[color=CornflowerBlue][i]"New ice cream parlor. I'll reheat dinner."[/i][/color] was her brother's response. Rui dropped her arm to her side.

[color=#ffbae8]"Well, I guess he's just like that..."[/color] she wistfully muttered to herself. She felt a bit uncomfortable laying down, though. [color=#ffbae8]"Ah, right... my coat."[/color] Rui mused, pushing back against her bed to get off it. She changed out of her uniform, then shuffled over to her working desk. Some light rehearsal in the short time she had before dinner couldn't hurt, she thought. Though she took the initiative, fatigue settled in even before she got to work. It was the same routine every day. Going through her notes right before school, diligently paying attention to class, then when she got back home she studied some more. Rui opened one of her textbooks, on the page she left off at, with some notepaper next to her to write on. Her pencil smoothly slid across the surface of her paper, the movements like an automaton. The minutes ticked by as she mindlessly memorized, up until her mother came into the room.

"Dinner's ready, Rui."
[color=#ffbae8]"Mm. I'll be right there,"[/color] she replied without meeting her eyes. When her mother had gone away, Rui looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. She got up and joined her family at the dinner table. The food looked good and she thanked her mother for making it, but no matter how tasty it would be, her mind would always be elsewhere.

"Did you get any test results back today?" her father asked, as usual.
[color=#ffbae8]"No, not today. I think we'll get some at the end of the week,"[/color] she half-heartedly replied. It was always the same song-and-dance. Rui's mother gave her a compliment because she'd seen her study, Rui thanked her and then father would point to saying just hard work wasn't enough. She needed to make absolutely sure her results stayed at the top of the school. This conversation always played out between the three of them and Rui could do nothing but nod along. She briefly shot a look at the empty seat next to her. It was doubtful the conversation would've played out much differently had someone been seated there.

Rui didn't want to spend too long at the dinner table. She excused herself as soon as she'd finished and retreated back into her room, back to her desk. Back to her studies. Back to endlessly writing down the contents of her lessons. It wasn't just enough for the girl to get good grades; everyone expected her to get [i]the best[/i] grades. So Rui rehearsed her lessons just one more time and when she was done, moved on to the next. Then the next.

[color=#ffbae8]"I'm so sick of this..."[/color] she bitterly mused to herself, but didn't stop working. Even if she hated it, Rui didn't have much choice but to keep going. Her parents wanted her to [i]excel,[/i] so she obeyed. That's all there was to it.