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Chapter 8. "How was your first day?" Sydney asked, helping Noy find an empty seat on the bus. "Good," said Noy. "That's good!" Sydney exclaimed, shutting the bus doors. On Noy's bus, there were students of every age, except for Year Fifteen students. They rode with the staff on their own special bus. Ms. Wittenstein, a history teacher at Sudsy School, owned a giant flying bus that transported the staff and the Year Fifteen students to the school. The bus also had a built-in hotel which served as housing for the international and out-of-state teachers during the school year, allowing them to go home for the summer. As Noy's bus continued its journey to its passengers' homes, Noy was thinking about her day. She did have a good day, so she was not lying to Sydney at all. Even though she broke down at the end of the day, she did enjoy her day. However, she had a reason for her meltdown. Since America was still relatively new to her, thoughts of her home country had swept over her every time she got nervous or upset. Now that she had no distractions on the bus, she thought of Thailand again. Although she hadn't lived for that long, flashes of memories were flooding her. The curry that her mother always put on Thai chicken was one thing she missed. She also missed Thai being spoken all around her. Hearing and speaking English was still unfamiliar and new to Noy, especially when the Germans were speaking it. The truth was that Noy would have to orient herself to her surroundings the next couple of weeks so she was not frightened anymore. When the bus dropped Noy off, her mom came outside to retrieve her. When Noy heard her mother's voice, she smiled. Once Noy was inside her house, she decided to sit in her mother's lap so she could talk to her about her day. Almost immediately after Noy sat down, she told her mother, in Thai, how her day went. She mentioned the German teachers quite a bit, saying that they were really nice. She told her mother about what happened on the stairs with Mrs. Merkel. "She helped me when I fall down," Noy said in English. "Fell, honey," said Mrs. Song, "not fall." For dinner that night, Noy and her family ate whatever they wanted from the fridge. Noy had as much Thai chicken as she wanted. The next morning, Noy was woken up by her mom at the same time as the day before. But this time, instead of feeling happy, Noy was crying. She was anxious about school that day because she was not sure if any changes were going to be put into place. Noy didn't know where her classes were yet, so she began to hyperventulate when the bus arrived at school. "Noy, Noy!" Sydney called, "you're… oh no! Are you OK?" Noy didn't answer. Instead, she curled up into a ball on the bus floor. Sydney, who easily got frightened by events similar to what was currently happening, jumped off the bus to find help. She came back with Mrs. Merkel, holding her arm tightly. "I think Noy is hurt!" Sydney yelled, "I need your help!" "Sydney, please calm down," said Mrs. Merkel, "I can deal with this." The next thing she knew, Noy was in Mrs. Merkel's arms, being carried inside the school building. Noy hadn't passed out, but she was paralyzed with fear. As she was being carried through the building, she could hear students talking to each other in worried tones. "Oh, is the little girl OK?" one older boy called to the crowd. "I have her!" Mrs. Merkel called back, holding Noy close to her chest. Noy was crying so hard that she shook vigorously. She just wished she could go back to her mother and hug her for several hours, but that was not going to happen. When Mrs. Merkel finally stopped, she asked Noy, "What homeroom are you in?" "Ms. Edwards," Noy replied in between sobs. "It's OK," said Mrs. Merkel, patting Noy on the back, "I know this is still new to you, but the other German teachers and I will take you to your classes again. What do you have first period?" "Ms. Williams," said Noy, not remembering exactly what subject Ms. Williams's class was. But Mrs. Merkel understood. She could easily take Noy to Ms. Williams's room. In Noy's homeroom, there were students of all ages and backgrounds. This terrified Noy, for she was not exactly ready to be around several students. So she put her head down in her seat. "Let's see if everyone is here," Noy heard Ms. Edwards say, "when I say your name, please say here." When it