Chapter 2

In the afternoon, the doorbell rang.

It wasn't a package, nor was it a neighbor. Standing outside the door was Mrs. Higgins, my homeroom teacher.

Mom opened the door. Seeing Mrs. Higgins, she froze for a moment, then quickly put on her usual polite, distant smile.

"Mrs. Higgins? What brings you here? Please, come in."

Mrs. Higgins walked in, her eyes instinctively scanning the quiet living room before finally resting on my closed bedroom door. "Mrs. Miller, sorry to drop by unannounced. I wanted to check on Daisy. She missed school again today, and I'm a bit worried. She's never been one to skip class without a reason."

Mom’s face darkened almost instantly. Her fake smile vanished without a trace.

She didn't even invite Mrs. Higgins to sit. Instead, she stood in the middle of the living room like a stone wall, her voice cold and rigid.

"Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Higgins. She's fine. She just doesn't want to go to school, so she's throwing a tantrum and pretending to sleep! No matter what I say, she won't get up. I've given up on her."

Mrs. Higgins frowned slightly.

"Pretending? No, Mrs. Miller. Daisy isn't that kind of child. She is one of the most mature, sweetest kids in my class."

"Actually, I came to tell you some good news. Last week, our class had only one nomination for the District's Kindness Ambassador Award. Every teacher and student voted, and Daisy won."

She took out a beautifully designed certificate from her bag.

"The other kids all said Daisy is always quietly helping everyone."

"When her classmate threw up, while other kids ran away, she was the first to grab a mop. And during the charity drive for the orphanage, she donated all her savings, leaving nothing for herself... Didn't she tell you about any of this?"

Mom stared at the certificate. Her eyes held no joy, no pride—only disbelief and growing irritation.

"Kindness Ambassador?"

Mom’s voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and piercing. She didn't even reach out to take the certificate, as if it were something filthy.

"Mrs. Higgins, you’ve all been fooled by her! She's nothing like that at home! She wants nothing more than to turn this house upside down! She doesn't appreciate how hard we work to take care of her baby sister at all!"

"If she's so kind, why does she bully Lily every single day? Why is she so selfish, pretending to be sick just to get attention?! She's just a..."

The venomous word she had used to call me a thousand times was right on the tip of her tongue, but in front of the teacher, she forced herself to swallow it down. Her chest heaved violently.

Mrs. Higgins looked shocked.

"Mrs. Miller... do you... do you really think that of Daisy? A child might act differently at school and at home, but a kind heart can't be faked. Is it possible... you have some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could I have?! I'm her mother! I know her better than anyone!"

Mom was completely triggered now. Her voice was so high it practically scraped my eardrums.

"She's a curse! She was born to make my life miserable! You only see her fake sweet act. Have you seen her pathetic, stubborn face at home?! I wish I had never given birth to her!"

"Rip!"

Mom snatched the certificate right out of Mrs. Higgins's hand.

Without even looking at it, she crumpled it into a ball and threw it hard onto the floor!

Mrs. Higgins took a step back, startled by the sudden outburst.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing. She just let out a long, heavy sigh, her face filled with exhaustion and deep disappointment.

"Since... since that's how you feel, I won't take up any more of your time."

She turned and left, her departure quick and heavy-hearted.

Mom slammed the door. The loud bang echoed through the house.

She didn't even look at the crumpled ball of paper on the floor—the only piece of recognition I had ever received from the outside world.

Her chest was still heaving, and she kept muttering like she was reciting a curse:

"She's not sweet! It's all an act! So young, yet she already knows how to manipulate people. She fooled her classmates, her teachers, and now she wants to fool me?! I'm telling you, Daisy, not a chance!"

She screamed toward my bedroom door.

And I just floated beneath the living room ceiling, quietly staring at the crumpled certificate on the floor.

Mom, I wanted to be a good kid too. I wanted to make you proud and give you peace of mind.

But no matter what I did, it seemed I was always wrong.