For the rest of practice, Ted sat and watched the finals along with the rest of the eliminated boys. There were two boys in the finals and Lucy, who had somehow miraculously made it in because all the contestants had forgotten about her at the time of the fight. However, now that there was no crush in the circle and everyone could see each other well and clearly, there was no one to hide behind. The two boys quickly enough pushed the weak Lucy outside the circle and continued their confrontation. The coach helped her up and patted her on the head, praising her for her persistence and courage. The girl returned to the others, not feeling sad about the victory that had eluded her. Inwardly, she was proud of herself for just being in the finals for the first time in a while, and that was enough for her.

There was not much time left before the end of the class, but it had been calculated in advance by the trainer and the CEC teacher. Mrs Donova's assistants flew into the hall with quick seven-mile steps and began to prepare the washbasins for boys and girls. They were tall square folding screens with small entrances on one side and were placed at different ends of the gym. Each of the assistants sat down on a stool inside, taking with them antibacterial disposable baby wipes to wipe each child thoroughly after sports activities. They also had with them several sets of clean white clothes in the form of T-shirts and shorts to change the kids. There were exactly as many sets of clothes as there were children in each group. Improvised changing rooms, aka washrooms, for girls and boys were ready. The coach and the tutor lined up the children in two rows, according to their gender. Washing and changing clothes took some time, so in order not to let anyone run away during the waiting period, the adults kept the children busy talking and playing with them.

Finally, clean and tidy, the children were ready for the next class, which followed physical education. In a tight group of two, they went to another room prepared for a new lesson.

The last class before lunch was devoted to the study of plants. For each of the pupils there was an interactive book on the floor, each page of which had basic textual information about a particular plant, as well as a 3D model of it, attracting the children's attention with its beauty. The room was equipped with a spotlight projecting an informative cartoon about the plants mentioned in the book. Of course, the vast majority of the information provided was about those flower crops that existed in the area, but the textbooks also contained a fair amount of material about the most common plants that exist around the world. This was by no means the first or the last children's botany class. After all, nature was so diverse that it was difficult even for an adult to memorise everything at once. However, this did not mean that the class repeated the same material from time to time and watched the same cartoon film. The city authorities of large cities prepared a special development programme on this discipline in such a way that it was easy to be perceived by children's immature brains. At the same time, it was not boring and uninteresting. While watching the informative video material, the children admired flowers and trees, having fun and watching how animations that came to life on the wall talked to them and told them about themselves, explaining how they should be cared for and how they should not be treated. Children's zoology classes were held in a similar way. However, the course about animals and insects was not as long as the one about plants, because the former existed much more than the latter.

The afternoon lesson was over, and all the pupils of Mrs Donova's group lined up in rows of two. Theodore wanted to stand at the end of the row, as was his habit, but this time the teacher took him by the arm and placed him at the head of the group. The teacher's assistant closed the row, making sure that none of the children deviated from the planned course. The class began to slowly ascend the escalator upwards, which leisurely endeavoured to take Mrs Donova's group to the top floor of the building. Since Theodore was at the very beginning of the row, he happened to be one of the first to see the welcoming group of cafeteria workers holding yellow balloons. These helium-filled balloons had written in large white letters on one side, ‘Happy Birthday, Theodore!’ and on the other, ‘5 years old.’ Two lunchroom workers, dressed in white aprons, with sanitary disposable white caps on their heads, stood on either side of the escalator exit, holding the balloons with their fingers, eager to float up into the air and close to the ceiling under the influence of helium. Anticipating the boy's surprise in advance, bringing him to a standstill, the staff pressed the escalator button and temporarily stopped its movement to allow Ted to enjoy the moment his holiday began. The escalator steps instantly froze, and with them the entire children's group.

– Happy birthday, Theodore! Look what we've prepared for you today! Come on! – said one of the canteen staff, at the same time handing Ted a balloon and pulling him a little to the side, thus making way for the other children. Another staff member jabbed a button with his palm, setting the escalator in motion again. The kids slowly began to rise and spread out across the room. Theodore, clutching the ribbon with the balloon dangling at the far end, began to pull it down, running his hands over it and getting closer and closer to his goal. He wanted to take a closer look at the white text written on the balloon.

– Happy Birthday! I forgot you had one today…’ came the loud voice of a girl on the left, who stood next to the birthday boy and held out her hand to him. It was so unexpected that he flinched and the balloon slipped out of his hands, flying upwards towards the ceiling. Theodore's eyes bulged, trying to catch hold of the ribbon that was just as quickly slipping away from him. In one precise and sharp movement, the girl caught on the fly, seemingly already irretrievably missed Ted ribbon along with the balloon and holding out to him the saved thing moralisingly said: ‘Here. Don't lose it again!’

Theodore looked gratefully in the direction of the girl who was still reaching for his hand, wanting to congratulate the boy in person. It was Lucy. The same Lucy who had so unceremoniously taken advantage of the situation and pushed him out of the circle during the sports game. Now it wasn't a competitor standing in front of him, but just an ordinary, friendly girl wishing him a happy birthday. The birthday boy smiled and extended his hand to her in return, shaking it vigorously. His handshake was so strong and intense that Lucy began to release her palm from Theodore's steel grip.

– Ow! You're hurting me! What are you doing? – The girl whimpered pitifully. She whimpered and ran off in tears towards the dining-room. Mrs Donova came up to Ted, having heard Lucy's squeak and seen her reaction to the handshake.

– Theodore, you have to be more careful with girls. You're stronger than they are. Look how you scared her. They need to be protected. Come on, it's time to eat. – slowly, pausing at the end of each sentence, said the teacher, as if placing important accents in her words in order for the boy to understand their content. After a series of instructive words, the teacher took the pupil to his seat at one of the dining tables, which was visible even at a considerable distance.