Eleven restrained the urge to ask others about Kiki, but she had reached her limit—she had noticed Kiki's absence at dinner, and spent the entire meal distracted, glancing around and watching every entrance.
At the time, Eleven had thought that Kiki might be deliberately avoiding meeting her, or perhaps she had gone off to handle something else... But how could she possibly be late tonight? She loved these mysterious little events more than anyone.
Was she sick? Injured? Or had something else happened?
Whatever the actual situation was, Kiki's problem was probably serious. Otherwise, she would definitely have come even if she were ill or wounded...
Eleven's thoughts ran wild, and she finally decided to ask the teachers. However, the moment she approached, she heard them discussing Kiki's absence as well. Eleven quietly listened in and got the general idea: no one seemed to know where Kiki had gone, though several teachers had already gone out to look for her. Eleven immediately decided to find an opening and slip out too. She was not interested in tonight's Heart-to-Heart Salon anyway.
But at that very moment, Kiki burst in.
She raced into the small auditorium, and the entire room fell silent as everyone turned to look at her. Kiki was drenched in sweat. She froze for a moment, then shouted, "Sorry! I'm late!"
Two teachers immediately stepped forward. One crouched down on one knee and quietly asked what had happened. Kiki explained in a soft voice, and relief spread across the teachers' faces. They looked at each other, their gazes seeming to reassure one another: It was fine. Everyone was safe.
They patted Kiki on the shoulder and gestured for her to find a seat. Kiki nodded repeatedly, but did not sit down right away. Her gaze swept rapidly across the