‘Good morning,’ he said in a small voice, his eyes on Fuka, the present object of his affections.

Fuka shot him an indifferent glance, set down her cup, and stared at her hands.

‘What’s up?’ Kokoro asked. It was pretty odd for him to turn up like this. She noticed he was hiding something behind his back.

Ureshino brought his right hand round, and Kokoro gave a small gasp of surprise.

‘It’s your birthday today, isn’t it, Fuka-chan? So I brought you some flowers.’

There were two flowers, one pink, one white, with long stems. Kokoro didn’t know what type they were. They were wrapped up, like a bouquet.

‘What? It’s your birthday?’ Aki and Kokoro stared at Fuka.

Fuka looked up and murmured, ‘I’m surprised you remembered.’

Ureshino looked pleased. ‘Because I happened to hear about it. I don’t forget things like that.’

‘You should have told us,’ Aki said.

‘It’s not really worth mentioning,’ Fuka said, her voice as high-pitched as always, though maybe a bit embarrassed.

‘Then let’s celebrate. Cheers!’

Aki raised her teacup and clinked it against Fuka’s. Fuka timidly accepted the bouquet, managed an awkward ‘Thanks,’ and Ureshino chuckled happily.

‘Aki-chan, can I have some?’ he asked, apparently planning to hang around.

Aki made her disgust clear. ‘Don’t you understand? This is a girls-only party,’ she said. ‘So go away!’

‘Don’t you want me here?’ Ureshino retorted, brazenly standing his ground. The scene was so comical that Kokoro couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Isn’t it about twelve?’ Aki asked, her signal that would send them all back home for lunch.

‘Whoa, I gotta get home,’ Ureshino said, flying out of the door ahead of them.

Kokoro looked at the flowers on the table. They were blooming nicely, though they looked a little past their best.

‘I bet he just picked them from his garden,’ Aki said. ‘And I bet he reused some old paper. Kind of tacky, if you ask me.’

‘Really?’ said Fuka, looking uncertain. She quietly grabbed the bouquet and rose to her feet, about to leave the dining room.

‘You know what?’ Aki said awkwardly, aiming her remarks at the retreating Fuka. ‘If you’d like to display the flowers here, I’ll look for something we could use as a vase.’

‘It’s OK,’ Fuka said, without turning around. ‘There’s no running water here anyway. I’ll take them home.’

‘Oh – right.’

After Fuka was gone, Aki and Kokoro didn’t speak to each other. Finally, unable to stand the silence, Kokoro said, ‘OK, see you this afternoon.’

‘Yeah, see you.’

Aki’s expression looked as cheerful as always, but just as Kokoro was about to leave, she heard her mutter, ‘If she behaves like that, I bet she doesn’t have any friends.’

Kokoro heard these words on her way out the door, and they made her shudder.

She hadn’t misheard.