Yuki abruptly woke up from her deep sleep. Her alarm clock kept buzzing at her ears.
She lay there for a moment, eyes half-shut, then sat up.
Her uniform was by her desk, it was navy blue, with white stripes along the sleeves. The red ribbon sat on top, already tied. The long dark blue skirt hung just below her knees.
She then quickly got dressed, smoothing out every wrinkle with her hands.
Yuki had blonde hair that hung over her shoulders. Every morning she would check herself in the mirror and use her hands to fix whatever looked off. But that day, a few strands of hair were already out of place.
"Hm. Not quite right," she said, shaking her head.
She then left her room and walked down the hallway. Her house was clean and smelled like lavender.
She stepped into the kitchen, greeting her parents.
"Morning Papa," Yuki said.
At the kitchen table, her father sat while reading his newspaper. He had short grey hair and glasses, which made him look older than his actual age.
"Yuki, anything unique today?" Her father said.
Yuki glanced toward the sink and smiled at her mom, who was washing the dishes.
"Morning, Mom."
"Good morning, dear," her mother said.
She then opened the fridge and stared blankly for a moment. The cold air brushed her face.
"My math assignment is due today, however, i did finish it. I really do hope i get a good score."
Her parents spoke in unison, their voices harmonizing.
"You'll do great. After all, you are our perfect girl."
Yuki let out a short breath of a laugh, her fingers brushing her cheek as her eyes dropped for a moment. She ended up closing the fridge without getting anything from it.
"Ah... you guys always say that, I'm gonna go fix up my hair now," she said.
In the bathroom, Yuki combed her hair carefully into a high ponytail. Smiling with delight, she examined her reflection from all angles.
"Perfection!" she said.
Before heading out, Yuki grabbed the lavender spray and gave each room a light mist.
She then looked at the clock in the living room and stopped.
"Oh, my god! I'm gonna be late," she said.
Yuki quickly grabbed her backpack and slid into her shoes by the front entrance.
Her parents stood at the front window of the living room, waving. Their grins were pleasant. However, they remained silent and only waved.
This was not something out of the ordinary. Her parents did this every single day like clockwork.
Yuki opened the door and waved back at them.
"See you later," she said, out of habit.
Yuki then walked straight to school while her ponytail swung back and forth.
Once in school, she ran in the hallway. There were students rushing past her with their papers in hand, lockers were banging, and the school halls were buzzing with conversation.
Amidst the chaos, Yuki navigated among them.
A loud moan however caught Yuki's attention, followed by dragging footsteps.
It was Riko Fuyumi, her best friend.
She wore a black dress that hung loose on her. Her hair was a mess. There were dark circles under her eyes.
Yuki glanced at her wrist. She always wore the same bracelet—the one with the tiny skull.
"Ugh... I'm so done... I think I slept for, like... twenty minutes. Did you even glance at last night's math assignment?" Riko mumbled, her voice scratchy.
"Was it that difficult?" Yuki chuckled.
Riko dramatically fell against her locker.
"It was impossible! You are not the least bit concerned."
Looking at her notes, Yuki smiled.
"I believe I got it correct, but who knows."
Shaking her head, Riko moaned.
"It's not fair how simple everything is for you."
Yuki had shrugged off the comment and maintained her courteous grin.
If only Riko knew, she thought, clutching her books more tightly.
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 snarled, staring at Yuki. "I bet she's going to get a perfect score again."
"Ugh, I know," said another angrily. "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 room, the boys were loud again. 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. He kept his shoulders low, like shrinking made him invisible.
His face was full of acne, stretching across both cheeks.
The boy adjusted his round glasses.
"I'm go ask her out," he said.
The group went quiet for a second. Then someone grabbed his arm.
"Kenji. No. You'll go blind just looking at her."
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; her beaming grin brightened her face.
"Morning, Igaguri Kenji!" Yuki joyfully welcomed him.
Her flawless white teeth appeared to shine forth, blinding Kenji.
He 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 yawned as she walked up to Yuki's desk, looking exhausted.
"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.
"Yuki, you angel! I don't know what I'd do without you!"
The classroom door opened violently before Riko could grab the 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."
When Miss Nishimura stood at the front of the class clutching the corrected math papers, one hour had gone by.
Names were called out one by one.
As students gathered their papers, quiet cheers and sad sighs permeated the classroom.
Then Yuki Ayano's name was called.
The room immediately became silent as everyone observed Yuki rising from her chair.
Politely taking her corrected paper from Miss Nishimura.
Her teacher remarked, seeming somewhat worried, "Another flawless score, Yuki Ayano."
Whispers spread through the room.
"Of course. Miss Perfect again," 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 for a moment 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 was looking at her.
Yuki gave her a small nod, like she was saying, 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 of 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 of 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.
Smiling softly, the dolls' arms bent in a wave.
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."
Miss Nishimura stood frozen, her thoughts spinning, breath caught in her throat.
In front of her, Yuki sat beside two dolls, speaking to them gently—as if they were her real parents.
But just a few feet away, her real parents lay in bed, pale and unmoving, surrounded by trash and decay.
Fighting the urge to throw up, Miss Nishimura pressed a hand to her mouth.
"They wave to me every morning," Yuki said with a trembling smile, her eyes never leaving the dolls.
Miss Nishimura stepped forward, her heart aching.
"Ayano… you don't have to keep pretending."
Yuki flinched but didn't turn around.
"I'm not pretending," she said defensively. "This is just how things are."
Miss Nishimura gently placed a hand on Yuki's shoulder.
"Ayano, please… look at them."
Yuki shook her head.
"I spray lavender every day so they can rest peacefully. I open the curtains."
"No, sweetheart, It's not—," Miss Nishimura hesitated.
Yuki was quiet for a moment.
Then, she whispered, "I didn't want anyone to know."
"You don't have to carry this by yourself anymore," Miss Nishimura said.
"I wasn't going to tell anyone. Ever."
"But you let me in," Miss Nishimura said gently.
Yuki's voice cracked.
"I didn't mean to."
"But you did."
Yuki turned her head slightly, just enough for Miss Nishimura to see the tears in her eyes.
"I thought if I just kept going… if I smiled enough, worked hard enough…If only i was truly perfect."
Yuki's lips trembled.
"They can't move. They can't talk. But they're still my parents. And I—" her breath caught,
"—I don't know what else to do."
"You've done everything you could, but you don't have to keep doing it alone," Miss Nishimura said, placing a hand over Yuki's.
"I'm not a good daughter, am I?"
"No, that's not it. You're just a daughter who's been hurting for a very long time." Miss Nishimura said.
Yuki finally turned to face her teacher, body trembling. "I didn't want you to see me like this."
"I know," Miss Nishimura nodded.
"You'll think I'm broken."
"I don't."
"You will."
Miss Nishimura gave her a smile.
"I'm still here, aren't I?"
Yuki broke down.
The mask she'd had worn so tightly cracked open.
Her body collapsed forward as she clutched Miss Nishimura's sleeve, sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder.
Her tears came fast, like floodgates bursting after years of pressure.
"I just wanted to be perfect," she cried.