Owl City's « Bombshell Blonde » today! I wanted something punchier to write for once.

Yang was nervous, as she always was when she had to meet someone for a possible contract. Add to it that she was a bit short lately and that she was meeting a renowned author, and you had a perfect cocktail of stress, ready to explode at any second. And as she always did when she was nervous, she had put on her headphones, volume max, and had started painting again. Adding a little bit of red here and there, she thought about her sister who never understood how doing her work could relax her, nor how she could paint without pre-sketching.

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise sounded, and she jumped – almost leaving an unwanted trail of blood red on her canvas – before putting down everything and running to the door. The author she was meeting was quite secretive, writing under the pen name of Kendall Alban Ebo and pretty much never showing his face anywhere, and so she had no idea who she was going to meet. Meeting him was enough of a luck to her, having the chance to speak with him about a visual adaptation of his work was beyond imagination. And yet, here she was answering the interphone.

"Am I ringing at Yang Xiao Long's artist studio?" a metallic voice asked, the interphone preventing her from identifying it furthermore

"Yes, I presume that you are Kendall?"

"You presume right"

"I'll open the door, I'm on the fourth floor, number fourteen."

She pushed the button that would temporarily open the residence's door, before realizing that instead of just staring at the door like she was, she should clean up her mess a little. And that's how she realized how much of a mess was her 'artist studio' and secondarily place of living, abruptly starting to order up about everything she could get her hands on. The only thing she left untouched was her current project, with the brushes dipped in weird colored water and a slight touch of paint on her palette. When she finally thought that her place was at least somewhat presentable, she heard a knock on the door and hurried herself to open it.

And she was surprised with the sight of a fair skinned tall woman with amber eyes and black hair. Somehow, Yang had supposed the 'Kendall' was an old man. How stupid of her.

"Come in, make yourself home!" she said happily, not letting her surprise overpower her. "Can I get you something?"

"Tea could be perfect, thanks" the author said with a calm, almost shy voice while her eyes trailed on everything in the room.

Yang went to grab some tea, suddenly glad that her sister's friend had left a box of it around yesterday, apparently because it was 'good for your nerves'… To Yang, the only valid drink when you had trouble with your nerves was coffee, but still it proved itself to be handy. She put some water in the boiler, waiting what seemed to her an infinite time, before finally bringing back the tea in mug… since she hadn't found any cup. Since she didn't own any cup.

She found Kendall staring at the many paintings she had done and that hadn't been sold, visibly thinking.

"Here's your tea! Sorry for the presentation, I'm not really used to drink in cups"

"Don't worry about it, it's perfectly fine to me" the author drank a bit, before turning to her. "Your work is indeed vivid and pretty impressive, I do not regret meeting you in person."

"Heh, thanks. I prefer showing my work in real life, since a photograph always seem to lose a bit of the emotions" the blondie said, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "So… about the contract we're discussing, we could make an essay right now, see if I'm living up to your expectations?"

"That would be perfect. How do we start?" She asked, seeming genuinely surprised by the proposal

Yang put her current canvas on the side, only to place a new, blank one on the easel.

They spent the next hour discussing colors and forms, having settled on trying a painting of the main character. And Yang ended up having perhaps the most fun of her life painting. Kendall was inputting some ideas here and there, without truly interfering with her very own style, and she found it refreshing to have another point of view during the actual art-making. And then, as the first try was very conclusive, she ended up switching support and passing on paper to execute a detailed story board page.

About two long hours of discussion, trial and mostly art, they eventually had to part ways as Kendall had to attend a staff reunion in less than 30 minutes. Accompanying her all the way to the entrance of the building, Yang felt a real interest in her very graphic, almost photographic vison of the worlds she was writing. It was almost as if she discovered that beyond the books, a full coherent universe developed, and she knew she would love to work on it.

"Thanks for pandering to my demands, and for receiving me. You truly have a vision, and I'll have to negotiate with the whole right department, but I'll do what I can to engage you as official illustrator." The raven-haired woman said with a smile, before adding. "Honestly, I'm not even supposed to be there, since there's a bunch of lawyer wanting nothing but to have control on everything concerning my author's rights… But I'm glad I came."

"Well, I'm glad you came too! With a little luck I'll work with you again, Kendall. I look forward to it"

"Blake."

"Sorry?"

"That whole Kendall Alban thing is just a pen name, a mere anagram. My real name is Blake Belladonna" the raven-haired said with a light smile

"Then I'll look forward to work with you, Blake."

Done! Yeah, you say me color and I think painter. No idea why my brain is that far-fetched.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to writing some more… See you tomorrow !