Working With Phantoms

Racing Topside

September 4th

Madran arrived at the subway station, due to Sheila apparently needing her for something. Upon waiting for a few minutes, she spotted her friend and walked up to her.

"Hey, Sheila, what's up?"

"Oh, you're here! Thank goodness. Well, remember yesterday, when I mentioned that suspicious model that Ann's dealing with?"

"Yeah, I do. Is this because of her?"

"Yep, you guessed it. The thing is, Ann has a photoshoot today due to her needing to fill in for someone who's mysteriously late, and, I was called as well."

"I don't mean to be rude, but can't you handle this by yourself?"

"Well, it's good to have backup, and everyone else but you were busy."

"Well, ok then, I guess. I mean, we're not even doing any Metaverse business until Ann's done, so..."

"Yep, let's get going."

The pair then boarded the train to where Sheila said the event was, with a rather long train ride ensuing before the pair got off.

"So, Sheila, where are we headed to?"

"This place that I know, uh... that park at Odaiba."

"Oh, I know that place too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I sometimes take Chic there to walk him."

"That's nice."

Sheila and Madran then walked for a small amount of time until they arrived at a large recreational area next to a massive bridge that spanned a river.

"Well, we're here. Ooh, there's that dog park that Chic loves to go to."

"Yeah, you've definitely been here before."

Sheila then took Madran down into the park, where they made their way to a handful of people either with cameras or just sitting and waiting.

"So, is that where the photo gig is?"

"Yep. They're making the next cover for a beauty magazine, so they always end up calling a few memorable faces down to get the first photos. Then, there's the editing and a whole buncha crap that Shiini always used to talk about."

Madran noticed that Sheila's face showed a brief moment of discomfort before she walked up to the rest of the models, with Madran spotting Ann as well.

"Hey, guys, I made it."

"Hey, Sheila. Um, who's that curly-haired chick over there?"

"She's my friend. She just wanted to see how this stuff works, so she'll be around."

"Uh, Sheila, I thought this was for models, only."

One particular model who appeared to be slightly taller than Sheila and had long brown hair that complemented the large amount of eyeshadow and lipstick on the lady's face had walked up to Sheila and shot Madran a scathing look.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I'll just leave."

Madran shot the model a smug grin back.

"Madran, sarcasm check."

"Sorry."

The model huffed and walked off, with the loud clacking of her heels leading Madran to watch her approach one guy who was fiddling with a camera.

"Hey, Sheila, who was that?"

"...Mika."

"Wow, she really seems like someone who would disadvantage other models to get more attention."