I stormed into my apartment, jolting with energy. To my left, Mom sat on a couch in the living room, reading a thick book. She looked up as I entered, and jumped off the couch.
"How did it go?" She sounded just as excited as I felt.
I couldn't even say it, but my bright expression was enough to tell her that I was becoming a Vocal. I threw my binder on the couch where she had been sitting, and started dancing. "I made it, I made it, I made it!" I chanted.
Mom laughed and took my hand, dancing with me.
"Mom," I sang as we danced. "I'm gonna be famous!"
"What song did you use?"
"Chronophobia."
She threw her head back, giggling. "That was always my favorite." She broke off our dance, and opened my binder to the tab labeled "Chrono." and pulled out the CD. She then skipped into the kitchen, and slid it into our CD player.
I laughed as it started up. She came back over to me, grabbed my hand again, and we danced to the instrumentals.
"Rinny's gonna be a Vocaloid," she said, talking about me like I wasn't holding her hand dancing with her.
I laughed, slowing down the dance. My expression darkened. "They want me to move into the Vocaloid House."
Mom froze, the song still playing in the background. "What?"
I bit my lip. "All the Vocals live in this apartment building... and they want me to move into it with them."
The hurt look on her face tore my heart in two. "But you're only seventeen."
"I know," I replied, feeling guilty. "But I think I should."
Mom pouted. "I don't want my little Rinny moving out yet," she said sadly.
I hated when she called me that, but I felt too bad to correct her. I looked at my shoes. "I'm sorry, Mom."
She sighed. The music ended. "Do you have to?"
"I... I don't know. But if they asked me to, I think I should."
Mom stared at me sadly. Her frown made the little wrinkles forming at the corners of her mouth much more visible.
"I'll still come visit you guys whenever I can," I pleaded. "And I'll text you all the time, and you guys won't have to spend money on all the stuff I need, and you'll have an extra room if you need it-"
Her expression hadn't changed. She didn't seem to care about any of it. Her silence was the worst part.
I looked up at her. "Mom-"
"When?" she asked.
My heart dropped. "Today."
Her eyes bulged. "Today?"
I nodded.
She sighed again. "Let me call your Dad," she said, walking back into the kitchen. "Go start packing your stuff," she added softly.
I brightened up again. "Yes!" I jumped up, grabbed my binder, and ran down the hallway into my room.
I packed in such a hurry that I had no idea where I put any of my stuff. I pulled boxes out of the closet, opened them, stuffed them with anything I could find, closed them, and opened a new box. In only half an hour, my room looked completely bare; the only things that weren't packed up were my bed, my dresser, and my desk. All my loose belongings had fit perfectly into only four boxes.
Mom opened my door, her sad expression less prominent, but still there. "Your Dad's gonna come home from work to help you move all your stuff," she informed me.
I smiled at her, trying to cheer her up. "Okay, cool."
She stared at me for a couple seconds, then at my empty room.
"Mom-" I started, but before I could finish, she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I hugged her back softly.
"I'm happy for you, I really am," she insisted, sniffling. "But I'm selfish and I don't want to let my little Rinny leave me."
"I'm not leaving you," I corrected her. "I'm just moving out."
Mom chuckled. "Same thing," she muttered.
"It's not that far away... And you'll still have Dad," I said, but it was no use. She was going to be sad no matter what I said.
"You're Dad can't go shopping with me, or watch the new episodes of Orange is the New Black with me, or go get my nails done with me, or anything." She paused. "I mean, he can, but he'll complain the whole time."
I laughed, snuggling into her shoulder. "When they put the new season on Netflix, you can come over and we'll watch it together."
She nodded, not replying.
We heard the front door open, and my Dad's booming voice echoed through the apartment. "Rin?"
I pulled out of my Mom's hug, and ran out to the hall. Dad was standing at the door, his clothes dirtied with oil and other dark stains. Typical of a mechanic. "There's my girl!" he yelled, a grin on his face.
I ran up to him, and hugged him. "They loved my song," I told him excitedly.
He gently pushed me off him. "My clothes are gross. Probably shouldn't touch me until after I shower," he explained.
I rolled my eyes, hugging him again. "I know," I said, my face smushed up against an oil stain. "I don't care."
He laughed, pulled away from me again, and walked toward the bathroom. "Right after I get out we'll go, okay?"
"Okay!" I yelled after him, my excitement peaking again.
He kissed Mom on the cheek as he passed her, and entered the bathroom. His head peeked out the door. "Are you all packed?"
"Yup!"
"You have the directions?"
"Uh huh," I nodded my head quickly.
He grinned. "Atta girl." He closed the door.
I looked at Mom, who was still standing in front of my door.
My shoulders slumped. "Mom, you're making me feel really bad."
