-Midnight Melodies- || Aphmau AU

- Chapter 9: Talent -

Aphmau sat on her bed and looked at the wolf plushie sitting on her pillow. Aaron had given her that plushie for werewolf class. She sighed angrily and threw it across the room. It bounced against the wall and fell on the floor.

"That song you wrote was amazing...You don't know how lucky you are..Why would you throw that talent away, you idiot!.."

Flashback to middle school:

Aphmau eagerly ran down the stairs as soon as she heard the door open. Her dad, Zach, had just come home.

"Dad! Dad!" she yelled as she ran over to hug him.

Her father grinned and hugged her back. "Hey sweetie, how was your day?"

"Dad, I've got some super important questions to ask you!"

"Alright then, hit me!"

Aphmau pulled out a piece of paper, filled with different questions.

"What classes should I take in high school to pursue a job in animation?"

"What are the best softwares to use?"

"What are some of your favorite fonts to use?"

Her father worked at a movie studio, making and designing all the graphics and animations for their movies. He was what inspired her to pursue graphic design herself. She happily handed him the paper, still grinning.

Her father looked through the questions and frowned.

"Aphmau, what is this..

"It's a list of my questions about animation! When I grow up, I wanna be like you daddy!"

He sighed and handed her back the paper.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

Zach looked her in the eyes, and with a blank stare, said four crushing words.

"You can't do this."

Aphmau looked up at him, confused.

"Wh-What?"

"You don't have the talent to pursue this career. You'll never make it in the industry."

"B-But, I haven't even tried yet! You can't just assume that!" She yelled.

"It's clear to me and anyone else that you can't do it. Go look for something else to do."

Aphmau's eyes blurred with tears. She didn't have the talent? She wiped her tears away and angrily stomped up the stairs. She'd show him!

One week later:

Aphmau had worked all week to produce a high-quality video. She had submitted it into a local contest, and first place would be a scholarship to a big art school. Despite her father's words, she knew there was no need for talent. You only needed hard work and dedication to make it!

She anxiously refreshed her email every second, waiting for the email announcing the winners. Finally, after a minute of straight clicking, an email popped up.

"Subject: Scholarship Contest"

She immediately clicked it, bracing herself for the results. However, the contents of the email were not what she had hoped for.

"Dear participant:

We have viewed your animation and put it through careful consideration. Unfortunately, it was not a high enough qualifier for first, second, or third place, meaning you do not qualify for any of the prizes. We appreciate your submission and hope you will try again next year."

She reread the email over and over again, her eyes looking over the words, hoping she had misread it somewhere. She heard her door open, and her dad walked in.

"Aph, what are you looking at?"

"I-It's none of your business, get out!" Aph yelled.

Despite her protests, her dad walked over and read the email. He looked over and sighed.

"I told you, you don't have the talent. Maybe this will be the rude awakening you needed to prove it." he said bluntly.

She stood up and held back tears as she screamed at him. "Shut up! You don't know anything about me! Why don't you just leave me alone, and stop telling me what to do!"

Without a hint of remorse, Zach silently left the room and closed the door.

Aphmau stood in the middle of the room. She felt different all of a sudden. She felt... empty.. As if nothing mattered at all anymore. She couldn't even cry. Inside her mind, her father's cruel words kept ringing, driving her mad.

"You don't have the talent." 

[END OF CHAPTER 9]