She’d wrapped the box of chocolates in a page from an English-language newspaper her mother had happened to bring home, secured it with Sellotape, and covered it with mini character stickers. While wrapping it, she gathered as many things as she could to make the gift as attractive as possible, but now it struck her as pathetic.

Maybe it was a good thing she hadn’t given Fuka the present.

With that thought, the events of this long day surged back to her in painful recall.

Despite all the months away from school, to her it felt like she’d only been off for a short while. And she’d already developed a fear of venturing outside.

Maybe she’d feel better if she sobbed it all out? But if somebody glimpsed her crying, they’d think she was annoying, and she didn’t want that.

‘Oh?’

She heard a voice. Kokoro turned to look at the door. She blinked a bit, for this was someone she hadn’t seen in a long time. Rion.

‘Are you by yourself today?’ he asked. ‘Where are the girls?’

‘I think Aki-chan’s in her room. Fuka-chan’s starting summer session today.’

‘Summer session? What’s that?’

Rion strode into the dining room.

He had a nice nose, and large, sleepy-looking eyes with long lashes. Seeing him up close again reminded Kokoro how handsome he was. He’s so tanned, she noted, he probably has no problem going outside.

‘Don’t you know about summer sessions? They do them at jukus – they go over a whole semester of classes.’

‘Ah, makes sense. Since it’s the summer holiday. Must be tough though, studying.’

Rion didn’t seem to have any of Masamune’s sarcasm. Kokoro stood, unaware she was staring at him.

‘What?’ he asked.

‘You mean, you’re not studying?’

‘I don’t like it, so I’m not doing much. But you seem like the studious type, Kokoro.’

‘I’m really not.’

She really wasn’t, and it choked her with anxiety, but here Rion had called her by her first name – with no chan attached – and it caught her by surprise.

‘I see,’ Rion said, sounding uninterested. She noticed he was looking towards the top of the dining table.

‘Is that a present?’ he asked.

‘Um.’

‘For Fuka?’

‘Yes. Did you know it was her birthday?’

‘Couldn’t help it, with Ureshino all psyched up like that. He’s quite a character. He had you in his sights too, up till recently.’

‘Don’t.’

She was embarrassed at the misshapen wrapping, and wished she could just disappear.

But Rion said, ‘That’s a shame. You went to the trouble of bringing her a present, and now you can’t give it to her.’

He didn’t mean anything by it, apparently. But Kokoro was feeling something warm pressing on her chest.

A not-so-great present, clumsily wrapped.

Something you could buy at any convenience store.