In the midst of the town of Berghwoodna, Ashlyn walked ahead of us, live-streaming again.
"Do we have to walk all the way there?" I asked Eliza. "It's quite a gruelling journey. It's been a long day already."
Eliza nodded with a determined expression. "Yes, yes! It's super-duper important for all the StarrGazers out there to see her and snap her precious photos. Besides, she's got a new product to promote." She paused for a moment and looked at Larisa. Her expression resembled that of a pug that had just eaten a sour candy, with one side of her face contorted and one eye squinting. Then she said, "I have... a serious question..."
"You do?" I asked.
"... For Larisa..."
Larisa's attention darted away from Ashlyn, who was streaming her live video, towards Eliza with great eagerness and anticipation about what she was going to say or ask. Larisa quipped with a playful grin, "I am all ears... as well as face, mouth, torso, legs, and even..."
I nudged her before she could list any more of her body parts. Even though my hand went through her, it seemed to do the job.
"Serious question," Eliza asked again. "Are you CGI?"
"I don't think so. I feel quite real." Eliza passed her hand through Larisa a few times and started waving as if she were conducting an ensemble of ethereal musicians. She pulled away and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to... I got carried away."
"You have my consent to... touch through me." Larisa chuckled, clearly eager to delve into the topic of CGI. "I read about CGI online... how they superimpose graphics into movies and stuff." Larisa held out her phone and showed her a website with information that read: "The state-of-the-art technology embraced by top movie producers enables the seamless utilisation of CGI to rejuvenate legendary actors, granting them a youthful appearance once more. This advancement empowers filmmakers to portray historical eras with unparalleled authenticity, even when navigating complex timeline shifts. The technology seamlessly integrates a CGI image, skilfully superimposed onto the actor's countenance, resulting in a remarkably lifelike visual experience."
Lillian jumped in and said, "Uh, just one problem: this isn't a movie!"
Neither of the two acknowledged what she had just said.
Larisa went on, "I thought that at one time, maybe Ashlyn's hair might have been CGI."
"I did have my suspicions as well," Eliza said as she caught up with Ashlyn, who was walking far ahead of them, talking to her audience and live-streaming.
"All you lovely StarrGazers, we get to see if any of these great stores have any of my old products in stock. I'll be personally autographing some items for a few lucky buyers. I am absolutely thrilled to have all of you join me on this journey." From behind, Eliza touched the back of her hair. "Hey, hey! Stop it, you stalker!... Oh, it's you, Eliza. Why are you touching my hair, Starrling?"
Lillian looked at Larisa with a disapproving, stern expression.
Larisa shrugged and said, "I was about to tell her that I had already thoroughly inspected Ashlyn's hair and determined its authenticity, but Eliza just didn't let me finish speaking."
"Eliza," Ashlyn inquired, her voice cautious as she paused, mindful of the watching audience and determined to maintain her impeccable reputation, "could you please refrain from touching my hair? I need to focus on my professional stream. Unless you want to be part of it, just calm yourself."
Feeling satisfied, Eliza walked back up to Lillian and said, "Her hair is as real as you and me." She pointed at Larisa and added, "And as real as you."
Larisa said softly, "And as real as I," hoping for agreement.
"Yes, I said that; didn't I?"
Feeling a mix of bitterness and unease with Larisa and Eliza being so friendly with each other, Lillian exclaimed, "You may not be CGI, but you both are complete great idiots!" I took a deep breath before proceeding. "Seriously, you two..."
Eliza didn't like the conversation and interrupted me, saying, "Yak, yak, yak, yak."
"You both rush and do things without..." I tried to continue.
"YAK, YAK, YAK, YAK!" She shouted even louder this time.
As soon as I stopped talking, Eliza let out one last, final "YA...AK!" and began coughing, reminiscent of a dog in the midst of a hearty meal who had caught sight of the delivery person dropping off a package at the door and instinctively started barking, momentarily forgetting its mouth was stuffed with food. The dog tried to chew and bark simultaneously, leading to fits of choking and coughing.
I just stared at her face with an expression that figuratively said, "Are you done?"
