8 Podium

"It's not over yet, Kora! There's always the third place! Imagine how satisfying it would be to receive such an award... the winners of this Grand Gala have the opportunity to see their creations in the windows of the most famous perfumeries in Europe, at no commission cost for six months!" Naseefa said, who had studied the regulation by heart.

Once again, Kora responded with a nod of her head, limiting herself to storing useful information: although she was already resigned not to be on the podium together with the most famous artists present in that room and was already thinking about all the hard work that awaited her in London, in the headquarters of her newly formed company, for some strange reason, the young and beautiful artist felt a fire inside her chest, a little flame of hope that never went out.

Without hoping too much, she silenced Naseefa by touching her arm amicably and inviting her to listen to the words of Lucy Donovan, ready to declare the third and final winner of the contest.

The beautiful presenter further slipped the sheet contained in the winners' envelope and, after clearing her voice silently, preventing the crowd from realizing that she was an avid smoker, she began to speak again. "The first two places on the podium went to a man and a woman playing at home. Both French by birth and fashion experts. But the well-deserved third place goes to..."

*Drum roll from the speakers around the stage*

"Giuseppe Cavanna!"

When the name of the famous Italian designer and perfume maker echoed between the walls of the large ballroom, a massive group of people began to scream as if it was inside a stadium.

"Giuseppe! Giuseppe!"

That name was shouted several times by the stylist's team, who were pushed to one side and the other, receiving friendly slaps on the back of the head and gentle pushes, for fun.

"Hahah! What an energetic team you have, Mr Cavanna! Come on, come on stage with the other winners!" the presenter continued, positioned next to Clyde Richards, who kept clapping and smiling at the audience and cameras, that framed the third winner as he climbed the steps to the stage.

Naseefa turned to her best friend and looked at her with a heartbroken gaze, hugging her.

"Hey! Hahah! Naseefa! What happened? You're more sorry than I am! I told you I wasn't going to win. I was perfectly aware of it! That award is just a formality and..."

As Kora spoke, her assistant looked at her again, interrupting the hug, knowing that she did not think what she had just said.

"Okay, all right! It's not a formality, I know it too! But things happen little by little. Our mere participation will bring us a lot of popularity! There's going to be an event like this in three months, in Sydney, Australia. Something tells me we're going to be invited" she smiled again, starting talking again.

Before Naseefa could answer, Lucy Donovan's ringing voice gained attention again. "Clyde, do you want to hand over the trophies to our three winners?"

The audience continued to clap without ever stopping.

"With great pleasure! Here they are!" Richards replied, taking from the box in the hands of a model who had just taken the stage the three small trophies, with the round base and the rose-like shaped top, whose stem was adorned with leaves and thorns, making it incredibly realistic, even if plated in gold, silver and bronze.

The three designers took their prizes enthusiastically, without even looking at them and, next to each other, made one last bow to the audience, synchronized, as if they had agreed and tried that scene before the official event.

"Yes, Kora... it's like you say. We will work hard, and your brand will be on everyone's mouth!" Naseefa continued, whose response had remained pending, interrupted by the words of the two presenters.

"Well, at least now I can have another glass of that yummy..."

"Hey! Where are you all going?!" Clyde Richards asked aloud, calling to himself all the people who were beginning to move to the drinks table.

"All right, okay... the time has come to reveal this secret to you", the presenter continued, capturing everyone's attention, "for the first time in the history of the Gran Gala de l'Academie Francaise, the winners of the contest will be not only three, but four!"

After that statement, Clyde Richards opened his arms wide, and the people in the audience began to chat in amazement.

"What?! Kora, did you heard that! I can't believe it!" Naseefa gasped, whose gaze brightened up.

"What a strangeness... something like this has never happened!" she replied, whispering and looking around.

"Lucy... do you want to have the honour?" Richards asked, looking at his assistant, standing next to the three winners.

"How can I refuse, Clyde! To all of you in the audience, including you who are following us from home... as you all know, the winners of the Grand Gala receive incredible marketing benefits for six months: the major French fashion companies will take care of distributing their most famous products around Europe without any commission and... who knows, maybe even overseas!" Lucy exclaimed, taking a breath between sentences. "For the first time ever, this privilege will be extended to a fourth person, who will enjoy the same advantages as the artists by my side!"

"Oh, fuck... I can hardly wait! I'm going to explode from anxiety!" Naseefa stammered, with one hand in front of her mouth and one clinging to Kora's dress, decidedly quieter than her assistant.

"Madames et monsieurs, it is with immense pleasure that I award the fourth prize of the Paris Grand Gala to... Kora Night!"

"Aaaagh!" Naseefa screamed with joy, as if she had gone mad, turning to her friend and jumping on her, clutching her in a fraternal hug.

A loud melody was released from the huge speakers around the stage. Thousands of colored paper confetti began to rain from the ceiling, marking the awards ceremony's conclusion.

"Oh my goodness... I won! We won, Naseefa! Hahaha! Whohooo!" Kora added, trying to overpower the volume of music with her voice and clutching her best friend in her arms, having realized after her that that was not a daydream but true, concrete reality.