“Cybelle, ohayou. You have class with Baby Two babies today, yes? Maybe, mama and papa will ask about emergency holiday. They arrange makeup with Yoshino today, so maybe, when they come, they maybe ask you to bring them to Yoshino.”

“Sure, I can do that. Oh, that reminds me, I ran into Hiroki’s parents during the holiday. They asked if I’ll still be his teacher in April.”

Manager hisses through his teeth. “Ah … okay. Maybe, if they ask, please tell them we are still deciding. Maybe, you should not say Cybelle will go back to Canada in April, or maybe they will not return to Zozo in April.”

A web of lies; Manager’s solution to everything. “Okay, but what should I tell them? I’m not comfortable with lying to them.” At the time I said I wasn’t sure, so it wasn’t an outright fib. Thankfully having my legion of a family around me convinced baby Hiroki’s parents to keep the conversation short.

“Hmmm … ja, maybe … hmmm. Let me see.”

“You know what? Don’t worry about it, I’ll just send them to you.” No need for this painful conversation to get any longer. “I’ll be here prepping if you need me.”

“Ah, okay. Thank you for your understanding, Cybelle. You are still so hard-working, even though you will leave. Zozo appreciates this. Otsukaresama desu.”

Uh-huh. “Otsukaresama.” Once Manager exits the staff room, I stick some old lesson plans into a few textbooks, then retrieve my iPhone and pocket Wi-Fi to finish my vegan Pinterest board. For kicks, I also take a few snapshots of my cats on Neko Atsume. I don’t have anything to do except take my walk to Tully’s at 12:40 and pick up a Snowman soy latte for my Moms’ class. Gosh, do I love being over-prepared.

Around noon, Yoshino pops into the staff room and asks if I’ll get something for lunch with her. I have my cabbage salad, but I could go for some sushi. We bundle up and head to the supermarket under Daiei.

“So how are things on the admin front?” I ask her.

“Ugh,” Yoshino shakes her head. “A big clusterfuck, as usual. We’re still recovering from that typhoon day — still. I don’t know how we’re going to make up everyone’s lessons by April. Why did it have to happen on a Saturday, of all days? No one knows what happened. We don’t have any notes, and Manager doesn’t remember what he told parents except that the school was closed. But I guess making everyone come in the midst of a typhoon would have been worse. Better safe than sorry, right?”