As their final lessons came to an end and students departed, PPK’s teachers gradually found each other again. One by one, they filed into the largest of the now empty classrooms, collapsing into brightly coloured plastic kids’ chairs or sitting cross-legged on the floor. Exhausted from a morning of spent corralling young students, they found solace in each other’s company. As their company grew, the teachers exchanged stories from their day, offering one another support while finishing their report-writing. Their workplace uniform of unadorned jeans or black pants accompanied by a polo shirt emblazoned with the school’s logo only amplified their collective identity. Finally, Wendy handed out lunch orders from the canteen and Sofia dusted sliced applies and mangoes with the spicy palm sugar dressing she brought from home. The mood shifted as the teachers, suddenly reenergized, formed a circle, chatting animatedly as they left. The room filled with laughter, gossip, and light-hearted banter, an unspoken daily ritual that strengthened their bond.