Teacher Ueo led the children up to the second floor and stopped at the room closest to the stairs. He gently opened the wooden door and asked them to line up at the entrance. Then, one by one, he guided them to the small beds labeled with their names.
When it was Shouko and Akira's turn, Teacher Ueo led Shouko in first, then returned and stood in front of Akira. Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he spoke:
"Akira, you can take a nap here too. I'll explain it to Ms. Yoshinaga later." With that, Teacher Ueo extended his left hand and led Akira to the last bed in the room. Smiling warmly, he added, "Go ahead and rest. When you wake up, it'll be time to go home."
Akira looked at the bed. A small mat lay on top, with a gray pillow and matching blanket. There was no name on the frame, so it seemed to be a spare.
His gaze drifted to the front left side of the room—Shouko's bed—but she wasn't there. Just as he was about to look around, a voice behind him said:
"Looking for me?"
Akira turned to find Shouko standing there, hugging a gray pillow. Frowning, he asked, "Shouko... you're not planning to sleep here with me, are you?"
"Yup!" Shouko nodded without hesitation. Regardless of whether Akira agreed, she walked straight over, placed her pillow beside the other one, sat down, took off her shoes to reveal little white socks, and lay on the small bed as if it were hers.
Akira looked at her in disbelief. "Hey, Shouko, I didn't even say yes."
He wasn't sure if she heard him, but she stared at him as if silently telling him to hurry up and lie down.
Chuckling and shaking his head, Akira bent down to take off his shoes, sat on the bed, and pulled the blanket over both of them. Shouko even scooted over to give him more space.
As he lay down, Akira looked at Shouko, whose breath tickled his face. Speaking softly like coaxing a child, he said, "Alright, alright, go to sleep, Shouko. When you wake up, you'll be going home."
With that, he closed his eyes. Shouko smiled faintly, snuggled closer, and closed hers too, wrapping her arms around his.
After arranging all the children, Teacher Ueo began counting the heads. When she reached Shouko's bed and found it empty, he wasn't surprised. A hunch made her glance toward Akira's temporary bed—and sure enough, two little heads peeked out from under the blanket.
She smiled but said nothing, then continued the headcount.
Once she was finished, Teacher Ueo stepped into the corridor, pulled out her phone, and called Ms. Yoshinaga to let her know Akira was napping in herclass and not to worry.
After a short chat, She returned and coaxed the remaining children to sleep. Once the room was peaceful, she pulled a small stool to the door, leaned back against the wall, and closed her eyes to rest.
While asleep, Akira began to feel suffocated, like a python was wrapping tighter and tighter around him. A stinging sensation spread across his right cheek, and he could hear constant crackling sounds.
He suddenly woke up, sweat on his forehead and his cheek damp. Carefully, he untangled himself from Shouko's limbs and took a deep breath.
"Hehe... you're awake?" came a light voice.
He didn't need to look to know it was his mother. Turning his head, he saw Shizuka Miyamura holding her phone, trying not to laugh.
Before he could say anything, another voice chimed in: "Akira...! Good job~"
Shizuka covered her mouth, giggling softly, then walked out.
Akira sat up and gently shook Shouko awake. She stirred, still half-asleep, smacking her lips dreamily.
Looking around, Akira realized the other kids were gone. He turned to her gently. "Time to get up, Shouko. We're going home."
"Mm..." Shouko yawned and sat up as Akira put on his shoes. Then he helped her with hers, tying her laces carefully.
He folded the small blanket and placed it at the foot of the bed before taking her hand and walking toward the door.
In the corridor, they found Shizuka Miyamura and Teacher Ue waiting with amused smiles. Ue was pointing at something on Shizuka's phone.
Akira looked at them, puzzled. "Mom, what are you looking at?"
Shouko, still drowsy, blinked in confusion.
Shizuka hid her grin and walked forward mysteriously, crouching down to show them her phone. Shouko blushed bright red as soon as she saw the screen. Her sleepiness vanished.
Akira, on the other hand, just looked at his mother silently.
The photo showed the two of them in bed—Shouko tightly clinging to Akira, her limbs wrapped around him, and her mouth on his cheek, seemingly sucking on it while he looked extremely uncomfortable.
After saying goodbye to Teacher Ue, Shizuka took the embarrassed pair home.
Teacher Ue chuckled as she watched them leave, then entered the nap room to tidy up the quilts and pillows. She stretched, closed the wooden door, and headed toward the office.
She needed to prepare props and study materials for the kids' sign language lesson the next day, so it would be a while before she could head home.
When she opened the office door, she found Midori Yoshinaga still at her desk.
Midori looked up at the sound of the door, saw it was Masumi Ueo, nodded, then returned to her work. Masumi walked over and sat at her own desk.
"Midori, how's your class? Any promising kids besides Akira?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"Masumi, it's only the second day. How can I tell anything yet?" Midori chuckled. "Though aside from being scared to tears by the principal this morning, they've held it together pretty well."
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