The day the temporary list was posted, the area in front of the old board was even more crowded than on the day of the notice.
It was not because there were more words. Quite the opposite—the sheet was much shorter than the notice, listing only the children who had completed their evaluations and their school transition groups. There were no scores, no detailed recommendations, and no notes saying someone's "performance rhythm required attention." Yet people packed together tightly. A short sheet made it easier for people to imagine what had been left blank.
Kiyo arrived first.
He was not there to look at the list. According to him, he was there to make sure that if there was a food stall beside it, he could protect everyone from being distracted by the smell at once. There was no food stall, only a little basket selling needles and thread. He was disappointed for a while, then quickly declared that needles and thread were important too, in case someone got so nervous they tore their cuff.
Morita Yu stood beside him as if he had already given up correcting him.
By the time Che and Nao arrived, Zhen Shu and Keisuke were there as well. Zhen Shu did not squeeze to the front. He stood only at the edge of the crowd, looking even more awkward than he had outside the side gate yesterday. Keisuke was looking at the lower edge of the board, where old nail holes showed a little black.
"Have you seen it?" Che asked.
"People are blocking it," Zhen Shu said.
Kiyo immediately raised his hand. "I can squeeze through."
Morita Yu grabbed him by the back of his collar. "You cannot."
Nao did not force her way in. She waited until several adults in front had