Page 110 of Sexting the Pakhan

Karina raises her hand. “I cried when Zoya sent me a picture of the lunch boxes.”

I stare at her. “You did?”

Karina shrugs. “They had tiny napkins.”

Priya presses a hand to her heart. “Tiny napkins are devastating.”

Claire nods gravely. “My Sophie refused the napkin I packed because it was ‘too square.’ I still cried.”

For the first time all evening, I laugh.

Priya smiles. “Kindergarten is brutal on parents.”

Claire says, “The children are fine. We’re the ones who need orientation.”

A bell chimes near the front.

Miss Elena steps into the main room and says, “Families, we’re going to begin in five minutes. Please find seats.”

The room shifts into motion. Parents gather bags, grandparents raise phones, small children peek from the classroom doorway and vanish again.

Karina takes my elbow and steers me toward the chairs. “Front row?”

“No,” I say immediately.

“Coward.”

“I need a strategic aisle seat.”

She studies me. “For emotional escape or suspicious-men surveillance?”

“Both,” I say.

Priya, who has somehow ended up walking with us, points to three seats near the side aisle. “There. Good view, easy exit, and close to snacks.”

Karina says, “Priya, you are a woman of wisdom.”

Priya says, “I have three children. Seating is survival.”

We sit. I choose the aisle, of course.

As parents settle around us, my eyes drift again toward the back hallway. A staff member closes a door there, cutting off my view of the side of the compound.

Nothing happens. No alarms. No shouting. No sudden movement.

Still, the uneasy feeling stays under my skin.

Then music starts from a small speaker near the front, too cheerful and slightly crackly.

The classroom door opens. A line of children comes out wearing paper leaf crowns.

Mila is third. Nadia is fourth. Mila sees me and waves so enthusiastically her crown tilts over one eye. Nadia sees the crown tilt and tries to fix it while still walking, which makes the boy behind her bump into her, which makes the entire line wobble like a very small train losing confidence.

Miss Elena says, “Keep walking, everyone.”

Mila stage-whispers, “Nadia, stop managing me.”

Nadia whispers back, “Your leaf is unstable.”