Socorro arrived in Japan the next day.
She got off the plane at an airport in the heart of Nagoya and looked around. There were so many people traveling to and from different airport terminals. Some were traveling, others looked as though they were on business trips, and some were even tourists from other countries.
Socorro began to feel a little anxious because of the sheer amount of people in the extremely enormous airport. Snapping out of it, Socorro remembered something: The school's staff told her to take the bus to Sakin-ku.
Remembering the bus number, Socorro grabbed her luggage and headed to where the bus was waiting. She got on and put her stuff in the cargo hold. As she waited for the bus to leave, Socorro thought to herself, "Wow, there's a lot of people on here. They're all Japanese, though. I wonder if there's going to be any other foreign exchange students at my school."
As she was thinking, the bus suddenly started to move and drive away slowly from the airport. Socorro was surprised, but excited to finally get going. Sakin-ku was located in the far southeastern edge of Nagoya, so it would be a couple of hours before the bus got there. Socorro was excited to see the scenery while riding the bus. This was her first time in a foreign country, so she looked at everything outside of the window as the bus began its voyage.
On the way there, Socorro saw some of Nagoya's most iconic landmarks. Famous places such as the Nagoya TV Tower, the Tokugawa Art Museum, the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, and the iconic Nagoya Castle. Socorro was ecstatic, she heard about these places and was thrilled to see them in real life. "Maybe I can visit them on my days off from school.", she thought.
…
After two hours, the bus finally started to arrive in Sakin-ku. It was located in an open area of a huge forest, the district could be accessed by crossing a long roadway of dense forests. The town itself is in a gigantic clearing with trees surrounding it on all sides, minus the big highway that leads into it. The town was fairly large for a newly built district in a forest. There weren't many big buildings, only a few small skyscrapers in the middle of the town. There were many minor landmarks though: such as a shrine, a shopping mall area, a large convention building, a large park near the woods, multiple small neighborhoods with many houses, a road filled with apartment complexes, and a few major highways here and there.
Socorro was in awe, she never expected the town to be located in the backwoods. She was very intrigued however, having never been in a town situated in a forest. "This will be fun. I'll get to be in a very new and obscure part of Nagoya; I'll get to have a rare experience like no one else in a relatively unknown town. This will be an exciting start to my high school years.", she thought.
The bus approached the central downtown part of Sakin-ku, this is where Socorro would be getting off. The downtown area was the biggest part of the town, being in the very center. As Socorro looked out the window, she saw just how many different places were located downtown. She saw numerous different restaurants and shops, all being different. The bus passed the town hall, a large white building with multiple floors. Nearby were also the tallest skyscrapers in the town, a business building and a publishing company center.
The bus was almost at Socorro's stop, a bus station in the middle of the major street containing the town hall and all the other important buildings. Socorro, eager to finally get off, stood up and grabbed the hand bar as the bus came to a gradual halt.
As the bus stopped, Socorro looked out the window to her right and saw something that caught her eye. There was a young Japanese man in his late twenties standing by the bus stop holding up a sign with Socorro's full name on it in Portuguese. "That's right!", Socorro thought, "I'm supposed to meet my translator here. I guess that's him."
Socorro then got off the bus hastily with everyone else. As she stepped outside, she was hit with a cool breeze that energized her after sitting on a bus for a long time. "Looks like Japan is colder than Brazil after all.", she thought to herself as she grabbed her luggage from the bus's cargo bay.
Socorro walked over to the man holding the sign with her name. She felt nervous, as this was her first time meeting a Japanese person. The man then noticed her stepping over to him shyly. He immediately knew it was Socorro, all he did was look at her and noticed how different she looked from the average person in Japan. He put away the sign he was holding as Socorro finally reached him.
Socorro didn't know how to greet him. "Do I hug him? Shake his hand? Wave? Just say hello? And if so, do I say it in Japanese or Portuguese?", Socorro kept quickly asking herself.
"Don't be so shy.", the man said in Portuguese. Socorro was shocked, she was surprised he spoke Portuguese despite already being told beforehand. He didn't look like he could speak it. His Portuguese wasn't the greatest, but Socorro could understand every word he said despite his slightly slow speech. "R-right.", Socorro answered quickly. The man held out his hand. Realizing that he wanted to shake hands, Socorro quickly shook his hand vigorously with a nervous expression.