was Noy's turn, she tried to pronounce the word the best she could. Almost immediately after she said here, she heard many people say, "Aww, she is so cute!" She also heard footsteps coming toward her. "Are you Noy?" someone asked near Noy's seat. This had been the source of the footsteps. "Yeah," Noy mumbled, puffing her chest up in fear. "Oh, hi!" The voice spoke again. Noy could hear a thick accent in it. It sounded German to her, but she couldn't quite tell. "Don't be scared," the voice said sweetly, "I am a Year Twelve girl. My name is Carlotta, and I'm from Austria. Ms. Edwards told me you are from Thailand." "Yeah," Noy whispered, "I am." "I know what it's like to be scared on your first days here," Carlotta explained, "so I can help you through them. Can I also take you to some of your classes? There is enough time for me to get you there and then run to my next class." "German teachers take me to class," said Noy. "Ah, the German teachers!" exclaimed Carlotta, "they love to talk to me in German all the time. I also saw you yesterday at lunch with Mrs. Merkel. I also have lunch Period Five, so if you'd like, you can sit with me. You can ask Mrs. Merkel if she can look for Carlotta Lechner." When homeroom was over, Mrs. Merkel came back, ready to walk Noy to ESL. Noy was feeling at least somewhat better, now that she had made a new friend. She liked Carlotta, and was excited to sit with her at lunch. Although they were eleven years apart, Carlotta made Noy feel welcome and at least a little more comfortable in Sudsy School. Even Mrs. Merkel was helping Noy in an extraordinary way, which was working. Noy was not crying anymore, since she was walking with Mrs. Merkel, finally able to recall how happy she was the day before while walking down the hallway with Mrs. Merkel. During ESL class, Ms. Williams had a general conversation with Noy the whole entire period, making Noy feel even more confident than before. The period passed so fast that it felt like a second for both of them. Noy knew now that she could count on Ms. Williams, who also knew Carlotta Lechner. She had her from Year Six to Year Nine. Ms. Williams explained that she began having Carlotta Year Six because she was eight years old, the typical age for a Year Six student, when she came to America. Carlotta had known English, but she was not as fluent as she needed to be. So, Ms. Kastner had volunteered to help Ms. Williams out with translation in the beginning, then progressing to building English skills. "She still has an accent, but her English is great now!" Ms. Williams gushed, "I am so happy you want to be her friend, Noy!" In Spanish, Ms. Castro had decided to have the class socialize for the next few days or so, since she didn't want anything terrible to happen amongst all of her students. She continued to go around the room, asking students how they were doing. Noy told Ms. Castro about Carlotta, who Ms. Castro never heard of. But she was pleased to hear about Noy meeting her. Right before German, Noy found Mrs. Merkel in the hallway, bent over a crying student. The boy, from what Noy could catch, was in Year Four, and his name was Simon. "Why do you think Ms. Kastner is angry?" Mrs. Merkel was asking him. "I forgot my work!" Simon waled. "Have you done this before?" asked Mrs. Merkel. "No!" Simon sobbed, burying his face in his hands. "Simon, my dear," Mrs. Merkel whispered, "I can go talk to her. I have to bring someone to her class either way." When Noy entered the classroom, Mrs. Merkel spoke with Ms. Kastner as promised. "I will go out to him," Ms. Kastner decided, "and Noy should come too. She needs to experience this so she is not nervous anymore." Noy wondered if she'd heard correctly. She should listen to a conversation that she was not involved in? But it turned out that the conversation conveyed some important messages to Noy. "Are you OK, Simon?" Ms. Kastner was asking. "I forgot my work from last night!" Simon screamed, still on the ground. "It's OK!" Ms. Kastner told him, "you are still doing great! You can just bring it tomorrow. It was only a review, after all." As Noy listened to the conversation going on in front of her, she began to slowly develop a little more of a liking for Ms. Kastner. Of course, Noy would have to get used to her still, but she knew she could. In time, just like Carlotta Lechner, Noy would feel calm, cool and collected in Sudsy School.