On Tuesday morning, the girl arrived at school and found the third girl standing in front of the notice board with Mia.

They were looking at the invitation to the city exhibition, which had been posted that morning. The participants’ names appeared in neat lettering, with the title of each selected work beside them.

The third girl pointed to her name.

“Look. It’s really happening.”

The girl stepped closer and smiled.

She was happy for her friend, but she was surprised to discover that a little of her old disappointment still remained. Her own name wasn’t on the list, and the drawing of the cat had been returned to her bag several days earlier.