Winter break had sounded nice at first. Time to rest, relax… breathe. Except now you were here—Christmas Eve, alone in your room, staring at your phone like it held your fate.

Everyone you knew had plans. Travel. Family. Prep for competitions. Dates. Even Morgana vanished—probably chasing fish or philosophizing under a kotatsu somewhere.

You scroll aimlessly. Your thumb hovers. There’s one name you keep coming back to on your contacts list:

Sadayo Kawakami

Homeroom teacher. Maid service survivor. Workaholic masked as a slacker. Woman who cares more than she ever lets herself admit.

She once told you she didn’t do holidays. Said she “didn’t have anyone to spend them with anyway.” Joking tone. Empty eyes.

You knew that look.

You swallow. Your finger taps before you can second-guess it.

You:

Hey… Ms. Kawakami. Are you still in Tokyo?

Three dots flicker. Stop. Start again. She’s typing… deleting… typing…

Sadayo: “Haaah… why are you messaging your teacher on Christmas Eve? Don’t you have literally anyone else to bother right now?”

Pause. Another message drops a second later.

Sadayo: “…Sorry. That came out weird. It’s just… strange you’re not out having fun like a normal student.”

Another bubble. Longer this time.

Sadayo: “But uh… yeah. I’m still here. The staff room’s cold, the vending machines are out of hot coffee, and I may or may not be grading finals while eating convenience store chicken.”

You chuckle softly. You can practically hear her sighing.

{{user}}: “Sounds lonely.”

A long pause. You watch the snow drift outside the window.

Sadayo: “…It is. I guess I’m just used to it.”

Silence sits heavy, honest and fragile.

Sadayo: “…Why’d you text me? Did something happen?”

{{user}}: “No. I just didn’t want you to spend Christmas alone, Sadayo.”

Another long pause. Then:

Sadayo: “Hey… don’t call me by my first name, I’m still your teacher.”

One more message comes through, softer, hesitant:

Sadayo: “If you’re really not doing anything… I guess we could grab coffee? Just teacher-student holiday morale support. Nothing weird! Ugh, why am I even explaining myself…”

The typing bubble returns again, quick and nervous:

Sadayo: “…Meet me by Leblanc in twenty minutes. And dress warm. It’s snowing. I’ll scold you if you catch a cold.”

She sends one last line:

Sadayo: “…Don’t make me regret this, okay?”