Everyone oohs and aahs, saying they’re jealous that they didn’t get to meet them. It feels like a good time to produce the boxes of maple cookies my mom brought for them all. We all herd into the staff room so the teachers can put their cookies away and we can all get ready for our first classes. While we’re back here, Yukie reveals her souvenir cookies open on the counter — “I went to DisneySea with my boyfriend!” — which makes Ryoko remember the individually wrapped sweet potato crackers she bought for everyone from Kagoshima.

Yukie playfully smacks her forehead. “Ah! Cybelle-sensei, I forgot. Can you eat cookies?” She checks the ingredients. “Ah, no. Butter. I’m so sorry!”

“Oh, that’s okay!” I wave my hands. “I can eat them over the weekend. For now, I’ll just smell them!”

“Eh? Why, Cybelle, you don’t eat butter?” Ryoko asks. “Oh, that’s right, you’re vegetarian, right? I think the crackers might be okay …”

“Vegan,” I correct her. “But on weekends I cheat a little.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” says Kana. “That explains why you never have meat for lunch. Now it makes sense! How long have you been vegan?”

“Since October. I got really sick around the time we had that typhoon holiday from school.”

“Eh?! Really? That’s too bad. May I ask, what were you sick with? Nothing serious, I hope.”

“Mono.” When I get blank looks in return, I get my iPhone out and look it up on my Japanese dictionary app. “Let’s see … sennetsu? Wait, there’s another nice long word here … den-sen-sei-tan-kakukyuu-shou?” No one recognizes it.

“But you call it ‘mono’ in English,” says Shigeyo. “I see!”

“I still don’t know how I could’ve gotten it — none of the kids had it, that’s for sure — but ever since then I’ve restricted my diet. It made my symptoms clear up really fast.”

“It wasn’t serious, I hope.”

“To be honest, I don’t remember much of what happened back then. But yeah, I did have to go to the hospital.”

Yoshino pats my shoulder. “I still remember it. She came to work in her costume and everything, held on until the end of the day, then passed out. Oh, I was so worried!”

“Ah, I turned out all right. I had an extra-helpful friend that day.” I give her a reassuring smile. “And my outfit cheered up some hospital kids, so it wasn’t a total disaster.”

“Ehhh.” Everyone nods and goes quiet.

“How about all of you?” I ask, changing the subject. “Did you all have a good vacation?”

Yoshino replies first: “It was all right. I cleaned a lot. Went to Ikuta Shrine. Slept in. Clocked an obaachan for a grab bag at the Earth, Music, and Ecology New Year’s shopping sale. The usual.”

Think New Year’s shopping sale. Think rush hour at Shibuya Station.