Chapter 6

Minutes into the ride, my best friend popped in my head. He must be wondering what happened to me. I glanced reluctantly at Uno. Her back was straight, her shoulders stiff. She could still be irritated. Never mind. I'd ask her what the general setup would be when she wasn't on her period or something. I'd go with what she wanted for now.

We traveled on the main road for a while. I didn't check the time though I had a nice wristwatch on. Mom gave it to me. She was particular about those things. Riri, never keep anyone waiting, she'd say. If you want to succeed on your goals, you have to be mindful of every little detail. I sighed. All those guidelines and in the end, I didn't understand her after all. What was she thinking?

We entered an unfamiliar path. From the lively and bustling city, we've managed to reach a nice, quiet suburban area. That was the only way to describe it. Most of the houses were huge and gated. Private properties owned by the rich. I was tempted to ask Uno where we were going, but I kept mum while she drove. It wasn't worth the trouble, and besides, she'd tell me sooner or later.

The van stopped in front of a huge, intimidating gate made of iron and wood. There were tall shrubs on either side to keep intruders out. Uno rolled her window down and poked her head out. A beep sounded from somewhere, followed by the groan of the gate as it opened. "Facial recognition system," she said to answer my unspoken question. "Nobody goes in or out without my permission." She moved the van forward, into the vast property.

"What if someone sneaks in? A curious fan."

"He'll die," she answered in a clipped tone. "And nobody knows the location of my house."

"Except for me," I pointed out.

"Something you'll regret later," she mumbled to herself. If I didn't know that we were heading to her home, I would have thought that we were going to the forest with the number of trees scattered around us. We followed a single path in the middle. The time spent from the gate to the main house was more than ten minutes.

Her house was strange yet beautiful. It was an artistic mixture of glass and stone. Breakable and unbreakable. "Do you live here alone?" I asked as we departed the car. Mom was not keen on talking about her talent. Most of the things I knew about Uno came from interviews and online stories like most people. Though I did hear that she was single and was a much desired bachelorette. The thought of her leaning near me when we were in the restaurant crossed my mind. When she said that she was gay, was that true? Or was it as fake as her stellar acting of being a good person, cause she clearly wasn't. I didn't know anymore.

"Regarding your question, I'm more than enough to keep myself company." She went through the front door. It was awkward standing there by myself, so I was right behind her. "There's no second floor," she said when we reached the living room. "Too dangerous."

I had no idea what she meant by that, but I stared around with wide eyes. The ceiling was high. It gave an airy feel when combined with the glass walls. An elegant crystal chandelier was placed there. It matched the sophistication of the cream sofa and expensive furniture's. There was no television. In my house and Carters house, it was the main attraction. "There's a TV in each room," she said like she was reading my mind.

"What if we want to watch a movie together?"

"That won't happen." She left me standing there. Okay, watching something with a movie star was a long shot. She didn't have to rub it in.

We went to the kitchen next. It was all marbles, stone, and glass. Any chef or person who loved to cook would think they died and went to heaven here.

"You will cook for me from now on," Uno said, leaning against the doorframe. "The food has to be prepared by exactly seven in the morning, sharp. Any later and we'll have problems. I don't function well without food." I could deal with that. How hard could it be to cook for both of us? "You can go grocery shopping once or twice a month," she continued. "We have a large enough pantry at the back to store everything. There's no maid. You have to—"

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, raising a hand. "No maid? How large is this property again?"

"A few thousand square feet. Maybe a hectare or so." She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"The house looks too big for one person to clean." I didn't want to come across as whiny, but I couldn't help myself. At least two people were needed for that job.

"There's a robot vacuum cleaner. It's automatic."

"What about laundry? You expect me to do all of that too? I bet you wear lots of clothes." Lots of black clothes from what I noticed. Uno was notorious for wearing that shade. That was what the fashion insider magazines said. Not that I followed her styles religiously.

She sounded bored when she said, "The washer is also automatic."

"And your underwear?"

Her eyes gleamed. She moved from the doorframe to the wall where I was leaning against. Uno placed her hands on either side of my head, pinning me in the middle. Our brief time in the restaurant came to mind. My face flushed. Why must I think of that now of all times? "My, my," she whispered. "We barely know each other, and you're already asking about my underwear. What else do you want to know?" Her scent made me lightheaded. She was too close.

I avoided her eyes. "Nothing you don't want to tell."

Uno looked pleased when she backed up. "Glad we're on the same page Strawberries. If there's one thing that you have to follow under my roof, it's that you should mind your own business. That will be all from now. I'll show you to your room." I was a servant and she was a tyrant. Those were the simplest terms to my situation, I decided bitterly as I lagged behind her.

Uno opened a room at the end of the corridor. "This is where you will stay from now on," she said, gesturing inside. "Do what you want. I don't care." She held a finger up. "Just don't tell other people about this location, or else."

"Can I invite my friend over sometime? He's good at keeping secrets." Carter would love to see inside a celebrity's house.

Her eyebrow twitched. "I don't like having guests over. Meet-up with your boyfriend outside."

"I don't have one. A boyfriend I mean."

"And I don't care. The sooner you understand that, the better." She left me quickly without uttering another word.

I shut the door with a heavy heart and turned to the room. Wow. The designer made it like the rest of the house, with stone and glass as the main theme. Most of the walls were built with dark stones, with the exception of the other side of the room. The other end featured a floor to ceiling glass, giving me a good view of the trees outside. It was like a one-storey castle in the middle of an oversized garden. Except I wasn't a princess, and Uno was more like the beast.

In the middle of the room was a circular bed that was elevated with wood. The usual were present, desk, chair, TV, and a big bathroom. Functional as it was, there were still a couple things missing- my books back home, the movies that I've collected over the years, and most importantly, mom. Everything was brand new here. It would be hard to cope. But when I thought more about it, it wasn't so bad right? I was going to live in a huge house and a beautiful room. Things could be worse.

Later that night, I woke up from loud laughter coming from somewhere in the house. I squinted at my watch. Almost midnight. My stomach rumbled. Gosh, I've skipped dinner due to exhaustion again. The laughter sounded, pulling my thoughts away from hunger. Was Uno having someone over? I stood from the bed and stretched.

She must be fuming mad if that was the case. She'd expect me to pull my weight. I left the room in a hurry and went through the familiar lighted hallway. Like my room, one side of the corridor was made of glass. I could already feel that it was a good environment to draw my designs. But enough about that for now.

As I drew nearer to the living room, the laughter turned to howling. Someone was singing, if you could call it that. In the middle of the night. Who was making that racket? I stopped on my tracks and stared. Was I seeing this correctly? "U-Uno? What are you doing up there?" I asked. My mouth opened.

She was high on the ceiling, grasping the chandelier for dear life. She burst into laughter when she saw me, not an ounce of fear on her face. "Oh hello Riri. How's it going?" She was about to say more. Uno wasn't given the chance to continue as a cracking sound echoed across the room and the chandelier came crashing down, taking her with it.