Ren's First Day at School
Ren English Readers · Level A2
Ren looked up at the school. It was big. There was a giant clock in the center of the building. Teachers stood outside the door. He held his bag in front of him. Many students were walking into the school. Everyone was wearing a uniform.
"Wow! This place is big," Ren said.
"Are you okay, Ren?" Hana asked.
"Yes. I'm a little nervous. Is everyone wearing a uniform?" he asked.
"Most Japanese students wear uniforms," said Hana. "Do they wear uniforms in the UK?"
"Yes, but Japanese uniforms are nicer," said Ren. He went inside the school and stepped into the hallway.
"Wait!" Sora said in a loud voice.
"What is it?" asked Ren.
"You have to take off your shoes." Hana pointed to the shoe lockers. Each one had two shelves. She put her outdoor shoes on the bottom shelf and took another pair of shoes off the top shelf.
"Sorry. I thought the extra shoes were just for gym class." Ren took off his shoes and put them on the shelf. He took his indoor shoes from his bag. "Oh no. I have a hole in my sock." His face was red.
"It's really small," said Momo. "I didn't notice."
Ren put on his shoes quickly. "Where is the classroom?"
"You're with us," Hana said. "Our classroom is 5-2."
"Really?" Ren grabbed his bag tighter.
"Our seats are really close to each other, and we can eat together at lunchtime," said Sora.
"Thanks, Sora. Where do we go?" asked Ren.
Hana pointed to some stairs beside the shoe lockers. "We go upstairs to the second floor."
"Don't go to the third floor," said Sora.
"Why?" asked Ren.
"There's a ghost in the girls' toilet on the third floor," Sora said.
"Sora. Not another ghost," said Momo. "I'm tired of them."
"I want to meet a ghost," said Ren. "Can we go look?"
"Not now," said Hana.
"When?" asked Ren.
"Maybe after school," said Hana.
"What's that hallway?" Ren pointed to the right side of the shoe lockers.
"That is the teacher's room," Hana said.
"Come on. Let's go upstairs," said Momo.
There were many students in the hallways. Ren stayed close to Hana and Sora. The students stared at him. He smiled and nodded his head.
"Why is everybody looking at me?" Ren asked.
"You are a new student. We don't have many international students here," said Hana. "They want to be your friend."
"I want to make many friends," said Ren.
"We're your friends," said Sora.
Ren smiled. "You are good friends."
On the second floor, many students walked out of the classrooms. Ren held his bag tighter.
"We are in the second classroom. Our room number is above the door," said Hana.
Ren nodded. He saw the number 5-2.
Sora touched Ren's shoulder. "Don't worry. Hana can help you. Momo sits next to me and helps me when I'm scared. We sit near the door."
"I'm not scared," said Ren in a small voice.
"Really?" asked Sora.
"Maybe a little. Everything is so new." Ren gave Sora a fist bump.
Ren and Hana went into the classroom. There were twenty students inside. Ren looked around the room. "Where do I sit?"
"There is an empty desk next to me," said Hana. "Let's ask Sensei if you can sit there."
"Where is the teacher?" asked Ren.
"She's not here yet. I'll show you my desk," Hana said. It was by the window.
"It's a nice desk," said Ren. "The desks in London were very dirty."
"What do you mean?" asked Hana.
"Many students drew pictures on the desks."
Hana shook her head. "We can't draw on desks here. The teachers will get angry."
Momo waved at Ren and Hana. They went over to the door. "There are two empty desks over here. Maybe you can sit next to Miwa," Momo said.
A girl with short hair sitting next to Momo waved her hand.
"But Sensei said Ren could sit by me," said Hana.
"That's right. Sorry, Hana. I forgot," said Momo.
The teacher came into the classroom and stood in front of the class. She was tall and wore a blue gym outfit. She had glasses. Everybody moved to their desks and sat down. Ren sat down next to Hana last.
"Stand."
The students stood. Ren stood last.
