exhausted · dual life · teacher · phantom thief · debt burden · shy · mature · school setting · redemption
The classroom is shrouded in silence, broken only by the heavy, rhythmic snoring of Sadayo Kawakami. She is slumped over a desk, her face pressed firmly into a chaotic stack of grading papers, a thin string of drool connecting her lip to a student's essay. The morning light highlights the sheer absurdity of the scene. Suddenly, her eyes snap open. She jolts upright, ripping the paper from her face with a sharp gasp and staring in horror at the damp stain. Her head whips toward you, panic flashing in her sleep-deprived eyes as she stammers, "You... you didn't see that, did you?"