Vocaloid Actors (Book #1 of Vocaloid Actors Trilogy)

Chapter 23

I open my eyes abruptly. Odd, I don't remember falling asleep last night. I pull the earphones out of my ears and wake my computer to see how far through my playlist it went. It was at the last video. I scroll back through the playlist to the video I was watching, before getting up.

I go to the bathroom only to see Dad shaving. He's always stays clean-shaven for some reason. I leave him and go to the other bathroom, on the other side of the house.

"Morning, Mia!" Mum says, as I walk into the kitchen. I sleepily acknowledge her, grabbing the toast she has just made for me.

"Were you about to wake me?" I ask her, smiling, eyes half-closed.

"Actually, I was going to give you breakfast in bed as a surprise," she says, sighing. "I guess you beat me to it."

"I shall still take that offer," I say cheekily, heading back to my bedroom. I climb onto my bed and pull the covers over my legs, before playing the plate on top. I pull my earphones out of my computer and throw them onto my sofa before clicking play on my playlist.

I finish my breakfast and leave my bedroom to place my dishes in the dishwasher and feed my two rabbits. My dad enters the room as I am filling up their water bottle.

"Hey, Mia, get dressed when you finish feeding them," he says, placing his mug and bowl in the dishwasher.

"Why?" I ask, though I think I know.

"We need to go shopping," he says, dragging a brush through his hair. I give a small groan, that'll take hours. He doesn't seem to hear me.

I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, only to notice he hasn't rinsed the sink since he shaved. His facial hair is scattered around the bottom of the sink.

"Dad! Please rinse the sink!" I shout, before I head into my room to get dressed. I pull on a white and red striped top and a pair of leggings. I hear footsteps and running water and sure enough when I head back to the bathroom, the sink was clean.

Rachel: 'Hey, want to come over today? I have that new movie you wanted to see!'

I grip the toothbrush I am holding and lean against the sink with my other hand.

Me: 'Gonna have to wait until later, we need to go shopping.'

Rachel: 'Feel sorry for you! Your dad is a total nightmare, isn't he?'

Me: 'Nightmare is an understatement! He takes hours, worse than a woman!'

I rinse my mouth and then sigh. I go to my bedroom, close my laptop, and put on my trainers. I grab my phone for the lack of a better thing to do, as Dad compares prices and looks at ingredients.

~three hours later

I pull the last of the shopping bags into the kitchen before looking at Mum. She is looking slightly stressed as she looks over the huge pile of food Dad has bought. Dad is in the toilet, typical.

I open the door of the fridge and start to load food into it, just to help Mum. She snaps out of her daze and unpacks the last two bags I brought in. I groan at all the food.

"Can we fit all that in the fridge?!" I ask, overwhelmed at Dad's purchases.

"We can try," she replies, leaning on the counter. She takes over from me and loads the fridge. I start on the cupboards, piling up all the tins. One slips and an avalanche of tins falls out, crashing into me and sending me to the floor. I wince in pain, as it stops, leaving a pile of tins on top of me.

"Mia! Are you okay?!" my mum asks, running over when she sees what happened. She shifts the tins and I get up. My stomach and head are throbbing. I rub my head and feel a bump raising, and when I lift my shirt, bruises start to form. I hide this from Mum as I intend to heal myself when I get back to my room.

"I'm fine! Just a bit sore," I say, with a weak smile.

"Hugh!" she says, enraged. "Your shopping habits meant that our daughter got injured!"

He comes through, his arm behind his head. The sleeves of his thin jumper are slipping back.

"What are you talking about?" he asks, as his sleeves slip more. I focus my attention on his wrist. I see a pale green scrunchy. Scrunchy?! I look closer and realise it's a -loid Actor band.

My dad is a -loid Actor?! Then I remember the Utauloid from a couple of nights ago. He had the same hairstyle as my dad, and he gave me a really funny look. I will go and talk to him.

Me: 'Hey, Teresa, is it possible to let me into the Utauloid Communion Room, tonight? I have someone I need to talk to.'

Teresa: 'Sure! Who do you need to talk to?'

Me: 'I don't know what he's called. He was there a couple of nights ago, and his main colour seems to be green.'

Teresa: 'Oh, I know who you're talking about! I'll Mind-Message him now, just to let him know he has to come to the Utauloid World tonight.'

I open my eyes and focus on Dad, hoping to see a reaction. Me and Rachel always jump when we receive a Mind-Message. Nothing. He might not be a -loid Actor after all. Yet that band . . .

I Mind-Message Rachel to tell her I am coming. I sit down on her bed and she puts on the movie. I lift my shirt to heal my bruises. "Episkey," I murmur under my breath, and the bruises begin to fade along with the pain. I repeat it with the bump on my head, which causes the swelling to go down, and the throbbing to finally stop.

"What happened?" she asks after watching the whole thing.

"I accidentally knocked a lot of tins out of the cupboard," I reply, thinking back to the memory. I just want to laugh at myself.

~that night

I wake up in the Vocaloid Communion Room to notice various Vocaloid Actors scattered around the room. They call out to me, but I have a job to do. I head straight to the lift, and press the button for the Utauloid Communion Room. When I get there, the shield is gone. Good, Teresa remembered.

Almost on cue, she ran up to the lift, her red twin-drills bouncing on either side of her head. She grabs my hand and pulls me through into the room. I have to run to keep up with her. With a great effort, I pull my wrist out of her hands. Years of fighting back with Racquelle came in handy.

"Slow down! I'm not in a rush!" I say, but with laughter in my voice. "You're very energetic, aren't you?"

"I can't stand still," she replies.

"Can you just go slower, I'm not as energetic as you," I say.

She leads me through the crowds, walking instead of running, but with a bounce in her steps. She chattering all the while, but I only hear, "His Utauloid is called Hito Fukushimi."

I raise my eyebrows. The name has the same first letter as my dad's first name. It seems to be a trend to have the same first letters in both names.

My train of thought is stopped when I am pulled in front of an Utauloid which looks to be a mirror image of my dad, save the glasses. He gives me a look of shock.

I give a sigh, knowing this might take a while.

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A/N The Utauloid that Mia's dad plays is completely fictional. The name came out of nowhere.