Day 1

Today was Mia's first day at a new school. She felt excited, but a little nervous too.

At the school office, a kind woman looked up. "Welcome!" she said. "You will study together with Class 5B. Ms. Lee teaches that class."

Mia walked to the classroom. She held her new book and a pencil. Her mom had packed a pencil case and clean paper for her.

Mia saw a group of students. She felt shy. She tried to stay confident. A boy raised his hand. "Hi! I'm Ben," he said. He seemed honest and friendly. He introduced his best friend too.

"This is Zoe," Ben said. "Do you want to sit at this seat?" He pointed to an empty desk next to his. Mia felt comfortable next to them.

At lunch, Ben and Zoe asked Mia a hundred questions. Zoe was polite. "Where is your home town?" she asked. "What country are you from?"

"I'm from a small town far away," Mia said. She was glad someone wanted to listen.

"You can share my book," Zoe said. "I promise you will like this story. It's about a boy who could catch any ball in any game." She turned to a page near the end and let Mia peek at the picture.

Across the table, a girl and a younger child from the next class waved at Mia too. Every child in the room seemed able to make a new friend feel welcome.

Mia began to trust her new classmates. She started to believe this school would become a nice place.

In the afternoon, the teacher gave the class a big question to answer together. "I have an idea!" Mia said. She was curious, and she wanted to care about her new group's answer.

The teacher was glad. "Great answer!" she said. Ben looked surprised — he didn't know Mia was so smart for a young student.

"I appreciate your help," Ben said. "Will you join our study group? We meet most afternoons to play word games."

"I'd love to," Mia said. Zoe smiled. "We can encourage each other. It's more fun to learn together than alone. Every kid needs a friend on the first day."

Mia's only hope this morning had been to get through the day without crying. By the end of the day, she was no longer alone. She had many new things to remember from today, but she felt proud. On her very first day, she had found kind, honest friends — and a whole new school to call home.