“It's night now,” Gelio pointed out. “So what about we take the bull by the horns?”
“I'm up for it,” Amartia said, quietly but with decision, and they all looked at her.
“Me too,” said Paidia.
“That's settled then,” Muko confirmed.
During evening supper, the children readied their provisions. All the while munching away at their food, they surreptitiously helped themselves to more and slipped it into their pockets. They didn't manage this unseen; some of the other children saw them and clapped a hand over their eyes to indicate they thought they were bonkers. An Imaginary student suddenly appeared. Walking through the aisles of benches, he caught sight of what our friends were doing and asked:
“Why are you stuffing food into your pockets?”
This might be the end of the adventure! Luckily Gelio was quick-witted enough to think of a reason:
“We thought we might spend some time outside the dormitory tonight, consolidating what Copernicus taught us about the stars and all that.”