Hitori the Prim and Proper?
An alarm rung out into Hitori Gotou’s room, waking her from her unpleasant slumber. The mattress she had been sleeping on was finally starting to sag in the place she laid every night. As she sat up in a daze, her mother’s maid spoke up,
“Good morning, Hitori-sama. Please get up and I will help you get dressed.”
No matter how many times she woke up to that, it was always an uncomfortable feeling to have the older maid help her get dressed every morning. Hitori unwillingly took off her covers and walked over to the stool where her maid stripped and dressed her every morning all the while sighing and praying that today was going to just go by like it always does.
After getting dressed, Hitori walked downstairs to eat the breakfast the other maid had prepared for them. After taking her seat, she was presented with a breakfast of miso soup and eggs as normal. Before she started digging in, however, the maid who prepared breakfast presented her with a note. It was from her father. This could only mean something was happening this evening that she should be aware about even if she had no intentions on being a part of that something.
With a groan, Hitori opened the letter, thinking it was going to be a warning of a fancy dinner party or we’re having company with another fancy business owner or something along that nature.
“Hitori, you will be getting a personal maid by this time next week. We’ve hired someone around your age that you should be more comfortable with other than your mother’s or my maid. You will meet them tonight so be home at a reasonable time. Love you dear! Have a good day at school!”
She was wrong. Very wrong. Her thoughts started spinning in a vortex. Another maid? Around my age? Hitori clutched the paper in her hands. But what if I know them? Do they go to the same school as me? She put the note down trying not to freak out on the outside and started to eat all while her mind was racing. What if she thinks I’m lame? What if she tells everyone how I am at home? Ahh, there’s too much to think about.
She ate about half when one of the maids broke her out of her anxious trance. “Hitori-sama, we have to leave pretty soon, or you’ll be late for school.” Hitori just nodded, got up out of her seat, food left half eaten, and went over to the front door where the maid that dressed her held her bag while other one opened the door, leading to a vehicle. “Thank you.” Hitori managed to whisper out before putting on her shoes and grabbing the bag. “I’m off.”
-
Hitori took a deep breath as her chauffeur opened the door, leading to the outside world where school was waiting. She always had social anxiety but due to her father getting her a life coach young, she managed to keep it in check until she was home where she could melt alone. She stepped out of the vehicle as the driver wished her well and watched as he drove away. She looked back towards the school and started to walk in until a familiar voice approached from behind.
“Hitori-san, good morning!”
She felt a warmth embrace her from behind and saw locks of golden hair flutter in front of her. She glanced to her right where her friend, Nijika Ijichi’s face was smiling. “Good morning, Ijichi-san. How are you this morning?” “Hmmm, pretty good, I think. I got a note from my dad saying I was getting a maid today after school, so I’m excited to meet her!”
Hitori was taken slightly aback. What are the odds that we’re both getting a maid on the same day? “Really? Me too. Kind of weird that we’re getting one.” Nijika let go of Hitori and got next to her when they started to walk forward. “Yeah, I guess it is a bit weird. Maybe our dad’s planned it out or something like that. Maybe we’ll have the same maid!”
Hitori and Nijika’s fathers were close friends of one another and were in a band with one another at one point which is what led to them becoming friends later on in their lives. “Honestly, I hope that isn’t the case. Besides how would they take care of both of us at the same time?” Nijika pouted a bit, “Darn, I was hoping I could get them to tell me how you are at home Hitori-san. You’re always so dignified and stoic at school, so I thought maybe there was a secret to the madness. Especially since the last time I went over, you were basically a nervous blob.”
Yeah, there is: I am the exact same as I was back then as soon as I set foot in my room. Of course, I would never tell Ijichi-san this. “Nah, you’re thinking too much about it. I am the same no matter where I am.” Nijika’s eyes lit up and gazed at her with expectant eyes. Hitori realized she made a mistake. “Ehhhh? Is that so? How about I come over for a tea party today then? We can have our maids meet each other!” Hitori clammed up a bit, “I-I… Let me think about it.”
“How about you let me know by lunch? That way we can set it up.” Hitori mentally groaned a sound that wouldn’t come out of a dignified teenager. Ughhh, that was a big mistake on her part. Now she would have to wear the mask longer than normal. “Okay, I’ll let you know Ijichi-san.” Hitori went to her locker while Nijika went to hers on the other side of the shoe locker. “I’ll be waiting for your answer, Hitori-san!” Nijika waved her goodbye as she vanished behind the locker. Hitori realized that today was going to be one of the longest days of her life.
