The bell rang and all the students made it to class.
Within the classroom, all you heard was students buzzing nervously, exchanging notes, and stressing over their tasks.
Near the back, a group of females leaned in and spoke violently behind Yuki's back.
"Look at her," one said. "I bet she's going to get a perfect score again."
"Ugh, I know," said another. "It's as if she was born flawless or something. It's just not fair."
"She should be locked up for being that pretty," the first girl said.
Across the classroom, the boys were being loud. Shoving each other playfully.
"Hey," one of them said, "Does Miss Perfect even have a boyfriend?"
No one spoke.
Then, the scraping sound of a chair could be heard.
One of the quieter boys stood up. He had brown hair shaped like a bowl and round glasses.
"I'm gonna go ask her out," he said.
"Kenji, You'll go blind just by looking at her, don't do it."
Kenji didn't answer right away. Just pulled his arm free and exhaled.
"Relax. I got this. Watch and learn."
Nervously, Kenji walked towards Yuki's desk, his buddies parting.
As he approached, Yuki looked in Kenji's direction.
"Morning, Igaguri Kenji!" Yuki joyfully welcomed him.
Her flawless white teeth appeared to shine forth, blinding Kenji.
Kenji abruptly halted and dramatically covered his eyes.
"No! She's too bright! I-I can't see!" he said, tripping backward.
Kenji's friends burst into laughter, while shaking their heads as they teased him.
One of his friends yelled, "We told you, man!"
Rubbing his eyes, Kenji whined jokingly, "Sorry, I should have listen. That smile? Unreal."
Riko then made her way to Yuki's desk, as she yawned.
"I did some of the math assignment just now," she sighed, "but I'm nowhere near done. I'm so screwed."
Yuki gently laughed and handed her notes to Riko.
"Here, please make use of mine. After all, we are besties."
Riko fell to her knees dramatically, making a scene.
"Yuki, you angel!"
The classroom door opened violently, before Riko could grab Yuki's notes.
Their teacher marched in, her eyes scanning the room like a hawk.
"Okay, everyone—settle down. Let's get that math homework in."
Riko's optimistic look changed immediately to sadness, and tears began to form in her eyes.
Yuki chuckled and said, "Good luck."
Miss Nishimura their math teacher, stood at the front of the class as she instructed everyone to give her the math assignment. Everyone stood up and put their papers at Miss Nishimura desk as they waited till it was corrected.
One hour had gone by.
Names were called out one by one.
Then Yuki Ayano's name was called.
The room immediately became silent as everyone observed Yuki rising from her chair.
Her teacher remarked, seeming somewhat worried, "Another flawless score, Yuki Ayano."
Whispers spread through the room.
"Of course, Miss Perfect again got a perfect score," someone muttered.
"She really thinks she's better than the rest of us," another said.
"Such a show-off," a voice added, just loud enough for Yuki to hear.
Holding her smile, Yuki did her best to disregard the comments.
"Thanks, Miss Nishimura."
Miss Nishimura touched Yuki's shoulder as she said, "Could you remain behind after class?"
The room felt quiet all of a sudden. Yuki could feel eyes on her—more than before. She then went back to her seat, her hands resting still on her desk.
Across the room, Riko Fuyumi was looking at her, Yuki gave her a small nod, like she was trying to say, I'm okay.
It was the end of the school day. The classroom rapidly cleared when the departure bell rang. Yuki sat calmly at her desk, pretending to concentrate on the tidy lines of her notebook.
Her pulse started to race a little. She did not know what her teacher wanted from her. Miss Nishimura walked over to Yuki's desk, arms folded loosely, her face calm but thoughtful.
Her teacher was young, probably in her late twenties, and always showed a level of confidence. Her straight black hair fell just past her shoulders, framing her beautiful face.
Her dark brown eyes were sharp, like she was always paying attention to everything at once. She wore a fitted black blouse and matching pants—no tie, just clean and neat.
Miss Nishimura put her hand on Yuki's desk while looking straight at her.
"Ayano, everything about you is outstanding—your grades, your conduct. Honestly, you amaze me."
Yuki raised her gaze.
"Ayano," Miss Nishimura said gently, "I hope you don't mind me bringing this up, but I haven't had the chance to meet your parents yet... They haven't attended any school events or parent-teacher meetings, and I've tried reaching out a few times with no luck."
She paused.
"Is everything okay at home?"
Yuki's fingers clutched at her desk as she felt an unexpected tightness in her chest.
She tried maintaining a calm tone. "Sorry, they're really busy."
Miss Nishimura stopped, perhaps considering Yuki's reaction.
Her teacher's eyes filled with mild worry. "I understand, but Yuki, my door is always open if you ever need assistance—anything at all."
Yuki rose from her seat and bowed politely. "Thank you, Miss Nishimura."
Hoping no more inquiries would follow her, Yuki turned and exited the classroom.