She shrugged. "You'll get over it. And I will too."
I nodded.
Mom motioned back into my room. "We should probably move your boxes into the car," she stated, looking down at the ground.
"Okay," I responded, my voice weak.
She nodded, and entered my room. I followed her. We each grabbed a box, and traveled down the stairs from the third floor all the way to the ground floor, and slid the boxes into the backseat of our worn-out little car. We took a second trip up and down, and by the time the boxes were loaded in the car, Dad was out of the shower. We decided to come back for the furniture later.
By then, it was nearly six p.m. I figured we should hurry, because I didn't want to wake Len up while I was moving in or anything, and I wanted to go to sleep at some decent time tonight.
The three of us walked down the stairs a final time. Dad went straight for the driver's seat, but I hesitated. Mom stood on the sidewalk, tears forming in her eyes.
I sighed. "Mom..."
She closed her teary eyes. "I know, I know..." she took a deep breath, opening them again. She outstretched her arms. "Just one more hug."
I smiled sadly. "You're acting like we're never gonna see each other again." I embraced her, playing with her hair behind her back.
After a long moment, I pulled away, and climbed into the passengers seat of the car. I put my seatbelt on, and we drove out of the parking lot. I watched Mom out the window as we drove away, until my view of her was obstructed by the building.
"She'll be fine in a few days," Dad comforted me. His expression softened. "It'll just take some getting used to."
I giggled. "Dad, not you too."
"Huh?" He asked defensively.
"Don't start crying on me."
He laughed heartily. "I'm too tough to cry."
"Oh, whatever."
"Really," he insisted. "I am." After a pause: "So. Tell me everything."
That was always my favorite thing for Dad to say. I told him everything, from how I stood outside the studio for almost an hour to apologizing to Miku for my rude remark. I even told him how the Vocals were jerks, but I believed they had to have at least some good left in them.
"Well," Dad said after I finished. "If they ever give you shit, call me." I giggled. "Tell them I'm not afraid to go back to prison."
I laughed harder. "You've never even been to prison."
"Well don't tell them that."
After a quick fit of laughter, we fell into a sweet silence. Dad followed the directions on his phone to the apartments. I stared out the window at the bright lights of the city, admiring the way it looked at night.
Our apartments were in the suburbs, but the closer we got to the Vocal House, the further through the city we drove. Eventually, we passed right through it, which surprised me. I figured their apartment would be in the city, where all the excitement was.
But we kept driving.
"What does Ia think of all this?" Dad asked, as we turned onto a narrow road that led up the foothills.
I stared out the window, only half paying attention to the conversation. "I haven't told her yet."
Dad was surprised to hear this. "Why not?"
"Because Erik told me not to tell anyone yet. There's gonna be this huge... reveal at the next concert, and they don't want the press to know about me yet."
My Dad eyed me, confused. "Who's Erik?"
"My manager." It felt weird having a manager.
"And... you're gonna be in the next concert?"
I took a deep breath. "Yeah."
"Wow," he said breathlessly. "Little Rinny, moving up to the big leagues."
I rolled my eyes. I didn't even want to think about the next concert.
The road twisted and turned up the hill. We began to pass gated driveways with people standing outside of them. Gatekeepers. I gulped.
We went further and further up the hill, and eventually the road ended to yet another gate. Dad slowed the car in front of it.
"I think this is it," he said, unsure.
A man stood next to the gate in a suit. He walked up to the driver's seat window, and knocked on the glass. Dad rolled his window down.
"Sorry sir," the gatekeeper said, his voice friendly. "This is private property." He had a shiny earpiece in his right ear.
The thought occurred to me that all the people working for the Vocals were kind, but they themselves were not. I found that odd.
"Um," I spoke up, my voice small. "I'm Rin. Rin Webs. I'm... moving in." I motioned to the boxes in the back seat.
"ID?"
I fumbled for my wallet, grabbing it out of my bag after some struggle. I handed it to him as Dad leaned back into his seat. The gatekeeper looked it over, and nodded.
"Alright," he said, a kind smile on his face. "Welcome home." He turned from the window and moved back to the gate, flipping a piece of plastic on the wall next to it. He dialed a code into a keypad, and the gate opened. We drove in slowly, and rounded the corner.
I started shaking again. This was quite the upgrade from a public apartment.
From the outside, the building looked like six modern mansions stacked on top of each other. The road ran up to the left side of the building, leading to what I assumed was an underground garage. Next to the descending road was a porch with a couple outdoor couches and a firepit. The walls around the front door were glass. Each floor above had a deck overlooking the city, and I wondered how the view would look. A wall made of white stone ran around the property, so the view wasn't visible from the ground. The sides of the apartment where the decks were was also made of glass, though it looked to be one way glass. In the windows, it showed the reflection of the darkened sky.
