Chapter 6 - Cruel Reality

"I-is this the place? No t-this can't be... There must be some kind of mistake!" My legs trembled at the situation I was facing.

I was in a small suburban area outside the city. In this place, most of the houses were abandoned, and the few that weren't were in extremely poor condition.

It was ironic because right across, far in the distance, the magnificent Star City could be seen with its beautiful skyscrapers. The contrast was simply devastating: a prosperous, radiant city next to a decaying neighborhood.

Putting that aside, I couldn't stop scratching my face. My gaze kept shifting between the piece of paper Katrina had given me and the small building in front of me.

It was a three-story brick building. Its facade was deteriorated, the windows broken, and the front door boarded up with wooden planks. The grass surrounding it was completely overgrown, making it look even more forsaken.

"Was it possible that Katrina had given me the wrong address?" I murmured. All those doubts echoing in my head made me uncertain. I wanted to leave that place since it was 5:00 p.m., and I didn't want to risk wandering around in such an area after it got dark. Plus, the curfew would begin in just three hours.

However, one thought crossed my mind: But this is Katrina Erlenbaugh we're talking about. She couldn't possibly have made a mistake like this!

"Urgh... Come on, Mila! Just take a quick look. Let's go!" I slapped my face in order to give myself some courage.

Alright, it's decided! I would go in quickly, and if there was nothing, I'd leave. Besides, I had nothing to lose. I thought of Katrina and how much I wanted to talk to her alone. I was dying to! In fact, anyone would want to be in my position.

She had told me herself, hadn't she? 'Let's talk privately in a secluded place,' that's what she said. I wondered what she wanted to talk about. Maybe something like, 'Mila, the truth is, I've been in love with you since the first day I saw you. Marry me!'

'Ka-Katrina, I… I like you too…'

"Kyaaa!" As I recreated that possible conversation in my head, I felt a strange presence. Someone was watching me. I looked around, but it was empty.

"Crack." A sound came from the building.

"Huh? Who's there? K-katrina, is that you?"

My eyes scanned the building for the source of the noise. And then...

At one of the windows, I saw someone. more specifically, a girl—she was wearing a white shirt, a black long skirt, and had short dark hair. Although I couldn't see her face clearly, I could tell by her silhouette, it was definetly Katrina Erlenbaugh.

"K-Katrina..." I waved at her, but to my surprise, Katrina didn't respond. She simply took a few steps back and disappeared into the darkness. I froze in place, my hand still raised. Hm? Could it be that she didn't see me?

"Oh, I get it!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together. "What Katrina meant was that I should go inside, right? Alright, here I come, Katrina!"

"Uooooo!" I ran toward the entrance, and the only thing in my way were the wooden planks covering the front door. "Whrahh!" With one kick, I knocked them down.

Once inside, I glanced around the area, and to my surprise, the inside of the building wasn't deteriorated at all. The furniture and other belongings were wrapped in plastic.

I walked through the entire house but didn't see anyone. Could it be that I imagined it? Damn, I needed to stop thinking so much about Katrina, or I wouldn't be able to distinguish reality from fantasy, hehe.

As I debated what to do, I decided to give up since it was starting to get dark. However, I promised to treasure this piece of paper with my life. "This is my new treasure!" I exclaimed, holding it up.

However, at that moment, the paper began to glow. Its light was so intense that it started to burn my hand. 'Ouch!' I immediately let go, but to my surprise, the paper didn't fall. It kept floating.

'This is sorcery!' I shouted, astonished. But...

Quickly, the paper rushed toward the first floor.

"H-hey, wait!"

Finally, it landed on one of the walls of the house, and Everything began to shine with an intense golden light, blinding my vision complitely.

"W-what was that?" I exclaimed, still in shock. But the surprises weren't over yet.

In front of me, the wall had disappeared. In its place, there was a long, clean white hallway. Its walls and tiles had a shiny futuristic design. On both sides of the corridor, there were TVs, tables, and small decorative plants. It looked like some sort of laboratory.

