Hope woke up before the alarm, stretched sweetly, and listened to his body: his legs and arms were a little sore from Jake's hellish workout yesterday:

"I haven't felt like this in a while. It's okay, it's bearable. It'll go away after a run and a hot shower. But it feels so warm in my chest! Whee!"

He jumped to his feet in one leap and did a couple pirouettes with the invisible ball - a throw:

"Right on target!"

The guy bent his arm at the elbow and clenched his fingers into a fist, "Yeeeesssss!" and then laughed.

Before basketball contests, Hope was always in an excited state of mind; for him, basketball was more than just a game. It was his element, in which he was not a small fish in need of defense, but quite the opposite: as soon as he had the ball in his hands, he became an impetuous grouper, ready to quickly and accurately overpower a victim of any size. And now Lion is also his coach:

"I hope I don't get too nervous around him. No, no! On the contrary, I must draw strength from it."

Ding-ding-ding

A somersault over his shoulder, and there he was on the other side of the bed. Picking up his phone to turn off his alarm clock, the guy saw a message from Green, who he had chatted with frequently since his illness:

<Green: "Have a great game tonight, chili pepper! Give them some heat out there! I know you're up, but I haven't gone to bed yet. Giving my boys birthday presents. You should have heard them! They've been up all night, and they're already asleep. I'm wiping their drool."

The boy smiled and shook his head.

<Hope: "Thanks for the wishes! Green, I asked for no details. It confuses me."

The reply came a minute later, with Hope already preparing a change of clothes and brushing his teeth:

<Green: "Where did you see the details here? When the time comes and you want to know more, get in touch! I'll break down the whole process into small details and serve it to you on a nice platter. I'm not a bad teacher! My diligent tudents have taken note. As soon as they saw the glasses, tie, and pointer, they took out their flash drives and rushed off to study!"

Hope visualized this picture very vividly and almost choked on his toothpaste. Green was always embarrassing him with his very sexually suggestive messages. Coughing, he quickly rinsed his mouth and replied:

<Hope: "Friend, thanks for the offer. I'll definitely come to you for help if I need it. Sweet dreams. Take care!">

They had grown very close lately, Green had offered to be friends and the boy had agreed, though he felt it was more than friendship, he saw the man as an older brother.

<Green: "And you take care of yourself, dear! And relax your buns in time!">

"Oh, I'm not happy I told you about Lion anymore," Hope sighed and washed his face with cold water.

"Taram-pam-pam-pam! Where are you, son?" - Troy's urgent loud voice called out into the room.

"I'm right here! On my way, Grandpa!" - shouted Hope and began to quickly change his clothes.

"Come on downstairs! Breakfast is almost ready!" - yelled back the man.

Hope changed his clothes and looked in the mirror at his reflection. A smile, like a clinging fish, had settled firmly on the boy's lips and was not about to leave them:

"This is it! I'm happy! It's like conquering a peak that I was afraid to even dream about. I'm not afraid to experience this feeling! On the contrary, I will try to grow it and share it with people close to me! Yes!"

He smelled a wonderful scent while still in the hallway, it smelled like pancakes, mint and strawberries, and his stomach immediately gave a loud signal of indignation as he was forgotten by everyone for almost twenty-four hours. A few jumps and the stairs were behind him.

"Don't break your legs, klipspringer!" - Troy shouted, pouring tea into cups.

(From the author: Klipspringers are adorable antelopes, reach about 60 centimeters at the withers and jump 10 times their height)

"Mmmmmmmm, Grandpa, I'm so hungry! I'll have a couple servings, please," Hope couldn't think of anything else the moment he saw the mountain of hot, puffy pancakes with butter already melting on them and bowls of sliced strawberries and mangoes standing nearby.

It was only when thin graceful hands handed him a plate of this marvel that he noticed Panit's presence:

"Good morning, P! Sorry, I didn't see you right away."

"Ha, even if there were three crocodiles here, you wouldn't have noticed them either. Did you ignore dinner again last night? What's wrong with you lately!" - Troy stood nearby, looming over the starving child, who had already dragged the first pancake into his mouth with his straight hand, ignoring the prepared fork.

"Snowy, sit down! Let Hope eat in peace. Your coffee, dear," Panit handed the man a cup and joined the breakfast as well.

