She was on her way back to work now, taking public transit, because she thought owning a car in Paris is virtually pointless. Besides, driving was hard for her after her accident senior year. Her crash had made it almost impossible for Quinn to get behind the wheel of a car without having a panic attack. So, she took the bus.
Quinn had landed herself an internship at The Connexion, an english language newspaper company. She worked in the Arts & Entertainment department, usually running errands for her superiors, like the coffee she was bringing back to her boss right now. On rare occasions, they would throw her a bone and she'd get to cover a story of her own. Nothing big, usually small reviews of albums by no-name local bands. Her boss, Maude Plaisance, was the editor for the Arts & Entertainment section. Maude was the kind of person who could only be described as intense. Most of the employees at The Connexion were terrified of her, but, for some reason, she'd taken a liking to Quinn.
"Morning, Mrs. Plaisance!" Quinn said cheerfully as she entered Maude's office and placed a large coffee on her desk.
"Miss Fabray..." Maude said without looking up from the page she was reading. It was an article someone had written, and Quinn could see dozens of red corrections marking the page. Won't settle for anything less than perfection.Quinn thought to herself. Maude's office was filled with stacks of papers and books. A plaque on the wall commemorated one of her career's many achievements. This woman was the definition of success, and she was everything Quinn one day hoped to be. Quinn stood waiting for Maude to look up from her work and finish what she was saying.
"Miss Fabray, I need you to do a small job for me next week." Quinn smiled excitedly. She loved writing and taking photos for the paper. Her mind started flipping through all the possibilities of what this job could be. Another album review maybe, or an art exhibit exposé.
"One of our writers informed me this morning that he has taken a job at another company, the traitor... So, I am asking you to complete one of his assignments. I haven't decided which one yet, but I'll let you know once I get the chance to arrange things. Are you prepared to take on such a task, Miss Fabray?"
"Of course I am, Mrs. Plaisance, I am so grateful you're giving me this chance!" Quinn beamed. She was started to get very excited. This wasn't just a little job from the leftover pile, this was a real story. Her mind wandered over all the possibilities. Rachel would be so proud of me.Quinn thought. She often thought similar things, whether or not Rachel would like a song Quinn heard on the radio, or if she would approve of an outfit she chose, or if she would be impressed with a meal she cooked. Often when they came up, she banished them immediately from her head, not wanting to linger on sad thoughts of her past, and what could have been. But now, she let herself remember. She thought she'd earned that much... A real story! She could barely contain her excitement.
"Thank you, Mrs. Plaisance, I promise I won't let you down." Quinn said as she turned to leave Maude's office.
"Oh, and, Miss Fabray..." Maude started with a smirk. "You do realize, I hope, that Bertrand resigning means there's an opening for a writing position..." Quinn's heart stopped. "... Let's just say, if you manage to impress me with this story, I might be willing to consider keeping you on the job permanently."
Quinn could hardly believe what she was hearing. A permanent writing position at The Connexion. She was definitely going to be celebrating tonight.
"You can leave now, Miss Fabray." Said Maude teasingly.
"Oh... Of course, Thank you Maude... I mean, Mrs. Plaisance. Thank you." Quinn stuttered, and fumbled her way out of the room. She could hear Maude laughing quietly behind her as she left.
For the next few days, Quinn waited patiently for Maude to give her the assignment. She was starting to feel like Maude was purposefully stalling as long as possible to stretch out Quinn's anticipation. She had given up hope for the day, and was starting to pack up her things to leave when Maude peeked her head out of the door of her office.
"Miss Fabray, please see me in my office before you leave today." She said, before she ducked her head back in and out of sight. Quinn smiled and pulled out her phone to text Émile and tell him she might be a bit late for their dinner date. He had told her he had big news for her. After she sent her text, she collected her things, and speed walked to Maude's office.
Maude was sitting at her desk, surrounded by newspaper clippings and sheets of paper as usual. It took her a moment to look up from her work and acknowledge Quinn's presence. When she did, she smiled, and motioned for Quinn to have a seat in the chair opposite her desk. Quinn did as told, her anticipation doing flips in her stomach.
"So, Miss Fabray. I'm sure you've noticed I've been keeping you waiting on this assignment. I've been trying to decide if you are, in fact, ready for such a task... Lucky for you, I've come to the decision that you are. So, here's your assignment... Write this down."
Quinn scrambled to grab a pen from her bag and her notepad. She flipped to the first empty page and scribbled the date. Then she looked up and waited for the news that would make her year.
"Next friday, you are going to go to The Châtelet and attend the Paris opening of the Broadway musical, The Last Dance. You are going to sit through the performance and write down everything that crosses your mind about the show. I specifically want you to interview the two leads... They've built up quite the buzz around their off-set romance and I want to cash in on that. After the show, you are going to go home and write a two page review, which you will hand in to me by noon on Monday at the latest." Maude paused to let the news sink in. Quinn was in shock. She was going to review a Broadway musical. She couldn't believe it.
"Here I have a folder containing a poster advertising the show, pages with stats on how the play did in New York, a playbill from the show, and an article we published previously about how thrilled the public was to see this musical come to Paris. It also contains an all-access backstage press pass. This folder is your child. If you're smart, you can turn this into a great project..." Maude handed the folder to Quinn. On the front of the folder was a label that said Quinn Fabray's Big Break. That's exactly what this was, and Quinn knew it.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Plaisance. I never imagined this kind of opportunity would come my way... Thank you. I won't fail you." Quinn said enthusiastically. Maude looked pleased at this.
"You'd better not," She warned. "Or it'll cost you. Now get out of here, I have work to do."