Vocaloid Actors (Book #1 of Vocaloid Actors Trilogy)

Chapter 24

I stare at the Utauloid in front of me, who is continuing to look to me with shock. He finally stutters out "Y-You . . . Y-You look j-j-just like m-m-my daughter, M-Mia!"

Just as I thought, it's my Dad.

"A-Apart f-from the h-hair, hers is l-long, wh-while yours i-is sh-short," he continues.

Well, I'll give it to him, he is smart. He noticed the resemblance.

"Look, I need to talk to you," I begin, trying to think of how to tell him. "You're right, I look like your daughter, Mia."

He gives a start. "How d-do you know m-my daughter?" he asks, his stuttering calming down. I still have never seen Dad in such a state.

I take a breath and steel myself. "I look like your daughter Mia, because I am your daughter Mia."

"What?!" he says. "Mia?! H-How?!"

"I could ask you the same question, Dad," I say, placing emphasis on Dad. "Why did you never tell me?"

"I-I didn't know you were a Vocaloid Actor," he says, his lie very obvious.

"How did you know I was a Vocaloid Actor, then?" I ask, getting angry. "I could have been any -loid Actor. You never listen to Vocaloid music, as I have personally witnessed. Plus, when I walked through here, a couple of nights ago, I was as Sakine Meiko, yet you gave the same look. I know you knew something."

"O-Okay, I'll admit it," he says, shamefaced. "E-Ever since Maryann s-sent that M-Mind-Message, about three days ago, I suspected something. It doesn't help that Rachel is your best friend."

"But I hid my band under my sleeves, just like you! How did you guess?" I ask, with a little suspicion in my voice.

"Remember that fight, months ago?" he asks. I think back, he doesn't mean that one. "I don't know what came over me, but I saw that glow around your fists. I had one around my fists as well, I could feel it. However, I just tried to convince myself it was an illusion, that it wasn't real. I also didn't want to think about how close I could've been to hurting you."

It was that fight. His hands were glowing as well?! I guess I had the same regrets as him. I worried about what harm I could've caused him, if Rachel hadn't pulled me into my room. I guess, he was worried what would have happened if Mum hadn't intervened.

"I never wanted to tell you, because I was scared of what you would think of me, plus I wanted to confirm my suspicions. That glow could have been a trick of the light. However, I never saw a band on your wrist, and I would sometimes travel up to the Vocaloid Communion Room to see if I could see Meiko through the shield. I never did. Yet, when I saw Sakine Meiko a couple of nights ago, I thought it was true. That you were a Vocaloid/Fanloid Actor."

That explains the funny look he gave me, he thought his suspicions were proven. That was true. I almost break down in tears as I saw how my Dad worried about me being a Vocaloid Actor. I saw his face and see the stress etched into it.

I held out my hand, and say, "You don't need to worry anymore, you know. I'm a Vocaloid Actor, and I will prove it to you. In the morning, I will show my band."

He looked up to me gracefully. Before we are rudely interrupted by Teresa dashing over.

"Hey, Mia! Maryann has told me you need to be in the Vocaloid Communion Room, now!" she says, completely oblivious to the annoyed look on my Dad's face.

"Can't it wait?!" I say, very annoyed.

"I'm afraid not, she needs you for concert practise. Magical Mirai 2017," she says. I groan, I totally forgot that tour started in a week. I haven't had a moment of practise.

"Looks like I have to head off now, we can catch up in the morning," I say. "One more thing: Is there any chance of Mum being a -loid Actor?" I ask this question for no reason, other than for interest.

"No, I ran checks on that when my suspicions started about you! No-one called Mandy Gale has ever been a -loid Actor," he explains, and I feel a little disappointed. It would have been cool to be a family of -loid Actors. "By the way, can I watch your concert practise?"

"I don't see why not," I say, leading him through the crowds of Utauloid Actors. I am so surprised this room doesn't get overcrowded, and I begin to feel stressed. I start to breathe heavily, feeling claustrophobic. My Dad recognises the symptoms of over sensory meltdown, as I suffer with them at home.

He steps in front, leading me. I follow him, tears falling down my face. All of this caused by my Social Anxiety.  If I get too much sensory input, it leads to my stress and if I can't get out of the situation, it turns to a meltdown. If it become worse, it could lead to panic attacks. That's the exact reason why I hate being stuck in the middle of big crowds. Concerts don't matter, as I am up on the stage, not in the thick of the audience.

I start to cry more openly and as soon as we reach the lift, I collapse to the floor, crying into my hands. My Dad presses the button and the lift starts to rattle as we go up. This makes my meltdown worse and it turns into a panic attack. My chest feels tight, my whole body heats up, my throat dries and I am unable to stop crying.

It finally stops, but I am unable to calm down enough to leave the lift. Maryann comes to the lift to find out what's taking me so long, only to see me on the floor, turned away, tears flowing down my face.

"What happened?!" she asks the only other person in the lift, my Dad.

"She's having a panic attack, don't talk to her, just leave her alone," he explains. "Could you lower the shield, I need to get something to help her."

Maryann lowers the shield while looking suspiciously at my Dad. "How do you know Mia, and what happened to her?" she finally asks.

My Dad starts rushing towards the door on the other side of the room, the one that leads to the town, checking a pocket on his Utauloid's suit. He pulls out what looks suspiciously like money. He turns to Maryann and says, "I'm her Dad." With that he disappears through the door.

He disappears for quite some time, and during that Maryann is trying to ask questions and patting my shoulder trying to comfort me. Wrong thing to do, and I wriggle away from her and turn my head away from her. Trying to calm myself down is pretty impossible, and my crying prevents me from talking to Maryann.

My Dad finally dashes back into the room, something clutched in his hand. He gives it to me, and it turns out to be a fidget cube. The various buttons and sliding panels calms me down and prevents my brain from going into overdrive.

I look up to Maryann and manage a smile. "Let's do this!"

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A/N Well, this was one eventful chapter. I revealed that Mia's dad is an Utauloid Actor and that Mia has pretty bad Social Anxiety that can cause meltdowns and panic attacks.