‘You made me worried when you didn’t answer. Are you all right? Are you eating the bento? How’s your stomach?’

‘I’m OK.’

‘Really? I was thinking that if you were still feeling ill, maybe you should go and see the doctor.’

‘I’m OK.’

‘I’ll come home early today. It’s going to be all right, Kokoro. We’re just learning how to deal with this, so let’s do our best to work through it, OK?’

Her mother sounded so cheerful, but all Kokoro could manage was a muttered ‘Sure’ in response.

Her mother had been so cross this morning. So what had happened since? Maybe she’d got advice on the situation from one of her colleagues at work? Or perhaps she was having her own second thoughts about her earlier outburst and thought she’d call.

Do our best. Kokoro had no idea if she could live up to her mum’s expectations, but she went ahead and agreed with her anyway.

IT WAS AFTER FOUR NOW, and she couldn’t stay downstairs.

The curtains in her room upstairs were, as in the morning, still closed.

As she waited to hear the now-familiar sound, she began to tense up. She could never get used to it. She tried watching the TV, with the sound turned down, to take her mind off it, but nevertheless she sat on her bed, anxiously waiting.

Any minute now.

There it was. She heard the mailbox in front of their house swing shut with a clang as someone dropped a letter inside.

‘Ah – Tojo-san’s here,’ she said to herself.

Moé Tojo-san, a girl from her class.

Tojo-san was a transfer student who’d joined their class at the end of April, after the semester had already begun. She’d arrived late due to some formalities to do with her father’s job, apparently.

She was a pretty girl, good at sports too, and her desk in class was right next to Kokoro’s. Moé’s athletic build and long lashes took Kokoro’s breath away – she reminded her of one of those beautiful French dolls people used to collect. Tojo-san didn’t have any foreign blood, apparently, though she did have the attractive features often found among Eurasians.

The teacher assigned her to sit next to Kokoro for a reason – they were neighbours, with Tojo-san’s house only two doors down from Kokoro’s. His aim was that, as neighbours, they should get to know each other, and Kokoro hoped they would. And in fact, in the first two weeks after she began school, Tojo-san asked Kokoro if she could address her by the informal Kokoro-chan. They also walked to school and back home together.

Tojo-san had even invited Kokoro to come over to her house.