So they settled on having their Christmas party on the twenty-fifth.

NOW THAT THEY KNEW THEY were all from the same school, the atmosphere in the castle shifted a little.

Not that there was anything specific, but Kokoro sensed they’d grown more relaxed around each other.

For instance, when Masamune told Kokoro and the others, ‘That Free School teacher came to visit me too.’

They looked at Masamune, bewildered. ‘Weren’t you two talking about it? The Classroom for the Heart?’ he expanded, and an affirmative ‘Ah!’ arose from Ureshino and Kokoro.

‘You mean Ms Kitajima?’

‘Think so. It was a woman teacher.’

‘So you’ve met her too, Masamune!’

Masamune seemed, for some reason, a bit self-conscious. Kokoro wondered why, but then it hit her.

He was feeling anxious because he’d never discussed things outside the castle.

‘So did you visit the Classroom for the Heart?’ Kokoro asked, still a little uneasy that the name of the School was the same as hers, but she knew that this group, unlike the kids at her school, would never tease her about it. And sure enough, Masamune shook his head, without dwelling on the coincidence over names.

‘No, I haven’t,’ he said. ‘My parents seemed to know about it, but they said it’s for getting kids to go back to their school. They weren’t thinking of sending me there.’

‘So your parents still think if you don’t want to go to school, you don’t have to?’

This was so different from her parents. Masamune only shrugged.

‘I mean, my parents know all about the hideous things that go on in schools these days. There’s news all the time, isn’t there, about bullying and all kinds of underhand things and how kids commit suicide? My dad said, There’s no way we’re going to make him go if it means school will kill him.’

Masamune imitated his father’s voice. School will kill him was a gruesome way to put it, but she was astounded to hear there were parents like his.

‘The thing is,’ Masamune continued, his eyes glazing over, ‘they’re really into looking for a school where I can feel safe. My dad said the Free Schools are nothing more than private NPOs. But then Ms Kitajima came to our house, and said she’d like to talk.’

Masamune drew in a small breath.

‘My mum stood at the front door and argued with her – Why are you here? We didn’t ask you to come. Did his junior high say something? Ms Kitajima said no, the school didn’t ask her to come, she just happened to hear about me from one of my friends and thought she would come over for a chat.’