After eating a couple of pancakes in one take, the youngest in the house forgot himself and let out a long groan, "Aaahhh", then came to his senses, quickly covered his mouth and looked at his family members, "Sorry, it slipped out"

Panit smiled and continued eating, working carefully with his fork and knife, while Troy watched the guy swallow his third pancake and shook his head:

"Yeah, you can't go for a run after a super-dense breakfast like that. You sit for a while, digest it, and I'll do my chores in the meantime."

"Uh-huh. Sorry, Grandpa," Hope felt a little guilty, but it was hard to keep it together and he picked up a couple more flavorful rounds with his fork.

After breakfast, the boy settled down on the living room couch, grinning from ear to ear again. Panit took a seat next to him, and Troy, after saying he'd go change the linens, went upstairs.

"Hope, I made you lunch and put it in the lunchbox, don't forget to take it to school with you," the boy began to feel a double concern with Panit's presence in the house.

"Oh, your skin is dry. Do you use..." - began the new family member, touching Hope's cheek, but he didn't finish, and then he shouted and rushed towards the stairs, "DAMN! HIA! I'll tuck it by myself!"

About ten minutes passed, Hope no longer felt heavy in his stomach, he just sat there, ready for a run, and waited for Grandpa.

Suddenly, shouts were heard from upstairs. Troy, holding a small box above his head, ran down the stairs, leaping over several steps with the agility of a beast, followed by Panit, clambering over each step:

"Snowy, give it back! Please!"

"When you tell me what it is!" - Troy announced seriously, holding the box aloft on his outstretched arm.

"Please, honey, it's my thing! Give it back!" - Panit jumped up to grab the box, but his partner held it high and easily dodged the attacks from his soulmate.

"Oh, really?! I've already realized that it's important and necessary since you're hiding it from me! Tell me the truth and I'll think about it!" - Grandpa plopped down on the couch not far from Hope.

"Oh, you do?" - and Panit, jumping on top of Troy, began tickling him, the man chuckling at first, and then, not wanting to take it any longer, twisted both of the lad's arms behind his back and spoke in the sweetest tone in the world:

"Well, my sweetie, will you please tell daddy what it is? And then maybe I'll put that thing back under the mattress."

"It's... it's just cream! Happy now? Give it back!"

"My sunshine, what's the cream for? "If you can't talk in front of the kids, whisper it in my ear."

"It's just a cream for freckles."

"What do you mean freckles? You got them and didn't tell me?" - Troy furrowed his eyebrows.

"I bought it a long time ago, before we even met, honey," the scrawny-haired kid tried to justify himself.

"I won't let you!!!!" - Troy roared.

"There, I knew it," the kid shook his head.

"And since you knew it, why did you keep smearing yourself! It's all mine! My hair... my eyes... my sweet nose... my lips... and the FRECKLES, they're mine too!" - Troy said and kissed each named part, it was eerily cute and Hope, embarrassed at the sight of it, covered his face with his hands for a moment.

"I'll be prettier without them, Snowy," Panit lay down on Troy's chest, he let go of his hands and they hugged.

"No, you won't be you without the pretty thing on your face, take care of my treasure and don't do anything with your body without my consent, got it?" - Grandpa spoke softly.

"Can anything be done to yours without your knowledge? Like while you're asleep?" - Panit licked his lips seductively. Their eyes met and Grandpa, blushing, hurriedly stood up, tucking the box into his pants pocket:

"It's time for me and my son to go jogging! And I'll throw this away from the house so you won't be tempted."

Hope jumped up too, and smiling at Panit, followed Grandpa.

At a run both Troy and his son were silent.

Seeing a girl with a rainbow unicorn in her hands, the boy stopped abruptly.

"What's the matter with you? Tired?" - Grandpa continued to jog in place while his young companion pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

"Ten seconds, Grandpa. I forgot to do something," Hope already had Blue's phone number punched in, so he just sent him a quick text:

<Hope: "Hey! I'll be there tomorrow. I'll be able to make it between 10:00 and 13:00. Red">

Immediately the reply came:

<Blue: "Hey! Copy. At 10.00. 14 Siam Square, first floor apartment.">

"Wow! And he's loaded with money," Hope couldn't help himself and spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Who?" Grandpa stopped moving his feet and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Blue... Hmmm, why does he work at the Club then?"

