The idea had been brilliant. Fixing the handles to the column worked like a charm. Ann even managed to position the circular pot-holders in a way that they were completely invisible from the outside. Their thin, golden metal band was truly hidden right inside the wood!
When Ann pulled the handle down to test the setup, the mechanism immediately snapped in place with a satisfying click forcing the holder rings that sat in each opening down on the outer rim of each rubber object and securely fixed them in place. The foam boobies finally stayed where they should.
"Damn, you're a genius, sweetie!" grinned Sue, "This is perfect!"
"Thanks!" beamed Ann, "Do you think anyone will figure out that those breasts are different from what I showed before?"
"Well, only if they look very closely and if they have seen your real ones before."
"Which limits it to the dean, his assistant and bunch of students..."
"Low risk I would say. You just need to take care of the dean. Make sure he only ever sees your real boobs from up close. He would immediately see that something's different. That guy is so in love with your tits!"
"Only the dean...That should actually be manageable if you'll help me."
"Of course I'll help you!" laughed Sue.
"Great! So let's celebrate! I'll invite you to a nice dinner and then we'll hit the bars, what do you think?"
"Sure! But I still need to show my video to the dean first. Want to join?"
Needless to say, Mr. Roberts was totally blown away by Sue's 'hatching' movie. And when Ann assured him that it was indeed her very own breast that spectacularly broke through those shells, the poor man almost fainted. He immediately agreed to show the video at Ann's booth and even told Sue where she could get the necessary equipment.
The two girls partied so hard that night that they needed a full day for their heads to stop buzzing again and so it was evening when they finally met again, both exhausted from the night before.
"Ugh, my head.... What did I drink last night?"
"The same stuff as I did," groaned Sue, "And that guy at the bar... did he ever stop staring at your boobs?"
"Nope, but he paid for every drink!" Ann chuckled, "Anyway, let's get going. We need to get this monster to the exhibition hall. The show starts tomorrow at eight!"
It took them more than an hour to get the column to the place. The hall was busy with people setting up artwork and installations. Ann got assigned to a generous 100 square foot space framed by three black partition walls with bright spotlights illuminating the center.
The column looked absolutely great in there! The lighting really made it shine and her plate with the title 'Breasts of a happy woman' sparkled invitingly.
Sue dashed off to get everything she needed for her video display while Ann looked for a ladder she could use whenever she needed to get into her exhibition piece. She then carefully fixed the pair of plastic breasts on her column and made the clamps close down on them. Taking a few steps back she marvelled at her work.
"Great! Looks like I'm ready to go!" she thought as she scanned the room.
Suddenly, her phone started ringing. She looked at the display. Unknown number. Who could that be?
"Hi, who's there?"
"Ann? It's me, Roberts..."
"Dean? What a nice surprise! Anything I can do for you?"
"You know that the show opens tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes, at eight. I'm setting up my stuff right now."
"Fantastic. Can we meet at 7:30 in that cafe next to the exhibition? I think it's called 'Coffee Heaven' or something. Want to introduce you to a reporter who is writing for the magazine 'The New Artist'. It's the first time for them to visit our exhibition and I would like to make them aware of your spectacular work."
Ann could barely speak. Her tummy was churning, her hands sweating. How the hell was she suppose to react? She stammered, "'Coffee Heaven' you say? S...sure...I'll be there!" and hung up. Fuck! She really needed a plan!
Sue showed up, her arms full of equipment.
"Can you help me, please?" she moaned as she dumped everything on the floor, "I need to fix this reflective screen to that back wall and find a place for the projector. Maybe we can hang it from the ceiling?"
"Sure. Let's ask one of those maintenance guys. Follow me, I need to tell you something."
Ann quickly instructed someone from staff to set up everything for a video art project and then pushed Sue into a quiet spot.
"Listen, I just got a call from the dean..."
"What did he say?"
"He wants to meet me tomorrow 7:30 and introduce me to some journalist writing for 'The New Artist'."
"Wow, that's great!"
"Sue! I'm panicking! This is a freaking disaster! What do you think those guys will do at 8?"
"They'll want to take a good look at your artwork and ask you about your message and.... Oooohhh!"
"Exactly! They will take a real close look and ... will find out I'm a fraud! Those replicas are nice and all but they won't pass the dean's touch-test! He'll know something is wrong!"
"Hmmm... that complicates things indeed. Let me think...."
"I need your help, Sue! When we return from that coffee shop, I need at least a few minutes to get in that column and ..."
"Hah! I know! I'll just rush in there a quarter to 8 and explain them my project, too! I'll keep them occupied for a bit while you sneak into the column. Then, I'll walk them over, show them everything... and for some reason you can't attend. Obviously I have to cover for you and explain everything and promise that you will be available for an in-depth interview later."
"That... actually sounds like it could work! Thanks, Sue, that calms my nerves a bit."