In the thrilling virtual reality fighting game known as "The Mask That Always Smiles," there was a legendary fighter named Kai Uzros. Renowned for his extraordinary skills and unorthodox fighting techniques, Kai captivated the attention of both players and spectators.
In "The Mask That Always Smiles," a VR fighting game that attracted many people from eBunnee, viewers gathered to watch numerous fights. The primary reason for their attendance was to witness Xinx destroy EVERYBODY. Kai Uzros was one of the very few who successfully landed a hit on Xinx. This achievement caught the eye of Eliza.
Eliza was known as an exceptional hype girl within the game.
Eliza and Kai formed a formidable duo. Together, they were set to make some serious waves.
(•ω•)
At the entrance of 'Estresey Academy,' there was a grand indoor archway through which one walked. The archway was adorned with paintings of the most successful people who had previously attended this prestigious academy and become big stars in the eBunnee sphere. Above the archway was a large monitor displaying the latest happenings on eBunnee.
Often, I found myself wanting to sit on the grass and watch the monitor without even bothering to enter the school.
As the four of them made their way, the Wally chat continued.
Eliza announced, "Tomorrow, we'll pat him twice on the head to make up for it."
Kai shook his head, cautioning, "No, it's bad luck to pat him twice."
Eliza pondered for a moment before suggesting, "What about three times, then?"
"That's fine; he loses count after two."
"A wise dog, indeed," Eliza remarked with a smile.
It seemed the creatures of the dark side had been unleashed to punish us because we were not blessed today by Wally, as Lillian stepped on a sticky patch of bubble gum, narrowly avoiding a trip as it momentarily tugged at her boots. "People still buy this stuff? Supposedly, some things never change."
"Oh, bad luck already!" exclaimed Eliza. "The creatures of the dark side have sent their wreath!"
"Tell them, 'Thanks for the flowers. I didn't know it was Valentine's Day,'" Lillian quipped, chuckling to herself.
"Derp, sorry, I meant wrath," Eliza corrected herself and continued, "By the way, that drunk guy has over 500k followers on eBunnee."
The three of them, Kai, Larry, and Lillian, said in succession, "How? What?!! Huh?"
"I don't believe it. Do they think he's somebody else? He must be related to someone famous. I absolutely don't believe anyone would follow him or his 'pee' trail," Lillian said.
Eliza held up her phone and announced, "Go look for yourself."
"People just like listening to his drivel, it seems. The incident that happened today just made him twice as popular. His views and followers shot up like crazy in the last hour!"
"Okay, I just thought about him peeing in his shorts. Maybe it symbolises something bigger. Like when people see a profound message in their cup of coffee," stated Kai.
"That comment was just... unnecessary, Kai," Eliza commented as she went back to reading. "His profile pictures are very old pictures of him from over 20 years ago, but he's still wearing the nasty denim and those hideous pink shorts," she continued. "His online alias is 'Lucid Chaos.'"
"At least he changed his T-shirt since then," remarked Lillian, with a mix of disgust and laughter.
As we walked through the archway, there was always a painting of Kassy staring at me, brightening my mood. She looked somewhat ordinary in the painting, portraying her during her student days with a facial expression and eyes that seemed to say, "I know something you don't know," exuding a strong sense of pride. The paintings successfully achieved their intended effect, creating a long archway of successful individuals who had attended Estresey. It truly made you feel like you could achieve anything... anything, just like these people could and did.
Kai threw out the burning question on his mind: "Is 'Lucid Chaos' an oxymoron?"
"Yes, he is, Kai-kins."
"Is 'Lucid Chaos' a moron... I mean, an oxymoron? The two words, not the person, contradict each other, so they sound ridiculous, don't you think, Eliza-kinny-kin-kins?"
"I think the name is just to try to make him sound 'edgy' and 'cool,'" replied Eliza, unable to say much more due to laughter. "500k, maybe we should collaborate with him!! Or not, ha-ha! OMG. I bet you'll love it," she said, not really directing her speech at anyone.
Larisa spoke up, holding a phone, and said, "Kinda, but I would rather work with Lillian and you two."
Kai and Eliza exchanged puzzled glances.
Larisa held up her phone and commented, "Just found him! The comments are quite unusual."
"I don't want to see the comments! Wait, Larisa's a ghost and has a phone?! Why did nobody tell me?!" exclaimed Lillian.
"Well, you NEVER shut up to let us tell you anything," Lillian retorted.
"So she possesses the power to actually hold things?" Eliza asked, tilting her head curiously.
"As well as many other things," Larisa replied.
Eliza gave her a suspicious look before saying, "Okay, we..."
Before she could say anything else, Larisa had a lot of things boiling up inside that she needed to say: "I've been a wandering, lost soul for so long." She paused. "I had a big speech ready in my head. But the truth is, I just want to be really, really famous on eBunnee like you guys, teehee~!"
Eliza and Kai did not look shocked or surprised by what she had just said.