"Are you chatting with him? I thought we talked to you about that. Son, you shouldn't get too close to your coworkers."

"Blue, Orange and Violet invited me to their weekly hangout tomorrow at 10:00. I'll be home by one o'clock so I can get to the school by two, buses start at 2:30. Grandpa, I thought I'd go and see them in real life. I won't tell them much about myself."

"I see, whatever you say. Just text me the meeting address, keep your phone in your hand at all times and, if anything, press the emergency button. I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Grandpa. But do you think it's worth the hassle? They seem like nice guys."

"It's better to be safe."

"Hmm. And another thing... Maybe you won't come with me on this trip after all? I'm not a little kid, Grandpa. And I can fend for myself if anything happens. You spend your time with Panit."

"And we'll have a good time there too, don't you doubt it! Yes, you're not a little boy, that's for sure, but you're not quite an adult either. And that coach will be hanging around all the time, I'm sure. Ever since the day he came drunk to our house, I knew this wasn't gonna end easily. I don't want you to get hurt. I'll talk to him like a man, find out what's going on, what he's feeling and where he's feeling it... since you can't ask him directly. Okay, I gotta remember to bring my interrogation bag! Damn! Ha ha, I feel like the father of the girl I'm giving in marriage to a lusty young motherfucker!" - Troy laughed loudly, but Hope sensed in Grandpa's words his worry for the future of this relationship.

"I know you always put your words into action, so I won't argue much, but please don't hurt him...us with your heart-to-heart talk and...please leave your scary suitcase at home," Hope remembered their trip to Anuman and swallowed, picturing the Lion with needles under his fingernails.

Troy must have noticed the consternation on the boy's face, so he spoke quickly:

"You young people are so worried these days. Don't worry, I won't do anything bad to him, but I'll talk to him."

"Maybe it's for the best. I'm not going to ask him about his feelings, that's for sure," thought the boy, starting to run again.

Outside the school

"Have a good game, dear! I believe in your victory today!" - shouted Grandpa to Hope getting out of the car, who was already looking around for a silver Mazda.

"Uh-huh...Grandpa. Thanks!" - spoke his mouth, but in his head was another, "Where's his car? Hasn't he arrived yet?"

The honeyed scent of albizia flowers was as dense and enveloping as ever today, since it was completely calm.

The boy made his way to his bench and collapsed on the eternal companion of his morning musings.

After he closed his eyes and concentrated on his feelings he was shoved from both sides. Hope opened his eyes abruptly and saw his two friends already sitting side by side in the same pose as him with their eyes closed.

"What are you guys doing?" - He asked incomprehensibly.

"The power of this bench is something we want to comprehend. So successful and wise it makes you can it?" - Pruit slowly muttered, parodying Master Yoda from Star Wars.

Jean immediately giggled. That meant only one thing, the couple had sung together and things were getting better in their relationship.

"Good to see you two together," Hope smiled contentedly and laid back on the wooden headboard again, closing his eyes.

"Hey, don't fall asleep! Jean and I were just talking about you, and I had some questions, since this little vixen doesn't answer," Pruit spoke up, sidling up to his friend and drumming his fingers on the wood next to his ear.

"What kind of questions are these? And why are you talking about me? You better take time for your relationship," Hope mumbled without opening his eyes, ignoring his classmate's agitated state.

"Pruit, maybe not now? The captain has a game tonight. You're so impatient about everything and very curious, like a three year old. Here, have a cookie!" - Though Jean tried to speak sternly, her voice was unusually warm.

"Well, no! I won't live to see to-night! Yeah and kids aren't interested in that sort of thing, by the way. Buddy, have you found a sparring partner yet? How often do you play? Are you on defense or offense?" - Pruit blurted out, whereupon Hope jerked sharply, and the boys collided foreheads, for the questioner was practically hovering over his friend.

"Ouch, Pruit! What are you doing?" - Exasperated the headman.

"What's that you're doing? I was talking calmly, and you suddenly attacked!" - the guy rubbed his bruised forehead with his hand, and then added, smiling: "I told you I'd try to chew it up and swallow it. I did it, buddy, but along with that comes 100500 questions in my head, and I'm not known for my patience and modesty, you know."