Turning her attention to Larisa, she engaged in a lively conversation, complimenting her on the beautifully designed phone. "Your phone is so pretty! Can I have a closer look at it? And you have an eBunnee page! I'm really interested in checking it out."
While this was happening, Ashlyn stood far ahead, doing her own thing, recording graffiti done on the side of a wall with her name misspelt as 'Ashlyn Star'. She was busy giving lessons to her viewers on how to spell her name correctly.
"So, you like the design of my phone?" Larisa asked. "It has little glittering, sparkling particles, just like my skin, and it's silver, just like my hair."
Eliza's jaw dropped all the way down to Australia, her mouth opening wide enough to swallow a whale. "Eeep!" she exclaimed, her eyes shimmering with newfound wonder. "I never noticed the little sparkles radiating around you before. It's as if I'm gazing at the stars on a magical night! It's utterly mesmerising!"
"Stars?" I never thought of the little sparkles around her skin as stars before. It sparked my curiosity, as I was deeply fascinated by stars and astronomy. I instantly noticed patterns and images all over. There were constellations like Taurus, Phoenix, and Leo, and one on the far left of her face resembled a horse with three back legs.
Not wanting to be left out of the conversation any longer, I interjected, "Oh, you can see the constellation images on her face here." My finger glided upward along her nose, tracing an imaginary line across her forehead with a graceful touch. "This is Phoenix."
Eliza beamed with excitement, welcoming my participation in the observation. She pointed and said, "And I think I see 'Pisces' here. Look at the shape of this." She contemplated for a while before readjusting her finger. "No, this is Pisces. Yes, definitely here!"
Stepping closer, I offered my perspective. "Hmm, I see what you mean, but this looks more like Pisces to me." We continued marvelling at the celestial beauty of Larisa's skin.
"I never knew looking at the stars could be so fun," Lillian observed.
Larisa, initially basking in the attention, started to feel weirded out by two girls who consistently pointed at different parts of her face, as if she were some sort of provocative oil painting displayed in a museum.
"Nhang!" Larisa playfully feigned snapping at my hand as I placed my finger near her face to point again.
Previously engrossed in her pursuits, Ashlyn's radar-like ears caught our words, "Stars." This diverted her attention to us, putting her livestream on standby. She cleared her throat and corrected us, "Starrs," emphasising the 'R.' She continued, "Rrrrrr!! Rrrrrrrr!"
"Alright, pirate girl, we totally get it," I finally stated.
Unimpressed by my words, she simply shook her head. Ashlyn remarked, "You have not yet earned the status of an allocated member. I don't grant access to just anyone; you must prove yourself as a worthy gazer of the Starr."
How could I tell her that I didn't want to be a part of her little group of gazers without actually saying it? I was a dedicated fan of Kassy; she was the only fan group I was part of. I purchased all of her music, figurines, posters, and everything related to her. I even had all her T-shirts. Her songs touched me emotionally and brought me so much joy. Instead of explaining I was referring to the sparkling particles around Larisa when talking about stars, I thought it was better to remain silent to avoid escalating the situation.
"Ugh, how utterly tedious! Begone, you bothersome lot! Now, do be kind enough to position yourselves behind me, for I shall take the lead," Ashlyn proclaimed, gracefully poised to execute whatever cunning scheme she had in mind with her darling phone, sauntering forth like a vision of elegance.
Eliza stood there, her eyes shooting a pungent glare that could pierce steel. "Lilly, you truly have a knack for being a dingoo-butt sometimes. I put in so much effort to help her become your friend, but you make it seem so utterly impossible," she expressed with a heavy sigh of frustration.
"W-what did I do?!"
"Ummm, the pirate joke! Hello!"
Larisa waved and said, "Hello," not fully understanding the context of the conversation happening in front of her.
Eliza remained focused solely on Lillian and repeated in a disapproving tone, "Lily, Lily, Lily... tsk tsk tsk."
Ashlyn stopped everything, walking backwards to align herself with the three of us again. "Ah, heavens! Who dared to mention Lily? That exquisite bloom happens to be my most beloved flower of all time!"
"Whoa, what?!" The two of us stood perplexed, and Larisa floated slightly, also perplexed.