A stack of question papers was clipped beside the East Corridor door.
Teacher Mizuno had fastened them with a wooden clip and hung them from a string beside the door. The string was old, with several frayed ends sticking out, and the wooden clip was old too, creaking whenever pressed. Every day when Kiyo entered, he had to glance at it, as if the stack of papers might run away at any moment.
This morning, the wind was a little stronger.
The moment the door opened, the outermost sheet was blown up. Kiyo immediately reached out to press it down, only to fumble and nearly snap off the whole wooden clip. Teacher Mizuno stood at the podium without coming over and only said, "Press the edge of the paper first, not the clip."
Kiyo moved his hand to the edge of the paper.
The paper finally lay flat against the wall again.
Naruto watched intently from the side. "It almost got away."
"Question papers don't run away," Morita Yu said.
"You always say they won't, and then we end up looking for them."
He said it with such experience that Morita Yu had no response for a moment.
Teacher Mizuno had them take down the stack of papers by the door. Today, they would first deal with the questions marked "look at tomorrow." The sheets were spread across the table one by one, like a tiny little line. Saori's was on top: If someone calls the wrong name, are they still calling me?
The moment Naruto saw that sheet, he sat up straight.
Saori hugged her stuffed doll without saying anything. Her bell was tucked beneath the cloth, with only a small edge showing. Kiyo looked at Saori, then at Naruto, and for once, he did not rush to speak