Jean cracked herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand with a sound and shook her head, "I wish I could cut that growth out already."

"Oh, Pruit... thank you of course for taking me in. But... if you want to talk about sparring and tactics, that's not my place. I wouldn't ask you about your personal life in such detail," Hope looked at Pruit meaningfully.

"Shamed you. Okay. Understood, accepted. Why don't we get together at my place sometime? Dad's got a swanky bar, we'll have a drink, play," the boy said, looking at the foliage on the tree.

Jean's laughter erupted after his words, "Got it, ha. My star, you're incorrigible. You want to lure a friend over, get him drunk, and play truth or action?"

Pruit squinted his eyes at her, and Hope laughed:

"Friends, shouldn't you go to school already? I'm going to sit for a while longer," Hope felt a little embarrassed after Pruit's questions about his love life and really wanted to be alone.

"Yeah, yeah, sit, tune in!" - Jean blurted out and grabbed Pruit by the collar of his shirt and dragged him towards the building, he resisted for a couple seconds and then put his arm around her shoulders, winked at his friend and walked on his own.

"Oh. Another nosy friend with embarrassing questions... I'm not with anyone or anywhere yet: not on top or underneath..." - thought Hope, closing his eyes.

There was a peaceful silence for a couple of minutes, and then the distant voices of children coming to study were heard. The boy tried to turn off all the feelings, putting on headphones and turning on the noise of the sea. Immediately images began to appear in front of his eyes: bare feet treading on wet sand, another wave covering them with white foam, Lion holding his hand. The sun is reflected in his dark pupils, as if a train is rushing at Hope from a dark tunnel, but he does not portend anything bad, on the contrary, very soon he will be swept away by an incredible flood of happiness. His chest began to rise frequently, the warmth spreading inside, as if boiling water had been added to cold water, and soon he felt light and weightless as a feather.

But he was brought back to reality by someone's warm touch on his shoulder... Hope opened his eyes and took off his headphones, his heart skipping a beat:

"Hia... P'Jake?"

"Hey! Visualizing tonight's game, Captain, or maybe something else?" - A smile played on his lips, his dark hair lay calmly, neatly framing the most beautiful face in the world, and in the two black pools Hope wanted to drown and be in them forever.

It seemed that adoration and admiration were reflected on the boy's face, because Lion added almost in a whisper, turning away and making himself comfortable: "Try not to look at me like that at least here... I'm not made of iron, and someone will see us here. Gotta hold out until graduation, kitten."

"How do I look at you? I do it just as usual. And about the 'someone will see' thing, I wanted to tell you the same thing... about that time... in the shower... I think it was dangerous," Hope spoke very quietly too, looking at the shadows from the albizia leaves on his shoes.

"I agree, but the urge to tease you was so strong... And I succeeded... at least I made sure you cared about me," the man smiled.

Hope blushed, remembering that moment, but pulled himself together and answered:

"Wasn't that obvious the evening before? Though no, don't answer...you don't have to answer that question. I'm embarrassed enough as it is," there was a salad of thoughts in Hope's head right now, so coming up with a decent answer was impossible.

Jake smiled and looked at the kid:

"I see. Your cheeks are giving you away. Okay, I'll be going then... I'm sorry about yesterday in class. Do your feet hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine. But now I feel shame in front of the others..."

"Why?"

"It's because of...me...if I've got it right," Hope bit his lip, chastising himself for being too open.

"Ha ha ha, you're a smart one. I'll see you soon, Captain. I want to see you in full uniform today. Surely there'll be something to admire," Lion stood up and looked down at the guy. His hands were in the pockets of his light beige pants, the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, and the top two buttons were undone. Time stood still and in Hope's eyes and in his heart there was only this man with the shining white smile.

"I'm...going...tomorrow...with the class," he mumbled as if under hypnosis.

Jake's smile grew even wider, "That's wonderful news!" And then he leaned in, closing the distance, and whispered: "That's a powerful boost to my nighttime fantasies, mmmmm."

As the boy came to his senses, the man turned around and headed toward the school porch with an easy confident gait.

"He's... he's fantasizing about me! Gods! Ah. I'm going to suffocate now...DREAM! How do I relax now? DREEEEAM!" - It was urgent to calm his racing heart, 12 minutes from the start of class. Hope stood up, grabbed his backpack, reached the steps, and stopped to catch his breath. His gaze fell on the parking lot and he looked for Lion's car out of habit - it wasn't there:

"Maybe it's in the auto repair shop?"