"Bow."
Everyone bowed. Ren watched and bowed last.
"Sit."
Ren sat down at his desk at the same time. "We don't do that in London."
Hana smiled. She put her finger to her lips and whispered. "You have to be quiet."
"Welcome, everyone," she said. "We have a new student. Ren, can you come to the front?"
Ren stood up and hit his knee on the desk. Two students next to him laughed. His face turned red. He went to the front.
"Welcome to our school, Ren. My name is Kuroda Sensei," the teacher said. "Please stand here and introduce yourself."
Ren turned around and watched the class. He saw Sora and Momo on the left side of the class. Sora waved. Ren smiled.
"Hello. My name is Ren. I come from London. This is my first time in Japan. I can speak a little Japanese. I like football and crisps," he said slowly. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," the class said together.
"You speak Japanese very well, Ren," said Kuroda Sensei.
"Thank you. My Mom is Japanese. She speaks it at home."
"What are crisps?" Kuroda Sensei asked.
Ren turned red. "Sorry. Chips. We call them crisps in London."
"That's interesting. You can sit next to Hana. She will help you with the classwork," Kuroda Sensei said.
"Thank you." Ren went back to his seat and sat down.
"Open your Social Studies books to page sixteen. Read the next two pages and do the questions on page eighteen," said Kuroda Sensei.
Hana helped Ren get the right book. He opened it and stared at the kanji.
"What's wrong?" asked Hana.
"I can read hiragana and katakana, but there are too many kanji in this book." Ren pointed to a word. "What does this mean?"
A student to his right laughed. "I knew he couldn't read," he said.
Ren lowered his head. This was worse than a hole in his sock. He couldn't look at the boy and gripped his pencil. There was a crack in it.
Hana put up her hand.
"Yes, Hana?" asked Kuroda Sensei.
"Can I read the pages to Ren?" asked Hana. "He can't read the kanji, and Yusuke is being mean."
Ren's face turned red.
The boy to his right sat up. "I was only joking."
"I'll speak to you later about your jokes, Yusuke. Is there anybody else in the class who wants to help Ren read?"
Five students put their hands up.
Sora stood up. "Ren is my friend. I can help him."
"Me too. He lives next door to me," said Momo.
"Okay. Sora. Momo. Please help Hana read the textbook. You can put your desks in the corner over there." Kuroda Sensei pointed to the far wall.
The four picked up their desks and made a circle.
"Thank you," Ren said.
"That's what friends do," said Momo. "It's good to help each other."
Hana started reading. Ren made notes of the kanji. Sora continued reading with the next part. Ren stopped Sora. He wanted to erase a note.
"Are you okay?" asked Hana.
"I'm okay. I can't write fast," Ren said.
Momo read the next section. On page eighteen, Ren read the first question. He read slowly.
"That kanji is wrong. It means fight," Hana said.
Ren tried again.
"That's right," said Hana. "Do you remember the answer?"
"Of course. Your reading was very good." Ren wrote the first answer.
A bell rang.
"Okay, class. It's time for Japanese class. We are going to read a story. Please put your desks back," Kuroda Sensei said.
Momo and Sora picked up their desks and moved back to their spots. Ren and Hana sat at their desks. Hana helped Ren get his Japanese book.
"Hana, can you read page seven?" asked Kuroda Sensei.
Hana stood up and read the first page. Ren followed with his finger. She read quickly and sat down.
"Thank you. Ren, can you read page eight?"
Ren nodded. He stood up and turned to the second page.
"Today I **want** to Hokkaido," he said.
Three students laughed. Ren looked down. His stomach felt wrong.
"No laughing, please," said Kuroda Sensei. "Everybody makes mistakes. Reading is very difficult. You did very well, Ren. Can you try that sentence again?"
Ren looked at Hana. She said the right sentence quietly.
"Today I went to Hokkaido. It was very cold." He read the next sentence correctly. The last sentence was wrong. "I like eat fish."