Dad stopped in front of the building. "Where do I go?" He asked in awe.
"Uh..." I caught sight of brightly colored hair through the entrance. "Just... just wait here." I got out of the car. "I'll be right back."
I approached the front doors, unsure if I should just open them, or knock.
I was favoring just opening it, but, luckily, just before I reached the door, Luka and Gumi saw me, and stood from the small sitting room they were in.
They opened the door. A half-smile appeared on Gumi's face. "Sup, newbie."
Luka held it open. She gestured to Dad's car. "That hunk of shit yours?"
I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I responded, trying to keep myself composed. "I just need to know where to park so we can bring my stuff in."
Gumi nodded. "I'll help bring it in. Luka, go bring Rin up to Len's floor."
"Alright," Luka agreed. She motioned for me to follow her as Gumi walked over to Dad's car. I walked through the glass door. The room the two were sitting in was clean and modern looking. The floors were covered in glistening white tile, and the walls were covered in black and white paintings. They had been sitting on a couple wooden benches lining the walls with tables between them. Magazines were messily thrown all over the tables.
We walked across the room to an elevator. To the left was a door that led to a set of stairs, made with the same tile as the rest of the floor. To the right of it was a wide hallway. Closed double doors stood on the left wall.
"That's me and Miku's room," Luka informed me. "This is our floor."
I nodded, noticing for the first time that Len and I were going to be the only unisex floor. Miku and Luka shared a floor, Gumi and Meiko shared a floor, and then Gakupo and Kaito shared a floor. I didn't know how to feel about it.
We stepped into the elevator together, and Luka pressed the button on top of the panel. The doors closed. I stood nervously, my hands behind my back. The elevator seemed uncomfortably quiet.
"What was the name of that song you sang today?" Luka asked, breaking the silence.
I lifted my head, unprepared for the question. "Chronophobia."
She nodded. "I'll be honest, I didn't think you were gonna be any good. But that song's pretty sweet."
"Thanks," I said, calming down a bit. I couldn't figure out why I was so tense, and the thought came to me that it might always be like this.
The elevator doors opened, revealing another hallway like the one on the first floor. The double doors were right in front of us.
Luka pounded on the door with her balled fist. "Len!" she yelled. "Your new roommate's here!"
I felt like an intruder.
After some shuffling inside the room, the door opened to reveal Len in his pajamas; a pair of baggy sweats with a plaid pattern on them, and a black t-shirt. His hair was even messier than usual, though it was still pulled back in his signature ponytail.
He looked from me, to Luka, and then back to me. "Sup," he greeted, his expression blank.
"Hey," I replied.
"Gumi and Rin's Dad are bringing up her stuff." She stated. "You clean out the other room?"
Len shrugged. "It's been cleaned out."
Luka looked down at the ground. I sensed a weird tension in the air. "Alright." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Well, I'm gonna go help them move boxes up here."
Len opened the door wider. "Alright," he said as Luka turned around, calling the elevator. He turned his attention to me. "Come on in," he said, holding the door open. I stepped inside. The weird, tense mood disappeared as the elevator doors closed between us and Luka.
I had stepped into the living room. It was shaped like a circle. In the middle were three little steps that led down to a circular couch, which honestly looked more like a bed than a couch. When I first stepped in, I saw a wall in front of me, but as I followed Len around it, I discovered that it had been the back of a fireplace. The pit of the fire landed on the second step leading to the couch, and over it hung a huge, expensive looking T.V. At the far end of the room, opposite to the front door and the fireplace, was a kitchen. It was a lot smaller than I expected it to be, but was filled with expensive cooking appliances. The marble countertops especially caught my eye; I had always loved the look of marble.
To the left of the kitchen was a door, and to the right was the exact same door. The room would have been completely symmetric, if not for the exit leading out to the balcony between the unnamed room on the right and the kitchen.
"That's yours," Len stated, pointing to the slightly ajar door on the right. "My room's the left one."
I traveled around the circled steps and pushed open the door to my new room. My eyes widened. This one room was the size of my parents' entire apartment. It was completely empty, with white walls and white carpet. The door to my walk-in closet was on the right wall, and a door to my bathroom was on the left. I walked toward the bathroom, Len following me.
The bathroom was bare, as well. Through it was the door to the back deck. I slowly crept toward it as if I was in some trance.
We were on the top floor of the building, and I could see the entire city. It was alive with lights; lights from the buildings, lights from the streetlamps, lights from the cars... They were everywhere. Behind the skyscrapers, the last orange tint of the sunset was disappearing, casting the entire city into a beautiful shade.
"Wow..." was all I could say as I brushed my hands along the railing. I heard Len chuckle behind me.
"Yeah," he responded, leaning against the rail. It's pretty sweet."
