Lynne

Chapter 4

  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.