My name is Arata Tachibana and i'm...misunderstood. Starting off at a new school isn't easy for any high school teen, but what about if you're always judged? That's what I have to go through everytime I change schools and i'm pretty much used to it by now. This will be my fifth time changing schools in the past two years. The reason why i'm changing schools is because my mom wants to leave terrible memories behind. My dad died recently of cancer and she wanted to start over. That's why we're both moving from Europe to Japan where mom was born. I was born in Japan too, but my mom and dad wanted to move away and live somewhere different while I was still very young. I pretty much grew up in Europe, but my birth place is Japan and I have mixed feelings about moving back.
For one thing, my Japanese isn't perfect. My mom and dad taught me Japanese off and on because they wanted to me learn my culture language, but I didn't really take it seriously until now. Once mom told me we were moving back to Japan, I only had less than two months to cram everything in and i'm still struggling. I only know the basics and a few complex words. Me and my mom practiced every night, but I still feel like i'm not any good. Now that i'm actually in Japan, I have a chance to test out my Japanese. Starting with my homeroom class.
I stood at the front of the classroom, facing everybody while my homeroom teacher was standing next to me. I glanced over at everybody's faces and sadly they weren't as welcoming as I thought.
"Arata, why don't you introduce yourself?" My homeroom teacher said.
I gulped slightly then opened up my mouth to speak.
"U-uh....Hi. I-i'm A-arata...T-Tachibana a-and....um...." I spoke softly. I don't have the loudest voice so everytime I speak, it almost comes out as a whisper.
"Hey! Can you speak up! We can't hear you!" One boy shouted and the class started to laugh.
I sighed then shut my eyes tightly and began to shout.
"My name is Arata Tachibana and i'm new here! Please welcome me!" I shouted in English.
I didn't realize I was speaking English until I opened up my eyes and noticed that my whole class was staring at me with confusion. Then, a few people began to whisper to each other.
"What did he say?" One student said.
"I think it was English." Another student said.
"Does he not know Japanese?"
I glanced over at my homeroom teacher to see her smiling softly at me.
"Arata, in Japanese please."
I nodded then looked back at my class.
"Class, behave. Arata moved here from Europe so he's still learning Japanese. Please be kind to him." My homeroom teacher told the class.
Then, my whole class stared at me and I recognize that stare anywhere. It's that stare that every foreigner gets when they move to a different country that speaks a whole different language. Sometimes I really wish I wasn't treated as a foreigner. Then again, Japan is like a whole different planet to me and Japanese is like alien language.
"Arata, you may sit down now." My teacher said.
I nodded then started to make my way over to the empty seat in the back of the classroom. Even though this seat is the only available seat in the classroom, I always prefer the back because then people won't have to look at me and I feel more safer in the back too. Once I sat down and pulled out my notebook, my teacher went on with her lesson.
***
Finally, lunch time rolled around. It's my favorite part of the day because then I get to eat without having to talk to anybody. It's always difficult for me to make friends and quite frankly, i'm not sure if I even want any friends. They'll only turn on you anyways and then you're stuck with a bullet hole in your chest.
I picked up my school bag and started to go through it, looking for my bento box when I realized it wasn't there.
"H-huh...That's weird. It should be in here. I swear I picked it up this morning..." I said to myself then overturned my bag and watched as my stuff fell out of my bag and landed on my desk.
I began searching through my books, but it was hopeless. My bento box isn't here.
I sighed then gently touched my stomach, feeling it growl. Suddenly, I got an idea. I fished for my wallet out of my pocket and opened it up to see that I have some money for the school lunch.
"Yes! No going hungry for me!" I smiled brightly then started to put my things back in my bag before I stood up and headed out of the classroom.
I didn't really have much money for something big so all I could buy was a single cup of ramen. I started to make my way out of the cafeteria and back to my classroom. I walked up the stairs when a few kids stopped right in front of me.
"Hey, you're that new kid. Arata right?" One guy said.
"Yeah. He's that foreigner with the red hair." The second guy said.
"Mm~ Ramen! Don't mind if I do!" The third guy said then snatched my ramen cup out of my hands.
I blinked my eyes in surprise. "H-hey! T-that's mine!" I shouted then reached my hands out to grab it from him when the first guy pushed me back and I started to feel myself falling down the steps.
When I landed at the bottom, I heard the three guys laughing and watched them walk away then I slowly sat up and groaned softly.
"O-ow..."
I sighed then got to my feet and walked back up the stairs. When I got back to the classroom, I was starving.
"No money for another ramen cup and no bento box. I guess i'll have to hold out until I get home..." I mumbled as I sat down in my seat.
My first day of school is definitely turning out to be the worst. First I get laughed at for being a foreigner then I get my ramen cup stolen from me and ended up being pushed down the stairs in the process. What else could go wrong?
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