This time, East Corridor Group Two had truly entered a regular classroom.
When the door opened, the room still carried the dampness of desks freshly wiped down that morning. The curtains were half drawn, and light cut through the window frames, falling across the edges of the desks. The desks were arranged more neatly than in East Corridor's old building. Even the chair legs looked as though someone had measured them in advance, lined up properly without leaving anyone room to sit wherever they pleased.
Teacher Mizuno stood at the door without urging them forward.
"Today, you're only borrowing seats," she said. "Don't fill borrowed seats. Leave room for the people coming in next period, and leave room for yourselves to get up."
The moment Kiyo heard the words "borrowing seats," his steps slowed by half a beat.
"Can borrowed things be returned?" he asked quietly.
"They can."
"What if I get used to sitting there?"
"Getting used to something doesn't mean you get to occupy it and refuse to leave."
Kiyo gave an oh, but he still clutched his schoolbag tightly, as if afraid the seat might suddenly grow legs and run away. Morita Yu glanced at him without saying anything, then set his notebook on the corner of the desk, pinning down a small patch that had been rubbed white by an eraser.
When Che sat down, he first ran a hand over the desk.
The desktop was older than the ones in East Corridor, its edges chipped with fine little nicks filled with dust that could not be fully wiped away. Inside the desk was a sticker left by its previous owner. Only half a corner remained, too little to tell what it had once been. Che stared at that fragment for a while, then suddenly felt