Chapter 2The Perfect Children

I quickly opened the door and invited her in.

She was carrying a tote bag, bulging with something I couldn’t quite make out.

The moment she stepped inside, she was beaming. “My Duke is finally growing up! He’s so thoughtful now! I’ve never seen him eat so well!” she gushed. “This new teacher is a miracle worker! She cured his picky eating in a single day!”

I hesitated, then decided I had to say something. “That’s wonderful, but… don’t you think the change is a little sudden? Could something have happened? Maybe he was bullied, or something scared him?”

“You should ask him carefully about what happened at school today.”

I told her everything Maya had seen, and my own theory. A story about Duke dying and coming back to life was too bizarre. The more plausible explanation, I suggested, was that a staff member wearing a mask had threatened the children. Maya had probably witnessed Duke being punished and, in her child’s mind, misinterpreted it as death.

It meant there was someone dangerous at that school, someone preying on the children in secret.

As I spoke, the color drained from her face. Her hand went slack, and the tote bag fell to the floor with a soft thud. Without another word, she turned and bolted for the door, rushing back home.

I figured that once she questioned Duke, the truth would come out. Then we could go to the school administration together.

It wasn’t long before my phone rang. It was her.

The second I answered, she started screaming.

“I can’t believe your daughter is such a pathological liar! What a sick, twisted joke! I asked my son! He said none of what your daughter said happened! He was sleeping soundly the entire nap time! She’s not just a bad kid, she’s wishing death on my son! You’re just jealous that Duke is finally behaving!”

Her accusations left me speechless, burning with shame. I glanced at Maya, who was still watching her cartoon, the picture of innocence.

Could Maya have really made it all up?

I sighed, and spent the next ten minutes apologizing profusely, begging for her forgiveness.