"Why do I get the room with the balcony?" I asked him, jokingly.
He shrugged, but didn't say anything. I stared out at the view for a couple more silent seconds. After a while, he finally spoke. "I never would have thought that you'd be moving into my apartment when I saw you at the coffee shop."
I smiled. "Yeah, me neither."
Back inside, we heard the front door open. Gumi's voice yelled out.
"Leeeeeeeen!" She called. "We have boxes!"
I giggled. Len turned around, a slightly amused look on his face. He entered through the door to the kitchen, and I followed close behind.
Dad, Gumi, and Luka were an odd combination of people to look at. Especially when all three of them were carrying boxes that were at least half their height, except Dad, who carried two. He seemed relieved when he saw me; he was probably sick of Gumi and Luka already just because of their hair.
"Where am I taking these?" He asked me, out of breath. I pointed to my door. He stumbled through it, and I heard a loud thud come from inside. The girls followed him, and two more thuds sounded soon after.
Gumi and Luka pranced out, seemingly still full of energy.
"We're going to a party with Miku and Meiko," Gumi declared. "Gotta run." She waved to me , flashing me a smile.
Len looked surprised at this statement. "Who's driving you?"
"I am," Gumi answered.
"Are you drinking?"
Luka rolled her eyes. "We'll call you guys if we need you, okay?"
Len crossed his arms. "Don't fucking drive back here if you're drunk."
I nervously centered my bow.
"We woooooooon't," Gumi muttered, acting like a spoiled teenager being scolded by her parents. She quickly grabbed Luka's arm, and pulled her out to the hallway. We heard them crashing down the stairs, as they had decided against the elevator for some reason.
I was surprised at Len's concern. It almost gave me a new sense of the Vocals. Sure, they may be a bad influence, but they all seem like a family. The more I interacted with them, the more I saw that.
I didn't have time to ponder this, though, as my Dad came out of my room looking exhausted.
"Alright," he said, motioning for me to follow him. "Let's go get your furniture."
"Dad, we can just get it tomorrow," I suggested. "You look tired."
He laughed. "All I did was carry some boxes of clothes up six floors in an elevator. I'm fine."
"No, really. I can just... sleep on the couch," I offered, looking at Len. It felt awkward to propose that, since I had only lived there for about five minutes. Len nodded encouragingly.
"Yeah," he chimed in. "It's no problem."
Dad seemed to just notice that Len was there. For a few uncomfortable seconds, he stared at Len like he was prey. I sensed my Dad's Protective Father aura, and quickly spoke up.
"Uh, Dad, this is Len. My, uh... business partner." Again. Awkward.
After a few more tense seconds, Dad thankfully got over it, and quickly bounded over to shake Len's hand. He then turned to me, wrapping me up in a hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Rinny," he said softly. I could tell the waterworks were coming.
I hugged him back. "Bye, Dad."
He pulled back, gave me a sad wave, and then went back to hallway. He closed the door gently behind him.
I looked at Len, and he looked at me, and neither of us really knew what to say.
"This all happened pretty quick..." I thought out loud.
Len let out a laugh. "Yeah, it did." An awkward silence filled the air between us.
I yawned, feeling suddenly exhausted.
"Uh, I have a pillow and a blanket that you can use," Len said, walking to his room.
"Yeah, that'd be great," I replied. There was no way I could unpack the boxes tonight. I'd do it in the morning.
Len opened his door and disappeared into his room. Through it, I could see the navy blue walls in his room. I thought about asking if I could paint my room some other color, as the white was pretty plain, but I decided against it. Again, I moved in just about five minutes ago.
Len reappeared with a huge red comforter slung over his shoulder and a pillow under his arm. He tossed them down onto the couch. "The remote for the T.V. is on the fireplace if you want it," he said, not meeting my gaze. "And I'm pretty tired, so I'll probably just go to bed."
I nodded, slightly amused that now he was the one who was nervous around me. "Okay," I answered, gaining some of my confidence back. "Me too."
He rubbed the nape of his neck, finally looking up at me. "Night."
"Night." I flashed him a friendly smile.
He hastily turned and went into his room, closing the door behind him.
And for the first time, I was alone in my new home. I looked around, taking in the sight. No offence to Len, but I was surprised at how clean the place was. I hadn't expected an 18- year old boy who lives alone to have countertops that you could see your reflection in.
He probably has a maid, I figured.
I went around the apartment, turning the lights off in the kitchen, my room, and my bathroom. I circled around back to living room, turning its lights off last, and stepped down on the couch. I lied down, surprised at how comfy it was, and pulled up the comforter. It reeked of Len's distinct cologne, and I didn't quite know how I felt about that.
Despite the scent, I fell asleep within seconds of closing my eyes.