Toshiro speaks softly to Hitomu and even pats his shoulder. “We must do our best together, okay?” I hear him say in Japanese. Hitomu rises to his feet, either nodding or about to bang his head against the wall. I’m relieved to see it’s the former.

“Thank you, Cybelle-sensei!” I hear a voice on the other side of the wall. Manager opens the classroom door. “Hitomu, time to go home!”

“Noooooooooo!” Hitomu curls up into a ball again, muffling his screams. He wraps his arms over his head like a bomb is about to go off. I notice Yuta’s and Toshiro’s mothers behind Manager as he kneels down to tap Hitomu on the back. They look more than eager to collect their children. I, however, stand stock-still. Did Hitomu just say what I think I heard?

“Cybelle-sensei, please sing the ‘Goodbye Song’ with Toshirokun and Yuta-kun! Their mothers are waiting!”

“What? Oh … right. Sorry.” Okay, sure, let’s end this shit show with a bang. I take the boys’ hands in mine and we all swing our arms back and forth in a circle. “English school is over …” we sing.

“NOOOOOOoooo …” Hitomu wails again.

“We are going home …”

“Someone heeeeeelllp!”

I stop singing. Now I know I’m coming down with something because I’m sure I heard Hitomu say …

“Sensei,” Toshiro asks. “Hitomu wa nihonjin?”

“Of course, he is.”

“Demo, kare no koto zenzen wakaranai!”

I give Toshiro a dramatic shrug. I can’t really say much with Manager and the parents standing watch. We should just get this over with. “Goodbye, goodbye!” I wave to the boys. They wave back.

“Get away from meeee …”

I freeze while Yuta and Toshiro twirl around themselves without me. “We are going home! Goodbye! Sensei, bye-bye!” They fly out the door into the warm, welcoming arms of their parents. After what seems like a lifetime Hitomu’s mother comes in to peel her son off the floor. I follow Manager and the parents outside for a quick lobby talk with my biggest professional smile plastered on my face. What the hell did I just hear?

“Eh, they were worried about Yuta and Toshiro,” Manager explains. “But now, they are glad to see they enjoyed Cybelle’s lesson. Thank you for your lesson, Cybelle-sensei!”

“Not a problem.” Normally I’d stand here, nodding and smiling until I saw a politer window of opportunity to take off, but my head is killing me right now. “Do they have any questions for me?”

“Eh, no, I do not think so. So, please, go to staff room?”

“I’m way ahead of you.”

“Eh? ‘A head’?”

“I mean, yes, I understand. But can I ask you something, Manager? Did you hear Hitomu?”

“Ah, I think, maybe, everyone hear Hitomu …”