I stood there, stunned, as I felt the light, cool breeze of air conditioning. I swallowed hard while a smile of excitement appeared on my face. Without hesitation, I entered the hallway.

When I stepped inside, I noticed that the TVs were showing different battles of the Trio Encanto. That's when I understood why Katrina had given me the paper small piece of paper.

"This is a secret base of the Trio Encanto!" I murmured.

My mind began to create fantasies about Katrina and me once again. Today, without a doubt, we would talk in private. My heart was pounding wildly. Until...

"Dashi, Dashi, help me~!"

"Could you keep it down? I can't concentrate."

Two voices could be heard from the end of the hallway. It seemed like two people were having a conversation.

"K-Katrina, hello?"

I swallowed hard as I approached cautiously. Finally, I peeked around the end of the hallway.

"Eh? this is..."

A large room opened before me. Like the hallway, everything was white, walls, furniture, tables, and tiles. At the far end, there was a giant TV, and two people were sitting while talking.

'Dasha Vienna and Leandra Oikonomou... It's them!'

That's when I knew this was truly a secret base. My excitement was such that I almost screamed, but I held it in with all my strength.

'Huh? Wait a moment?' I thought as I hid. Katrina invited me, so it should be fine if they know I'm here, right?

I mustered up some courage, and with a slightly trembling voice, I spoke: "U-Um Hi?…"

But before I could finish, Leandra and Dasha kept talking, completely ignoring me. Hearing them, I instinctively hid behind the hallway again.

"Dashi, Dashi, this is horrible! The smell won't go away! What am I going to do? What am I going to do?!" Leandra exclaimed, agitated.

"Leandra, calm down." "Don't exaggerate. It's not that serious," Dasha replied.

Leandra, holding a bottle of disinfectant spray, moved closer to Dasha Vienna's legs, who was calmly reading a book.

Don't tell me…? No, there's no way they have that kind of relationship... My face turned bright red, and my heart began to race uncontrollably. I've read fanfictions with Leandra and Dasha like this before! Don't tell me it's going to become canon? No, no! Calm down, Mila! Now is not the time to think about things like that.

"Dashi, help me!" Leandra cried. "Because of that disgusting girl, the bad smell won't go away!" she exclaimed in a disdainful tone. "I had to return her to her parents, and since then, the bad smell won't go away. Ugh! That brat smelled like yogurt!"

"Leandra, don't exaggerate..."

Huh? Are they talking about that girl? The girl from yesterday? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They're saying horrible things about an innocent girl! No, it must be a mistake! Maybe I misheard, right? Yes, that has to be it...

But Leandra continued "Ugh! But the worst part isn't that, Dashi! Do you remember that girl? The one with the red hat? The one that looked like a gorilla... She also dared to touch me! She ruined my beautiful shirt, can you believe it? That shirt was so expensive, Dashi!"

"!!!" My lips started to dry. This must be a bad dream. Yes, a nightmare!

"Certainly, that girl gave me a bad vibe, especially those yellow eyes of hers," Dasha Vienna calmly agreed.

"Right? You get me, Dashy~!"

"H-hey, stop it, Leandra!"

Leandra clung to Dasha Vienna's legs, crying tears that were obviously fake.

I didn't know what to think. On the one hand, I thought, Well, they're human; everyone has flaws. But on the other… At what point does something stop being just a flaw and become something else…?

However, the surprises weren't over.

"By the way, Leandra, did you manage to deal with that guy? You know, the singer."

"Huh?" Leandra's expression changed slightly; she lifted her gaze to look Dasha straight in the eyes, and a mischievous smile replaced her staged cries. "Oh, you mean that guy? Yeah! I had him charged with organized crime. Ha! That simpleton thought he had a chance as an artist."

What? That guy? Are they talking about the one from the news? That artist…?

I covered my mouth with my hands, stunned. Despite the cold air from the air conditioner, sweat was running down my forehead.

What I had just heard was, without a doubt, a dark revelation about the people I admired most: the Trio Encanto. Deep down, I wished this was just a bad dream. But unfortunately, what was in front of me was completely real.