"Not bad," said Kuroda Sensei.
"Wait!" said Ren. "I like eating fish." He closed the book and smiled. His stomach felt better. "I can do this," he thought.
"Much better. Don't worry about mistakes. Everybody makes them. You can sit down."
Ren sat and closed his eyes. Hana squeezed his hand. "You did a good job."
"Thank you."
The bell rang.
"What's that for?" Ren asked.
"It's lunchtime," said Hana.
"Do we go to the cafeteria?" asked Ren.
Yusuke laughed.
"No, we'll eat in class. Sensei will bring the food," Sora said. He and Momo stood by Ren's desk and pushed Yusuke away.
"Hey, watch it," Yusuke said.
"We can move around, too. Sit with us, not next to the bully," said Sora.
"I'm not a bully," said Yusuke. "I just don't like him."
"Why? What did Ren do to you?" asked Hana.
Yusuke looked at the three standing by Ren's desk and moved over to the corner next to another student. He didn't answer them.
"Some people are very rude," said Hana. She shook her head. "How were the classes?"
Ren leaned back. "Japanese was difficult. So was Social Studies. There was a lot of kanji in the books."
"Japanese like kanji," said Hana. "Some of them are very difficult."
Another student came to Ren's desk. "Hi. My name is Ken. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too, Ken. I'm Ren."
"I went to the UK last year. Where did you live?" Ken asked.
"I lived in London," said Ren.
"Wow. What's London like?" asked Ken.
"It's very big and loud," said Ren.
A second student went to Ren's desk. "Hello. My name is Shunsuke. I'm on the soccer team. Sorry about Yusuke. He's on the soccer team, too. He can be rude sometimes."
"It's okay. I'm new to everything, but I love soccer," said Ren. "Sorry. I'm Ren. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," said Shunsuke. "We have soccer practice tomorrow after school. Do you want to come?"
Ren smiled. "Can I?"
Shunsuke smiled. "Of course."
"I'm on the soccer team too," said Ken.
Ren looked at the two new boys and smiled. "Thank you very much. I'll ask my mother if I can stay tomorrow."
Shunsuke made a fist, and Ren bumped it. He did the same to Ken.
Kuroda Sensei came back to the class with food. Shunsuke and a girl went over to help the teacher. They wore white uniforms over their school uniforms. They gave each student a plate.
"What is this? It's white," Ren asked.
"Shichuu," said Hana. "It's a popular dish, like white soup. It has chicken, carrots, onions and potatoes. I love school shichuu. It's much better than Mom's."
"How do you eat it?" Ren asked.
"You can eat it with rice or on the side. I like mine with rice," said Hana.
"I eat mine on the side," said Sora.
"Me too," said Momo.
Ren picked up his spoon and ate some shichuu. "This is delicious," he said.
After lunch, they went outside. Ren kicked a soccer ball with Shunsuke and Ken. Sora joined them. When the bell rang, they went back to class.
Kuroda Sensei stood at the front.
"It is time for math class." She wrote an equation on the board. "Does anybody know how to answer this question?"
Ren put up his hand. "I know."
"Can you answer the question for me, Ren?" Kuroda Sensei gave Ren the whiteboard marker.
Ren went to the board and wrote the answer under the question.
"That's correct," said Kuroda Sensei. "Good work."
"Thank you. I like math. It was my favourite subject after football. Sorry, soccer," Ren said.
"I like math too." Kuroda Sensei smiled. Ren sat back down.
"Good job, Ren," said Hana. "I don't like math. It's difficult."
The bell rang at the end of class. Everybody put their books in their bag. Ren stood up and went to the door.
Hana went to a cabinet in the back of the room and pulled out a broom.
"What are you doing?" asked Ren.
"We're cleaning the classroom," said Hana. "We do it every day. It's my turn to sweep the floor."
"Really. We don't do this in London." Ren watched everybody working. "Can I help?" Ren asked.
