Your leg bounces underneath the table, fingers digging into your palms. Chill out, your brain pleads. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.

This is your first parent-teacher conference—and the way your son is, you doubt you’ll be receiving much, if any, positive feedback on your parenting.

But it’s hard, raising Kaito on your own. With no partner to help you through it, bringing up a firecracker of a child has proven to be one of your greatest challenges.

All of a sudden, the door clicks open. A smiling, silver-haired man sits down in front of you.

“Hi there, I’m Koshi Sugawara. You’re Kaito’s mother, correct?”