"I don't have a dog! That's... that's just some of my fans in the background, waiting to meet me," Ashlyn explained. "No, I don't think pepper spray is needed." With a flick of irritation, she shook her head and clenched her teeth, directing her annoyed gaze at the two of us. "No sponsor related to dogs..." A momentary pause. "What?! A complimentary dog? Count me in, then! "Pray, do elucidate why I was not made aware sooner. I'd happily eat all the doggy treats in the world if you got me a dog! You, my Starrling, are the best."
Ashlyn finally put down the phone and gave us both a big "Blarghh!" Then she changed her tone and said, "Oh my gosh, I absolutely LOVE you two! You two are true gifts! I'm getting an amazing new companion to protect me now because of you two."
Feeling a mixture of pride and confusion, Eliza replied, "Why, what, and how did we help? You are quite welcome, Miss Starr; bestie forever!"
"'Cause... they thought I sounded sad for not having a dog. So, thanks to both of you, my manager is arranging for me to get a new furry companion."
"You're very welcome, bestie-bae!" Eliza said with a hint of a smile. Her expression quickly shifted to one of irritation as she turned to face me. "Lillian, could you please check your phone one last time? I've been asking you repeatedly now!"
I raised my hands, palms up, and shrugged my shoulders to show my full stupor. With a sense of irony, I mock-patted the side of my pockets—or the towel—and exclaimed, "Look at me! Where in the heck do you think I could possibly be hiding a phone? I'm standing here in nothing but a towel, and I urgently need to get home and get dressed."
Eliza studied me, then started circling around me, but I quickly pivoted, mirroring her moves so she couldn't catch a glimpse of me from behind.
Anxiously, I muttered, "I didn't actually intend for you to look at me! It was merely a figure of speech!"
I devised a brilliant plan to evade the clutches of those two and finally enter my house to get dressed! My home was a few yards away, teasing me while these two devilish girls tried to stop me. I felt like a modern-day Einstein for concocting this idea on my own. "Alright! My phone is inside. Let me make my way in and retrieve it."
I saw annoyance fill Eliza's face, as if she were disappointed that she hadn't gotten to see me check my phone, like a person playing a practical joke, but the recipient of the joke wasn't reacting. She sighed. "Fine, just hurry up, or we'll be late to our destination."
"You seem to be in quite a rush... like, really," I thought to myself, glancing at Ashlyn, who was back to tapping on her phone, not paying any attention to us or anything happening around her.
Who is this Ashlyn girl? She has seamlessly superimposed herself into my life out of nowhere. Everybody seemed to know her, but before today, I had never even heard of her. How can someone so prominent have been so invisible to me? It's not like I want to get to know her; in fact, I can't stand her!
Is she really friends with Eliza? She isn't even talking to her. She only loves herself and her phone. That arrogant girl is trying to mock me for wearing this towel, pretending it's some sort of fashionable outfit. It shows she knows absolutely nothing. Anything associated with her name becomes an instant success! Yeah, right. Let's see her try to make wearing a bin-liner or a cereal box a success, then. The thought of Ashlyn wearing a cardboard cereal box makes me laugh uncontrollably. If this cereal comes with a free gift inside, I certainly don't want it if the free gift is Ashlyn.
Eliza furrowed her brow curiously and asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Inadvertently, I blurted out, "I was just thinking about Ashlyn wearing nothing but a cereal box." Oh no, I'd just said that out loud. Where was a hole I could hide in? Quickly!
Eliza raised an eyebrow and remarked, "That's... that's certainly odd." There was a moment of awkward silence, and then she continued, "I can't believe I was actually thinking the exact same thing."
I started to walk backward towards my house, with Eliza giving me a deadpan look without blinking or breaking her focus on me at all. I turned the door handle from behind and quickly shut the door. Luckily, or unluckily, the door was unlocked, which meant burglars or weirdos could have entered my house while I was out. I was lucky because now I could finally get dressed. I heard some beeping from my phone and just ignored it.
Entering my room, I contemplated which outfit to wear. First, I inspected the walls, through which Larisa had pushed me through. To my relief, there was no damage at all; the paint remained intact. But where on earth was she? I couldn't sense her presence at all. I was still furious with her and didn't want to see her face right now! Not after the nightmare she put me through just moments ago! She had simply vanished into thin air and left me in an awkward situation.
I put on a standard sleeveless classic T-shirt and some denim jeans. I didn't feel like putting any effort into this, and Eliza and Ashlyn were waiting for me anyway.
After finally getting dressed, I heard consistent beeping sounds from my phone, indicating notifications. "Alright, alright!" I shouted, "Enough!" I opened my eBunnee account and prepared for the worst: hate coming in 3, 2, 1.
The first thing I saw was that my follower count had shot up from 20k to 50k. It must have been a glitch! I refreshed the page and saw there wasn't a glitch. As I scrolled through my feed, comments began pouring in, filling the screen at a lightning pace—too rapid for me to even read. The anticipation of negativity turned into surprise:
Griffoot: omg i never knew Lilly had a figure so good!
PhozenWish: where did u buy it? i want it
Ticko111: this outfit make her lips look so perky n cute. i hope it makes my lips look good too :/
Crawfish33: they sold out. i got the last fox towel. now i can look at good as Liz
Tarapull: i got different complexion will it look good on me?
EmzluvsStu: just wow!
Legednd: yay., Tara, it will look great on everyone.
AwryBlaze: im a guy and i think it will suit me too
AirLil: f... they sold out everywhere already
AnarchyCyst: yup! for sure dude! i am a guy as well and gonna wear it.
DiagonalFreakX: i will be wearing mine out today. cant wait to show it off.
"I... I can't believe it," I think to myself. They were being genuine and weren't just trying to mock me. Ashlyn actually helped me build up my audience. I feel a mix of emotions, and tears threaten to well up. I was so wrong about her; I must have misjudged Ashlyn.
Wait a minute! How did Eliza know I was popular now on eBunnee? She seemed to know even before she started messing with her phone. It was possible that Ashlyn told her she was going to post a picture of me, and she probably knew it would make me blow up without even having to look. Does Ashlyn help many people like this? I can't be the only one. She appears so self-centred, as if nobody else in the world matters but her.
I don't know how to repay her; she seemed to have everything. I feel like I have nothing to offer someone like that.
The sound of weeping echoed through the air. Did I just hear something?