"..."
I kept my hand on the handle.
The children hadn't moved since I entered. They sat with their hands resting on their desks, their small figures barely visible beneath the weak light. It reached their collars and the tops of their hands, but I couldn't make out much of their faces.
Just their eyes.
I looked towards the seats nearest the window.
They were occupied.
'...Right, it's not like there was much of a choice.'
But above all else, there hadn't been anyone sitting there when I had been outside the room.
Step! Step⎯!
My attention returned to the door.
The footsteps drew closer, and I pressed the handle upwards, trying to keep it from moving. For a moment, the sound seemed to come from directly outside.
Something brushed against the other side of the wood. My heart jumped a few beats as I kept myself measured.
'...It shouldn't have seen me.'
I was confident of this. It was fast, but not as fast as me.