-
Even though Hitori thought it was going to be a long day, lunch came around quick. She hoped to find a spot to hide so she wouldn’t have to answer Nijika until after school but sadly before she even gathered her stuff together, the blonde ball of excitement was at her class. “Hitori-san! I came to eat!” Hitori knew she was just going to have to face this mistake she made head on. She needed to tell her no, but she wasn’t sure she could do it against Nijika’s vibrant extrovert nature versus her somewhat flimsy mask.
Nijika made her way over to Hitori and slid a chair to the front of her desk. Hitori tried to brace herself for the oncoming question, but she was too late. “So did you think about it?” The words spoke hit Hitori in the face a like what she could only imagine as a bag of cinder blocks would feel. “Um… Yeah I thought about it.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fully preparing to say no to her childhood friend but as soon she opened her eyes, she was immediately met with glimmering brown eyes.
“Soooo? What it gonna be?” Nijika queried “… Yeah, let’s do it.” Hitori almost sighed that out but held back at the last moment “Yay! I get to see how you are at home! I’ll tell my father right away!”
Hitori smiled on the outside but internally, she was being beaten up by three other clones of herself. That was the one thing she hadn’t gotten over all these years: saying no to other’s expectations. Nijika smiled at her, “Don’t worry, we won’t be there too long. Just enough to have tea and meet each other’s maids. I’m excited though!” After this quip, she unboxed her lunch and began eating like she didn’t just kill Hitori mentally. She was unaware of that fact, but Hitori couldn’t bear the thought of Nijika inquiring further about not being able to allow her over or even worse in her mind, her looking disappointed about it.
She resigned herself to her fate, as she unboxed her lunch and began to eat. Maybe she could get through it if she ate properly for once. The day was only halfway over and Hitori was already wanting to roll up in a big ball and cry herself to sleep. Lunch was mostly silent as Hitori didn’t know what to bring up to her friend. She surprisingly didn’t know a lot about her even though they had been friends for a little over a decade as they found different groups.
Well, Nijika found different groups while Hitori mostly became the silent beauty that everyone was too scared to talk to. It stroked her ego for sure, but she was kind of sad no one had the courage to talk to her besides Nijika. After eating, her friend bid her adieu and the final half of the day began.
-
A couple of pop quizzes later and Hitori was convinced that this would go down as the worst day of her life up to this point. Her brain felt like it was frying like an egg inside her skull while her body felt too exhausted to even take her shoes out of her locker. The day was finally over, she just needed to meet her maid and get through having Nijika over. She prepped herself and walked towards the entrance, making her way to where her ride awaited.
Nijika had told her she would be over about an hour after school, so Hitori planned to use that time being as lazy as possible. After arriving home, she practically ran through the door and straight to her room where she stripped off the school uniform she was basically shackled in all day, got into her more comfortable home wear, a pink tracksuit that she lounged in all the time, and jumped onto her mattress.
She immediately felt a wave of relaxation come over her and started to melt like she always did when a knock interrupted her, prompting a slight groan into her pillow. Maybe if she just ignored it, it’ll go away. Alas, another knock was at her door a couple of moments later and it prompted a slightly annoyed Hitori to get the door. “Yes, what do you need?” Hitori answered, eyes not even open.
“Excuse me, are you Hitori?”
Suddenly, Hitori felt her whole heart drop through the floor into the ground below. That was not a voice she has ever heard in this house before. She gulped and opened one eye, it was a redhead, not a familiar one but someone her age, nonetheless. “A-aaah yeah, t-t-thas me alright…” The unfamiliar face beamed, it was bright and vivid unlike anything Hitori had seen previously. Even Nijika’s smiles weren’t as bright as this tiny ball of light. Hitori instinctively closed her eye and grunted while the girl grabbed one of her hands.
“It’s nice to meet you! I’m your new maid, Kita Ikuyo! It’s a pleasure to meet you, my new master.” Hitori gave up her physical form and melted onto the floor. “Gotoh-san? Are you okay? Gotoh-san?” She heard the maid calling out to her, but the world around started to melt away like she was all over the floor. This really was the worst day of her life she thought as she started to drown in her thoughts with no hope of swimming out.