"Hannah, are you still sad?"
After the last class, the first graders were not yet allowed to go home. They had to wait for their homeroom teacher to remind them of their homework, or whether or not there was something they needed to tell their parents. There would be five to ten minutes of free time while waiting, which the kids usually used to group up and share what they were going to watch this evening on their parents' OTT platform.
This time, however, the five girls who were surrounding Hannah didn't talk about that. They patted the girl, who was lying her head listlessly on the table. They stroked the girl's back and played with her twin tail--a far simpler hairstyle than her usual elaborate ones.
"I miss Papa...I miss Daddy..." Hannah's lips bowed down in a pout.
"It's okay, Hannah, it won't be long now."
"Yeah. My parents were once 'sick' for a week."
Hannah lifted her head in a mix of surprise and dread. "A week? Really?"
