Wings (Book #2 of Vocaloid Actors Trilogy)

Chapter 1

"Mia, will you please concentrate!" Rachel shouts, breaking my reminiscing. I was pulled back to reality. Me and Rachel were revising for our GCSEs, or to be perfectly honest, trying to revise.

Like usual, we were hopeless together, and at the moment the TV was on Netflix paused on Stranger Things. Which was what we watching, before I got lost in my memories. Also Rachel's laptop was on YouTube, paused on a Jump scare Compilation.

My sharp ears pick up on footsteps approaching the room, and judging from Rachel's face she heard them too. I close the laptop and Rachel turns off the TV before we both grab random books from the pile scattered on Rachel's bed. The door swings open, revealing Rachel's mum.

"Are you two revising?" she asks, with a stern look on her face. "Because if my hearing serves me right, I heard screams, before a long silence, broken by Rachel's shout!" She must be talking about the Jump scare complication.

"I don't know about screams, Mum," Rachel says innocently. "But that long silence was us revising, before Mia went into a daze, as she caught up in a train of thought. I shouted to bring her back to reality."

"May I ask why Mia is holding a Dance book, while you are holding a German book, then?" she says, and I notice we both grabbed a book of a subject that we didn't do.

"We were about to test each other, before you came in," Rachel lies smoothly, her innocent facade fooling her Mum.

"I see," she says, not looking fully convinced, but still leaving the room nonetheless.

I sighed in relief and Rachel went to turn the TV back on, but I placed my hand on top of hers. Bit of a mistake, as it was the same hand that had the Soulmate Mark. So, covered in foundation. I grabbed a wipe and cleaned my hand, as she re-covered what was revealed with more foundation.

"Keep the TV off, or your Mum will hear it," I said, remembering the loud noise it made as it turned on. "Hey, Rachel . . . what happened to your father?" I asked the question that had been niggling in my mind, ever since I met her in high school.

She looked up to me, and I reacted in shock as her eyes will filled with tears. She turned around and lifted her shirt to reveal her back. When I looked closer, I saw a thin scar.

"He was abusive, hit me and Mum frequently, for something as little as sneezing in his presence," she said, the pain evident in her voice. "I once got whacked around the head and knocked unconscious for interrupting his football game."

"Oh . . . sorry," I say, looking down. "I d-didn't realise."

"No, it's alright. I talked with the therapist about this and she really helped," she said. "The final straw for Mum was when he whacked my back with his belt because I swore at him. I was in the hospital for . . . for a week as it healed. She finally divorced him, I was ten years old, and she's raised me as a single parent since."

"That . . . that explains the bruises you would have when you first became a Vocaloid Actor," I say, remembering the bruises that covered her body.

"Being a Vocaloid Actor helped me through it, seeing the others helped me, though I told nobody about it," she says. "Talking about Vocaloid Actors, I feel like there's something's missing."

"I know what you mean," I reply. I wasn't lying, I felt like something's missing for the last three months, ever since my 16th birthday. I rub my neck uneasily. Do the Vocaloid Masters have something planned for us? I voice my concerns to Rachel and she leant her head on her hands and stared off into space.

"I don't think so, I mean . . . they would tell us, wouldn't they?" she said, her eyes misted over as she got lost in her thoughts.

"Who knows?" I say, "They might have a flair for the dramatic, so they might spring something on us when we are least expecting it!"

"Considering how calm and collected we see them," Rachel says, "I would say no. But just in case your theory is right, we should stay alert in our exams next week, the time the Vocaloid Masters would expect our guards to be lowered the most."

"Yeah, also, you are still in the plan of Mind-Messaging each other notes during the exams?" I ask. "It's the only way we'll pass if we continuing revising like this," I add, pointing at the scattered sheets of paper and books all over the bed.

"Ugh, even with notes, I will never pass Maths," she says, with a sigh, rubbing her forehead wearily.

"Who knows," I say, "let's do some questions from the revision guide together! Where are you weakest?"

"Everywhere," she says. "But especially circle theorems!"

"I struggle with them as well, we can help each other," I say, as I open our revision guide to the page of circle theorems. "I don't understand why you doubt your Maths skills though, you are in the top set with me."

"I have no idea how I managed to get into top set," she says. "I wish I didn't, as I now have to do the higher paper, instead of the foundation paper! Ugh, I can't wait to drop Maths in sixth form. I better pass, doing a resit will be hell!"

I giggle at this, she is so good at Maths, but doesn't realise. As I look at her working out, and compare it with the answers, all the questions she has done are correct. I am also pretty good at Maths myself.

"So, what were you planning to do at A-level, then?" I ask. "I was planning on Maths, Computing and Sociology."

"I want to do Dance, Computing and Physics," she says, and I raise an eyebrow. Definitely diverse and an odd combination. My phone rings, making me jump and I answer.

It's my Mum, she seems to be in tears. I listen carefully to distinguish what she is saying through the tears. "Your Dad . . . seriously injured . . . hospital," was all I could make out.

"Woah, woah, Mum! Calm down and tell me what happened?" I ask, Rachel is looking at me curiously.

I hear her take a breath before speaking, "Your Dad is seriously injured . . . fell out of the trailer . . . adjusting a load . . . airlifted to hospital . . . several broken bones . . . meet me at the hospital in an hour . . ."

"What?! When did this happen?" I say, in a panic.

"Just this morning . . . knocked unconscious . . . lost his memory . . . found by cops . . . apparently he was screaming . . ."

"OK . . . see you at the hospital . . ." I say, gulping back my tears, before hanging up. "Looks like we will have to cut this revision session cut short, I need to go to the hospital!"

"What happened?!" she says.

"I'm not sure, I'll Mind-Message later, with the details."

"OK, see you later!"

"Yeah."

I dash out of the house, and jump on the bus that just pulled up. I go to the bus station and use Google Maps on my phone to make my way to the hospital. I dash up to the main entrance and see Mum there. She has managed to stop crying, but I can see the tear-streaks on her face.

"Follow me," she says in a quiet voice and we go through the familiar maze of corridors. We end up in a ward I have never been to before. It is the serious trauma ward. Mum talks to a nurse and she leads us to a room.

We go in, two or three patients are in this room. At the very end is my Dad. I take one look at his body before breaking down in tears. Whatever skin I can see is covered in heavy bruising, and he is hooked up to many machines, an IV and he is unconscious or asleep with an oxygen mask over his face.

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A/N Yeah, plot twist! Is Mia's dad still alive? What happened to him? I've just noticed I feature the hospital a lot in my fanfic and I'm not stopping here!