"She is a ghost, and when we record her, nobody can see her on the live stream," stated Lillian.
"We'll work something out. We're recording the ghost cat again later tonight. Our fans have been asking for more of it, so we can see if we can do something with Lillian afterward. With the amount of talent out there, it's quite hard to get noticed these days," Eliza elaborated.
A tall lady strode forward, her booming voice emanating from ahead as she confidently held up her phone, live-streaming everything. She walked confidently towards us, wearing a striped silk shirt paired with a black mini skirt and sleek leather pumps. Completing her look were a chain-mail shoulder bag and delicate cultured pearl drop earrings. Her big brunette locks were artfully styled in an upswept half-updo with an ambiguous shade of emerald green and hints of icy blue. As she got closer, her true eye colour revealed itself as a captivating blue, exuding a slight sense of vacancy.
At least it was something pleasing to the eyes, quite the contrast from what we had seen earlier that day.
"Good morning, StarrGazers! I am so happy to speak to all of you again! Welcome back to another exciting stream! Today, we will explore all the beauties of 'Estresey Academy.' You are all going to see what a day in the starrs is like as we encounter some great people who live among... me."
She pointed the camera at the paintings and continued, "We see great writers such as Dane Floyd, who has written a book and stuff. And now, oops!" She accidentally bumped into Lillian, who inquired, "Why are you stargazing so early in the morning?"
The girl pulled a disgusted face and replied, "You won't get anywhere looking like that. You need to beautify yourself. Begone!" With a confident gesture, she donned her shades and strode away.
"Wow, Lillian, just wow," Eliza exclaimed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You've managed to make quite the impression on one of the most influential fashion icons in the entire world! That could not have gone any better!" She clapped her hands patronisingly before rummaging through her backpack, desperately searching for something. She pulled out a banner with Lillian's portrait on it and began waving it enthusiastically while cheering, "Go, Lillian! Lillian! Lilly! Yay!"
To deny her the satisfaction of thinking she had embarrassed me, Lillian grabbed the banner and kissed the portrait of her own face repeatedly, leaving a series of smudged marks. A peculiar aftertaste lingered in my mouth, reminiscent of someone's roast dinner.
"You are really giving yourself lip service," Eliza observed astutely.
"I don't think that's what those words mean, Eliza-lings," Kai said.
Had she been using this banner of me as a table mat or something? I resisted showing that I had any unpleasant taste lingering in my mouth and spoke up, "Who even is she? I've never seen her before in my life!"
"You can NOT be serious!" both Kai and Eliza exclaimed, their faces filled with shock.
"She has been going to our school for the last five years," Eliza replied.
"What? No way!"
Kai filled her in: "That was Ashlyn Starr! With a devoted fan base, she calls them 'StarrGazers.' She is the epitome of a fashion icon, widely recognised and revered throughout the entire country! Leading fashion brands, gaming companies, and book publishers eagerly seek her endorsement to skyrocket their products' popularity. Her touch has the Midas effect, turning everything she interacts with into an instant sensation. The moment she is seen wearing a new outfit, it sells out in mere minutes."
"So, anything she wears sells out? What about a pink bunny onesie?" asked Lillian with a slight smirk.
"Don't talk about her that way!" Eliza said, getting a bit aggravated.
"She might just..." Before Lillian could finish her sentence, Eliza interrupted her, saying, "Yak, yak, yak!"
"I mean..." Lillian tried to continue, but Eliza kept speaking loudly over her, saying, "YAK, YAK, YAK, TAKY, YAK, YAK, YAK!" even louder this time.
I gave up on talking and saw Ashlyn up ahead, talking to some guy with spiky blonde hair that I couldn't quite make out.
"I'm not listening to it unless you follow me," Ashlyn insisted.
The guy replied, "I do follow you! And I've liked nearly every one of your photos! I've even bought so many products because of you. Look, I even got the new Starr camera you endorsed with the little holographic screen above it." The camera, swiftly removed from the shelf due to causing electrocution, is now a rarity, possessed only by true fans.
He looked up and noticed that Ashlyn wasn't even listening and is just fiddling with her phone. "Okay, here is my new techno piece," he said as some thumping, catchy, rhythmic techno music started to play.
Ashlyn started to get into it, tapping her feet and shaking her head up and down. She realised that Jess could be a big deal one day.
"May I use a photo as the album art?" he asked.
Confused, Ashlyn responded, "But I had no involvement in the creation of the music."
"It doesn't matter," he replied dismissively.
"Okay, then, sure! Let me just pose real quick." She took off her shades and continued, "And remember to tell everybody I helped you before you became a big 'starr,' Starrling."
"My name is Jess."
Ashlyn didn't acknowledge him saying her name and just looked at the holographic screen as Jess took a photo and yelled, "Did you really have to zoom in on my nose? Hold it correctly!"
"I'm just feeling nervous. Honestly, you look good from any angle."
"Please calm yourself."