Yuki was making her way back home. The sun was low, and the sky was orange.
Once she outside her house, Yuki saw her parents behind the living room window, as they waved at her with smiles on their faces.
Yuki's frown faded, and a bright smile took its place.
She ran toward the house, shouting,
"Mom! Dad! I'm coming!"
But behind Yuki, Miss Nishimura remained at a distance, quietly following out of worry.
Miss Nishimura eyes caught something creepy, and a flood of anxiety swept over her.
Yuki's house was not how she appeared to view it.
Instead, it was dirty and it had ugly graffiti written on it. Profanities covered the outside walls of her home.
Stepping closer and climbing gently over the fence to gain a good glimpse, Miss Nishimura's breath raced.
What she saw in the glass window caused her to pause in shock.
Propped up within the living room window, were two dolls' arms lifted rigidly as if permanently waving—one clothed as a man in a suit with gray hair and glasses, the other as a woman in an apron and long brown hair.
Her heart thumped in her ears.
Did Yuki refer to these dolls as Mom and Dad?
Yuki entered, yelling again,
"Mom, Dad, I'm home!"
Miss Nishimura ran and knocked on Yuki's front door.
Yuki had taken off her shoes by now, however a knock on the door caught her by surprise.
Eyes wide and wary, Yuki turned.
"Yuki Ayano?" her teacher said. "Please open the door."
Yuki took a deep breath and opened the door carefully, pushing a pleasant grin on her face.
"Miss Nishimura, oh! It's you."
Miss Nishimura smiled nervously, obviously attempting to be casual.
"I happened to be walking by and saw you head inside. I figured it might be a good time to finally meet your parents."
Yuki's grin faded a little as her voice became softer.
"They're resting now. I don't know whether they are free."
Miss Nishimura slowly leaned forward.
"If it's okay… just for a moment. I'd really like to check in."
Yuki felt like she could not object any further.
"Sure, I'll take you to them... Just follow me."
Miss Nishimura gulped, her heart racing with worry.
Once Miss Nishimura went inside the house, all she saw were the peeling wallpaper, the stained walls, the piles of garbage bags crowding the corners. The air was sour and it had a rotting smell that made her eyes sting.
Miss Nishimura lifted a hand to cover her mouth and nose, trying not to breathe too deeply.
Oh God, what is that awful smell… Does she not see all this trash? It's as if Yuki had convinced herself that all of this garbage didn't exist, Miss Nishimura thought.
"Thank you," Miss Nishimura said, her voice tight with worry.
They walked along a dark corridor. Their footsteps barely making a sound.
Yuki then gently opened one of the doors to the right-hand side. It was her parents' room.
Yuki's voice was unexpectedly cheerful.
"Mom, Dad, my teacher came to see you. She just wanted to check how you're both doing."
Standing in the doorway, Miss Nishimura felt her heart drop—she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
The air was thick and stuffy, carrying a sharp smell that made her stomach turn.
The room was filled with trash and broken glass.
She spotted two pale bodies lying still under old, bloody-stained blankets.
Medical tubes ran from their arms to quiet machines.
Their eyes were open, but empty—staring off into nowhere.
The absolute terror, however, was Yuki herself.
Yuki Ayano ignored her parents' sick bodies and walked over to the two porcelain dolls sitting by the bedside table. The dolls looked exactly like the ones from the living room window.
With shaking fingers, Yuki stretched out and gently touched them.
Nervously chuckling, she said,
"Huh...Mama, Papa… come on, stop messing around. Miss Nishimura didn't come here to scold me."
How long has she been living like this? Doesn't she see her parents are barely alive—right in front of her?
Miss Nishimura took a step forward, as her heels clicked on the dirty tile.
"Ayano…You don't have to keep pretending," she said.
"I'm not pretending, this is just how things are," Yuki said.
Her fingers curled around the doll's arms.
Miss Nishimura stepped closer, slowly reaching out, as her hand settled on Yuki's shoulder.
"Please… look at them, don't you see how sick your parents are?" Miss Nishimura said.
Yuki shook her head, attempting to avoid looking at her sick parents.
"I spray lavender every day so they can rest peacefully," Yuki said.
"You don't have to carry this alone," Miss Nishimura said.
"I wasn't going to tell anyone," she said.
"But you did."
Yuki shook her head.
"I didn't mean to."
"But, you still did and I believe you wanted someone to see you in this state. So they can help you."
Her shoulders trembled. Slowly, she turned, just enough for her face to come into view. Her eyes were wet.
"I'm a bad daughter, right? Is that it?" Yuki said.
"No. You're a daughter who's been hurting alone, for a long time."
That broke something in Yuki, to the point that her eyes widened.
Yuki turned to Miss Nishimura, as she grabbed her sleeve and buried her face on her lap.
"I just wanted to be perfect," she cried out.