"Liam, when are you going to stop being a little idiot!" David shouted across the phone.
Liam moved the phone away from his ears and frowned at his dad's rude comment.
"Dad, you know that this is my dream. I won't stop doing this until I achieve it, you won't change my mind no matter what," Liam replied, his voice firm as he ignored his dad's taunts.
"You've always been like this, a stubborn little brat!" His dad taunted again.
"Look at your brother, he had gotten a job in an office. He makes around four thousand dollars a month, he is also planning to get a house for himself and his fiancee soon." He continued, "Meanwhile, you are too busy chasing nothing but a fantasy."
"GROW UP!" He shouted again.
Liam gritted his teeth but decided not to talk back.
"Dad, I'm happy for Jack. In fact, I'm very proud of him."
"He pursued his dream, went to university and achieved what he desired. But I am not happy for him just because he can make a lot of money." He stated.
"Also, it's a real low blow for you to bring up my brother's achievement and compare his with mine,"
"I'm doing this so you can wak-" His dad rebuked, but was interrupted by Liam almost immediately.
"Doesn't matter dad, I know you are doing this to 'wake me up'. I've heard this many times already, it's not the first time you did this."
"But please, just leave me do what I want, why are you so worried about the job I want to do."
"I assure you that I will come back to our little town when everything fails, but for now I'm enjoying this."
After saying that, he hung up the phone and sighed.
"He keeps calling me every week, asking me if I got a job in my so-called acting career." He muttered to himself, as he put his phone down.
"And every damn time, I tell him no, no and... no." He said as his emotion built up from the constant reminder of his failure.
...
"Why did you say that to him, David?" Carmilla's voice was soft, though concern was etched in her tone.
"You keep pushing him to give up on what he loved, ever since he was young."
David leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. "He needs to hear it, Carmilla. Your son has chosen one of the hardest paths out there."
"I call him every week for three reasons."
He held up a finger.
"The first is to test his resolve."
"His resolve?" She repeated as a frown appeared on her face.
"I mean he is pretty determined, considering that he moved to Los Angeles."
David shook his head, as he continued.
"You know as well as I do, Hollywood chews people up. Depression, burnout—it's everywhere. If I sense that he's breaking, if he can't handle the rejection and ridicule, I'll fly to Los Angeles myself and pull him out of that mess. I won't let him destroy his future chasing something he won't be able to keep."
Carmilla sighed but listened intently. "And the second reason?" she asked.
David's gaze softened, as he exhaled deeply.
"The second reason..." He hesitated, then continued with a faint smile.
"I keep hoping he'll change his mind. That he'll come back home, find a stable job, settle down, and give us a chance to spoil some of his grandkids."
Carmilla's lips curved into a smile, but her eyes stayed clouded with worry. "You only want what's best for him," she murmured, "But I fear that he will hate you and cut you off for it."
"Maybe he will, but if he does hate me for it then I failed at two things. The first is his upbringing, the second is not convincing him."
She nodded her head, worry still etched in her expression.
"I will go heat up the food for us." She said as she left the small living room.
"Thanks, honey," He muttered, as he watched her leave.
'As for the third reason, it's because I miss him.' David thought as a wry smile crept on his face.
...
Six months later...
"Excuse me, can I have a latte please," A woman ordered.
"Right away," Liam responded with a smile, as he got to work.
'It's tomorrow,' Liam thought, as he served the customer her latte.
"Thank you for dropping by, enjoy your latte." He smiled, as he handed it over.
"Thank you," She nodded, as she headed to her seat.
A small sigh escaped his mouth, as he cleaned the machines, it was almost the end of his shift and tomorrow was a big day for him.
"Tomorrow, I will do an audition." He muttered silently, as his replacement arrived at work.
"Thanks, Liam. I will handle it from here, you can go home now," The man said, as he put on his apron and headed into the working space.
Liam nodded and said goodbyes before leaving the store.
As he left the store, a familiar face stood in front of him.
"Uhm, hi." She said, as her hands fidgeted behind her back, her gaze on Liam's face.
"You are the girl from before, the one who ordered the latte?" He said, his voice slightly unsure.
The girl nodded her head like a little chicken.
"Yup, that's me."
"I see, well how can I help you?" He asked his tone evidence of his confusion.
"Uhm, I... was wondering if, you know, I can have your snap maybe?" She said, as her legs started fidgeting along with her hands.
"My snap?" He asked, with some confusion.
"Yes, your snap." She nodded.
"Why do you want that?" He asked, still confused.
"Well, you know. I want to get to know you," She responded.
"Oh, I see."
It finally clicked, the girl seemed to be interested in him.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you it for two reasons. The first is that I don't have snap to begin with, and the second is that I'm not ready for any relationship right now,"
The girl became flustered hearing his reasoning, she almost burst out at him.
'You don't have snap? Who doesn't? Are you a caveman?' but she held herself, as she heard the second reason.
'So he just didn't want to hurt my feelings,' She thought, as she listened to him continue.
"I see, well I'm sorry for bothering you and making it awkward." She said as she hurried to leave.
"It's okay, it's not awkward at all." He shook his head.
...
Arriving in his small apartment, Liam took a quick shower and headed to bed.
"Tomorrow is my chance, I can't fail anymore. The money I had saved before has slowly run out in the past few months, and the money I'm getting as a barista isn't gonna cut it off. Failing is not an option."
"Tomorrow is gonna either make me...or break me," He muttered, as he remembered his dad's words.
'Maybe he was right, I should have focused on graduating and getting a stable job.'
...
The next day arrived, and Liam barely had any sleep.
'Damn it, I'm going to be late for the audition.' He thought as he hurried to enter the small recording room.
His audition was at 10:00 am sharp, it's already 10:00 and he still hasn't arrived.
"Next, participant... Liam West!" The judge shouted as he waited for the next participant to enter.
"Liam West!" The judge shouted again, making sure his voice was loud and clear just in case.
"I think this person isn't here it's already 10:02 am, let's call for the next participant." A second judge concluded.
The third judge seemed conflicted as he glanced at his watch.
"Alright, let's call for the nex-"
"I'm here, sorry judges for the delay," Liam said as he caught his breath from the running he had been doing.
The first judge raised an eyebrow and said.
"Although this is already a bad first impression, I think we should still give you a chance," He said, as he glanced at the other judges.
"What do you guys think?
The other two judges nodded, agreeing with him.
"Alright, we will give you 2 minutes to catch your breath then perform."
Liam nodded, as excitement built up inside of him.
As he entered the studio, he received something that made him think he was hallucinating.
[Super Star System has chosen you as its host.]
[The host will be able to gain skills from the roles he acts in.]
[Newbie Gift: Basic Acting Skill]
As Liam received the basic Acting skills, he realised that he wasn't an amateur Actor in any way shape or form, he was nothing but a mesh of different characters he watched as he grew up.
'To think, that I awakened a system. I will surely be able to rise now!' He thought as he caught his breath.