Cleaning

Yuri wasn't sure if cleaning the classroom if you weren't on cleaning duty was against the rules, but she was a rebellious spirit. She swept the floor hundreds of times, cleaning every nook and canny. She was unreasonably good at her job (or non-job as she wasn't supposed to clean today). She made any mess disappear, and dust bunnies fled from her ominous aura. The room smelled empty. It was like she was suddenly in the vacuum of space with nothing to trigger the nose hairs in her nostrils. Actually, there's an idea that space smells like burnt steak. Apparently, that's what astronauts say, but that wasn't how the classroom smelled like. It smelled like the lack of smell. It was a true vacuum. The thing that astronauts smell in space isn't the vacuum of space, but the stuff in the spaceship and space suits and whatever is actually in space. Theoretically, you can't smell the vacuum of space. Even if you took off your helmet, it would be nearly impossible to inhale through your nose. The vacuum of space would suck all of the air of your lungs and you would promptly die. If you are going to smell anything, it would be blood and your own air. But either way, it's unlikely that the vacuum of space has a smell, since it doesn't have any particles because it's literally nothing.

Wait, is space literally nothing, Yuri thought to herself. Theoretically, it is. But if you go to space, there will still be particles floating around. Not as many particles as Earth has, but they're there. Even if you go outside of the Milky Way galaxy, there will be one or two particles per every couple of cubic meters. Wait, does that mean that there is empty space? Sure, there is still something out there, but if there are that few particles, then there must be some empty space. It's like a nearly empty theater. Sure, it isn't empty for sure, but there's a lot of empty seats. So, what is empty space like?

Yuri had no idea. While the classroom smelled like nothing, it wasn't nothing. It was something. It was air. But the air didn't smell like anything. Yuri couldn't detect anything, even with her keen sense of smell. It was pure air. It was kinda like how water with absolutely nothing in it (pure H20) didn't taste like anything. Or did it actually smell like something? Maybe it smelled like Yuri. Since Yuri had been with herself for a long time, it's possible that it just smelled like her. Whatever that means. Do those police dogs who smell drugs and criminals know how they smell like? Probably not, but it's likely that they don't have a particular smell, per se. The dogs get dirty and are cleaned, and their smell changes with that. But they also identify other animals by their smell. So, there must be something.

Yuri was pacing around the room at this point. She didn't have the nose of a bloodhound. So, she could just test it out for herself. She has seen people tell the difference between people by the scent of their shampoo, but can't you just change your shampoo and disguise yourself? No, that's a bit too little. If you want to completely hide your identity, you have to change your appearance, your voice, your walking, your mannerisms, your personality, and your everything. But then again if the other person wasn't paying attention, it's possible to fool them very easily. A cheap wig from a store you found when you got lost in the wrong side of town would work just fine. Yuri knew this from experience.

Yuri's pacing around the room stopped when she heard a rattling sound at the door and the door slid right open. In popped in the head of a woman with long black hair. It was Mrs. Hiiragi.

She inched inside, keeping eye contact with Yuri, who reached for her broom. Once she was completely inside the classroom, she sighed.

"Why are you here, Yuri?" she asked.

"Cleaning," Yuri said, sweeping the floor.

"I can see that, but I don't understand why you want to do it so badly."

"It's fun."

"I wish I had that kind of mindset, but you didn't have to do that."

"I did it."

"I wasn't talking about the cleaning. I was talking about the broken window. You could just ask me to unlock the door."

Yuri swept the floor more aggressively to mask the deafening silence.

"Yuri, is something going on?"

Yuri shook her head.

"It's fine. I shouldn't expect anything from you. You do know that I can't turn a blind eye to a broken window."

Yuri nodded.

"I see. You understand."

A breeze flew into the now open window.

"Is it fine that I get a little personal with you?"

Yuri nodded as she continued to sweep the already clean floor.

"Is there a fourth one? There's you, Kasumi, and Risa."

"Megumi?"

"No, Akane. I remember that she didn't have a last name either. Do you know her?"

Yuri didn't say anything for a second.

"Not anymore," Yuri said.

"Wait, you do know someone with that name? I swore that I dreamt her up a couple of years ago. Are we thinking about the same person? Did she wear a white cap and a white dress?"

"Yes."

"Oh, really? What happened to her?"

Yuri tilted her head down and clutched her broom.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm sorry. It's probably too persona-"

"Lemonade."

Mrs. Hiiragi looked at the girl. She saw someone who retreated into her own head. Her trademarked emotionless face was still on, but the teacher didn't need a face to read the mood.

"You can stick around, Yuri. If you need help, I'm always here."

"No thanks," Yuri said, walking away to the door.

"Please tell me where you are going."

Yuri stopped just by the door.

"Principal's office."

"Why?"

Yuri pointed at the broken window.

"Oh, please. It's fine, Yuri," Mrs. Hiiragi said, looking at the window, "I don't blame you."

But Yuri was gone when Mrs. Hiiragi looked back at the door. She didn't chase her. She had a gut feeling that it would make things worse.

Meanwhile, Yuri stormed through the hallways. She never realized how many people were in her school, but she didn't need them now. She knew how to get to the principal's office.

She reached the principal's office. Inside, she saw a man wearing all black. He had a black hat, a black jacket, black pants, and black shoes. However, he wasn't wearing a mask. She clenched her fist.