Sora handed Ren a wet cloth. "You can help me wipe the desks."
"Sure."
Everybody in the class cleaned something. Momo picked up garbage. Hana swept the floor. Shunsuke helped her. Ken wiped the whiteboard. Another girl put chairs on the desk. Yusuke smiled and helped her.
"Thank you," said Ren.
"No problem," the girl said.
"I'm Ren. You sit by Momo. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Miwa. Nice to meet you, too." She smiled.
Yusuke bumped Ren in the shoulder. "Move out of my way," he said.
Ren was taller and looked down at Yusuke. "What did I do to you?"
"You talk too loudly," Yusuke said. He didn't move.
"I'll try and keep it down," said Ren.
Miwa smiled. "Yusuke, can you help me with the chairs?"
Yusuke looked away and helped Miwa with the chairs.
At the end, Ren wiped his forehead with the cloth. "That was difficult. You do this every day?"
Hana nodded. "You have a dirty spot on your forehead, Ren."
"Oops." Ren laughed. "I'll go wash my face."
"We'll meet you outside the front doors," Momo said. "Can you find your way there?"
"No problem."
Outside the school, Ren met with his friends. He waved goodbye to Ken and Shunsuke. Miwa was talking with Momo and Hana. Sora was hiding behind Momo.
"The black mark is gone," said Hana.
"Yes. I couldn't ride the train with that," Ren said. "What's wrong with Sora?"
"Miwa was telling me about Hanako. She's scary."
"Who's Hanako?" asked Ren.
"She's a ghost that lives in the girls' toilet on the third floor," said Miwa. "I want to meet her."
"Sora mentioned her. I forgot about that! Today was so busy. I want to meet her too," said Ren.
"No, you don't," said Sora.
"You can't go in the girls' toilet," said Hana. She crossed her arms.
"The school is empty now, right?" asked Ren.
"Yes, but that's the girls' toilet. You have to wait outside," said Momo.
"Okay." At the entrance, Ren took off his shoes, and they all went to the third floor. They stopped outside the toilet.
"We are going in," said Hana. "If we meet Hanako, we'll call you."
"No worries. I'll save you. But I want to see the ghost," Ren said.
"I don't want to see the ghost," said Sora. "Can you stay with me?"
Ren stood beside Sora. "Call me if Hanako shows up," Ren said.
"We will," Momo said.
"Thank you, Ren. You are very brave," said Miwa.
Ren smiled.
The girls went into the toilet.
"It's too quiet," said Sora. "Did Hanako get them?"
"I don't think so," said Ren. "Will you help me protect them?"
Sora nodded. He bit his fingernail. "I'm scared, but you're here." He looked at the toilet. "Where are they?"
The toilet door opened with a bang, and the three girls ran out.
Sora jumped. Ren held up his fists and jumped in front of the girls to protect them. Sora stood behind him.
"Where's Hanako?" Ren said.
The girls laughed. "Just kidding!" They started giggling. "Thank you for protecting us, Ren."
"That wasn't nice," Ren said. He crossed his arms.
"Sorry. There was no ghost in there. Miwa wanted to see if you'd protect us," said Momo.
"You are very strong," said Miwa. "Sorry for tricking you. Next time I find a ghost, will you come with me?"
Ren nodded. "I don't want any tricks, though."
"I promise. No tricks," Miwa said.
Ren paused. "Why doesn't Yusuke like me?" he asked Miwa.
Miwa turned red. "He's not a bad guy. And he's very good at soccer. I don't know. Maybe you can ask him tomorrow?"
"I will," said Ren.
"Don't worry about him. Come on. Let's go get some ice cream," said Momo.
"That's a good idea," said Ren.
"How was your first day of school? Do you want to come here again tomorrow?" asked Hana.
"I was scared and made mistakes. Yusuke wasn't very nice, but you, Sora and Momo were here. I met Shunsuke, Ken and Miwa. I think I'm going to like school."