As his feet traversed the steps and stepped onto the platform in front of the large glass doors, a thought crossed Hope's mind that made him uneasy and he stopped: "What if... he sold it? I mean, that's where the six million came from. Could he do that for me? I don't think he has that kind of money readily available. Shit! I don't know anything about him. Maybe we can talk about it at the Club tonight."

When a boy ran past him and said, "The alarm clock failed me again!" Hope realized he was late, and dismissing his worries, ran headlong into the classroom.

The first four classes flew by quickly. In the minutes free from study, the captain tried to think about the game, and at breaks ran to his "brothers in arms" and discussed with them the moments to which he would like to pay special attention during the game. Unfortunately, he couldn't attend their meetings outside of school, which were held to build team spirit, but all the teammates knew that they could rely on their leader on the court and believed in him.

As Hope and his friends got ready to go to lunch, Witt ran into the classroom:

"Phew, it's good to still have you here! There's a man in a business suit coming in looking for the School Board president."

"Whoa! Maybe they want to recruit you as an idol?" - Pruit jumped forward.

"Can I come with you? Maybe he'll take a look at me too!" - Jean grabbed the headman by the sleeve.

"Let's go look at him," Hope nodded, and the friends headed for the exit of the building.

"There he is!" - Witt said, pointing down a hallway on the first floor.

Hope turned his head and looked closely at a man in a burgundy suit and black tie. He looked friendly, smiling sweetly at a group of young men. Suddenly a chill ran through Hope's body as his brain identified the man. The guy froze for a couple seconds, then, tossing to his friends, "That's a friend of mine. Go to the dining room. I'll catch up with you," and he took a quick step toward the unknown.

"Let's go outside," Hope said to the man, who replaced the friendly smile with a sly grin.

They walked out of the building, and Hope headed in the direction opposite the parking lot and wrapped around behind the building, where there were the least people.

When he reached the spot where they were alone, he turned around sharply and immediately asked the questions he was interested in, looking angrily into the eyes of the man following him:

"What are you doing here? And how did you find me?"

"Don't they teach you at school to respect your elders at all, Red? Ha!" I was expecting at least a greeting, and I was really hoping to see fear in those blue eyes. But neither of those things happened, eh, sad-sad," the unexpected visitor sighed theatrically.

"Answer my questions," Hope boiled, there was no fear, only anger that colored his thoughts red.

"You once came to the Club wearing a shirt with the school's emblem on it, and yesterday I inadvertently overheard part of your conversation with a client where he referred to you as the School Board president. Not bad.  I didn't have to look for too long. It turns out that Hia is watching over you from all sides, protecting his son as best he can," the man said calmly, as if he were explaining the situation to his younger self.

"Indigo, why the hell did you come here? We could have talked at the Club!" - Hope wanted to understand the man's motives, and at the same time mentally berated himself for being careless.

"No, there's no way. And here is such a wonderful light environment," he closed his eyes and smiled, breathing in the air, and then looked at the boy and continued seriously: "I need help. I think you're exactly the right person to provide it."

"I know what you do. Your Hia is like a father to me and he  told me everything about you. But what does this have to do with me? I'm not involved in this case and I don't have the information you need," Hope tried to sound confident.

"Well, as it happens, I have dirt only for you so far, and even in duplicate: first, I can leak your Red essence to the School Board, and second, I can send a note to fucking Makoto telling her about your 'underemployment'. Which of these will you choose?" - As Soni spoke those words, Hope's heart quickened its pace, check and checkmate in the same sentence.

Hope gritted his teeth at the anger filling him that was already starting to seep out.

"I can see you're not very happy to hear that. I'm sorry. Just know I have no choice, I'm grasping at any straw since this Club is up to my neck. I need information on any weirdness in this shithole. You will be my eyes and ears. Understood?" - Indigo's words sounded sincere, but there was no way they could soften the essence of what was being said - it was blackmail.

"Aren't you afraid that if Troy finds out, he'll leave a mark on you," Hope decided to threaten him, but the only thing he could get this man to do in any way was his Grandpa and his revenge for him.

