Story:

Butterfly had not recalled the fairy.

Just before Reika reached the door, she sent a silent instruction along the thread between them. The tiny creature slipped beneath the edge of Reika’s collar, crossed the room unseen, and settled into a fold of the jacket hanging beside the bookcase.

The office door slammed. The fairy clung motionlessly to dark wool.

From her hiding place downstairs, Butterfly let out a slow breath.

Reika was worth watching. Douglas was worth watching more.

For several seconds, the headmaster remained behind his desk. Then he picked up the telephone. “Mikami-sensei. My office, please.”

He replaced the receiver without waiting for much of an answer.

Butterfly shifted farther into the recess beside the staircase. Footsteps passed at the end of the corridor. She lowered her eyes to a notice in her hand and waited until they faded.

Through the fairy, the office came to her from a different angle now: the side of Douglas’s desk, a chair leg, sunlight caught along the polished toe of his shoe.

A knock.

“Come in.”

Mikami entered.

Butterfly recognized the ponytail first.

Her teacher closed the door behind her, glanced toward the visitor’s chair, and ignored it. Instead, she approached the desk and perched casually on its edge.

Butterfly’s attention sharpened.

This was nothing like the brisk woman who had stood before Class 2A that morning.

Douglas smiled. “Your report.”

“Straight to business?”