English Shadowing ● Lucy

The beginning of a Friendship
Lucy was a shy and frightened little girl when she first stood in front of Mrs. Campbell's third-grade class. It was Monday. "Now, children, we are very lucky today. I would like you to meet Lucy. She and her family just moved here from Guam. She will be in our class for the rest of the year." Pointing to a two-student desk that was empty, the teacher addressed the new student. "You can have that desk over there."
Looking only at the floor and holding her books close to her, Lucy walked over to her desk. However, she stumbled slightly and her books fell on the floor. Some of the kids in the class laughed - because that's the way some kids were. Lucy picked up her books and sat down, alone. The class had an odd number of students, so she was the only one without a desk partner.
When it was time for the first recess, all the kids hurried out of the classroom - all the kids but Lucy, that is. She waited until they were gone, got the snack out of her lunchbox, and walked slowly out to the playground. All the children were laughing, running, and playing. Unnoticed, Lucy made her way to a big tree, where she sat down on a bench and ate, alone. She watched the others play, but nobody came over to ask her if she wanted to join them.
When lunch time came, the situation was the same. The girls played hopscotch and the boys played ball, and Lucy sat alone on the bench under the big tree. The only thing any of the kids said to her all day was, "Guam? I've never heard of Guam. I'm from America." Lucy was too shy to say anything. The little boy ran off to tell his friends that people from Guam didn't talk. That's the way some kids were.
The next day Lucy told her mom she didn't want to go to school anymore because she didn't have anybody to play with. She wanted to go back to Guam, to her friends. Her mother told her she would make new friends - and to hurry up and get ready. She shoved her lunchbox into her hands and led her out the door. Lucy's second day went just like her first. During recess, she went out to the bench under the big tree to eat her snack. She didn't look up much, but she could hear the sounds of laughter coming from the playground. She was lonely and very homesick. Then, halfway through her apple, she started to cry. Some of the other kids saw her crying, but they didn't ask her what was wrong. They just whispered to one another and pointed at her. Some laughed, because that's the way some kids were.
The third day of the week went pretty much the same - and the fourth day too. Lucy talked to nobody. Nobody talked to her. She sat alone during all the recesses and lunch periods. Then she went home and cried.
Then on Friday something different happened. In the middle of math class, the teacher was called out of the room. When she returned, she had a little boy with her. She said, "Class, this week we are very lucky. We have another new student. His name is Henry. Henry, you can take the other seat at that desk, next to Lucy." The little boy came over and put his book bag on Lucy's desk. He looked at her before he sat down, and he smiled. He smiled at her. It was a shy kind of smile, but it was a nice smile. She smiled back.
When lunch time came, Lucy sat on the bench under the big tree eating her peanut butter sandwich. She didn't feel like crying. She was looking for Henry. There he was - playing ball with some boys. Henry made friends quickly, it seemed. Then he looked over at Lucy and saw her looking at him. Shyly, she looked down, but when she looked up again, there was Henry - standing right in front of her, his lunch bag in his hand. "Can I sit on this bench with you?" he asked. She nodded. For a few minutes they didn't talk at all. But right away Lucy knew she had a friend. Henry was nice. Some kids were just that way.