"Ha, and you know how to negotiate, President! I've been thinking about it. After losing my soul, I don't care much for the physical component. If you tell him, I'll send all the dirt I've prepared in a second by pressing a single button on my phone. We both get hurt. I'm not asking you to throw yourself off the roof, I just want you to help me out a little," the sadness in Indigo's eyes cooled the rage bubbling up inside him.

Hope looked away and said, "I've never refused to help anyone, but what you're saying... this is pure blackmail"

There was silence, and for some time Hope tried to decide what to do, and finally he said the following:

"I'll do what you want. But I want you to know that this decision is not made out of fear for my future. I have good support, and with it I can survive either of the two options you've given me."

As he spoke those words, Hope didn't have a shadow of a doubt in his mind that they were right. His terrible dream and everything that had happened afterward had made it clear to him that he was not alone, and that there would be help for him if he needed it.

"It's a deal. See you later, berry. Go back to your sweet world. I'll meet you tonight in our lifetime hell! Ciao!" - Indigo flashed his teeth and, fixing his tie, disappeared around the corner.

"I shouldn't have gotten caught like that... Hope, you fool! Oh. That Indigo is a rare creature... On the other hand, he lost the one he loved, that's why he's like that now. If that happened to me, what would I be like... Oh, no, it's scary to even think about," Hope stood leaning against the wall of the building for a moment, then exhaled and went to his friends.

Lunch break was almost over when he found them.

"Hope, I got your food heated up. Hurry up, seven minutes to class! You need to eat before the game," his friend turned on the caring mommy, and Hope did as she instructed.

"Who was that? Can you tell me? Someone you know?" - Pruit hovered over the headman who had started eating, pelting him with questions.

"Shush! Let him eat. Here, fill your mouth!" - Jean shoved a large piece of banana into her curious friend's mouth and squinted meaningfully.

"Thank you, dear," Hope mentally thanked her.

Two classes whizzed by as if they had never happened. The Headman decided to put thoughts of Indigo aside and thought about the game every spare moment he had.

And finally the time had come. The qualifying match against the XY School team was being held this time on Hope's school grounds. When he put on the red uniform with his favorite number 7, he felt the blood-exciting joy of anticipation of the imminent meeting with the basketball.

His teammates' eyes were on fire, too, and the atmosphere in the locker room radiated confidence and happiness at the long-awaited start of the season.

When everyone was ready, there was a knock on the door, the coach entered and looked around. Hope, no matter how hard he tried, couldn't take his eyes off of him, "Hia, when you're so focused, in the perfect suit, it's freakishly cool looking. My own personal light that I want to fly to without thinking about anything. My heart's pounding like crazy. I gotta calm down. I gotta think about the game! "

Jake stood in the middle of the locker room in front of the athletes and began to speak:

"Guys, welcome back and congratulations on the start of the season! You did a great job last year and led the team to first place, which says a lot. Our task this year is serious and very difficult - not to fall off the highest pedestal. I hope not to let you down, and you try to do your best.

Our team has sponsors this year, so by showing the power of the team, the school and all of us will get a lot of additional bonuses. I'm sure you are all going to go on to university. Khun Pattanapong and I have already decided that we will be inviting representatives from the top universities in the country to recruit our players. I see great prospects for all of you! Well, let's show what we can do!"

(From the author: Recruiting is finding promising athletes among high school students in order to offer them a scholarship to attend a university in exchange for the athlete playing on that university's sports team)

"Yeah, P'Jake!!! Let's show what we can do!" - the team responded to the coach's motivational speech like a unified organism.

"Now let's get out there. The audience is already waiting. Let's go to warm up," Jake opened the door and then added: "Captain, you come with me. Let's meet the new leader of the XY team."

"Yes, P'Jake," Hope replied confidently, at the moment he was incredibly proud of the man standing in front of him and only one thing was on his mind right now, "I'm willing to conquer any mountains for you!"

Before entering the opponent's locker room, Lion stopped and looked at Hope and quietly said: "Don't worry! In any case, I'm always here for you."

To which the captain raised one eyebrow and smiled: "Basketball is my thing. You, Hia, are to relax. I won't get pumped up."

Slapping his palm on Jake's chest, intrigued by those words, Hope knocked confidently on the door and, letting the man step forward, entered the room after him.