"I'm Fujita Sano. I will act as your translator for the next year.", he said while finishing shaking hands with Socorro. "Thank you!", Socorro said in Japanese. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Basic, but good use of your learnings.", Fujita continued in Portuguese.
"What happens now?", Socorro asked politely. "Now, you must go to your school to receive your schedule and uniform.", Fujita said. "I'll go with you and speak in your stead. You'll get a tour of the school, see your classes, and meet the principal."
"How will we get there?", Socorro asked curiously. "It's just a short walk from here. Come on, let us go. Take your stuff with you.", he finished. Fujita started heading to the nearest cross walk, Socorro followed closely behind with her luggage in tow, slightly slowing her down.
…
Socorro and Fujita arrived at the school after twenty minutes of walking. The school was located near the center of the town in between the downtown area and the street with apartment complexes. They both stood in front of the opened school gate.
Socorro was amazed, this school was much bigger and nicer-looking than any of the schools she previously went to. The school also looked very new, likely no older than a couple of years since it was built. The school was very large: having three floors, a large gray exterior, a gymnasium building, a sports field, and a courtyard in the back of the main building. To the right on the wall near the main gate, the school's name was printed in English. Above the name, the school's symbol was also on the wall. The symbol consisted of a bunch of triangular polygons rotated around a star-like line structure surrounded by a white aura. Socorro had never seen anything like it before.
After a moment, Fujita said, "You can admire the school on the first day as a student the day after tomorrow. Let us head to the principal's office, we don't want to keep him waiting." Socorro, now snapped out of her daze, nodded and then they both walked up to the school's front doors. On the way there, Socorro noticed all the fresh cherry blossom trees growing on both sides of the walkway to the entrance. "Gorgeous...", she thought, "I've heard about these, they are so much more beautiful than I expected." Socorro was dazzled by them, she was excited to see that her school is looking better than she had hoped. As she finished looking at the trees while walking, Socorro and Fujita reached the entrance doors.
Stepping inside, Socorro got her first look at the interior of the building. She passed the shoe lockers near the entrance, knowing that she'll get to use them on her first day. Fujita led her down a hallway to her right, she followed closely. The floors were all clean and shiny, unlike Socorro's previous school. All the walls and architectural features looked pretty new as well. They passed a few classrooms on the way, bearing names such as "1-A", "1-B", and so on. "These must be the first year classes, where I will be attending.", she thought.
They both then reached the principal's office door, which was to the left of the stairs they just passed at the end of the first floor right hallway. Fujita opened the door and held it open for Socorro. "Thank you!", Socorro said once again in Japanese. Fujita just nodded in response. Socorro went inside, Fujita following her and shutting the door behind him.
Inside the room, Socorro saw a middle-aged man sitting in a chair behind a large desk. The man stood up and walked out from his desk towards Socorro. He stopped a little ways in front of her. He bowed and said, "Welcome to Nishikesu High School. I'm Principal Kogen Goto." Fujita quickly translated what Principal Goto said and said it back to Socorro, she was surprised at the speed he translated. Socorro bowed in response, not sure if she was doing it right.
Principal Goto looked annoyed after greeting Socorro, like he didn't want to be there briefing her about the school on his day off. "Take a seat.", he grudgingly said while motioning his hands to the chair in front of the desk. Fujita translated it, but Socorro got the message already. She sat down and put her hands in her pockets. Principal Goto also sat back down in his chair, Fujita stood to his right, both facing Socorro.
"Here's what you can expect from our school this year, Mota-san.", Principal Goto began. Fujita quickly translated. "You will be enlisted as a first year student in April of 2004. School will start the day after tomorrow on April 4th.", Principal Goto continued. Fujita kept translating every sentence at a somewhat slow pace, but accurately. Socorro had a hard time focusing with two different voices talking at once. "This is something I'm going to have to get used to.", she thought to herself.
"Your homeroom is Class 1-A located just to the right of the front entrance.", Principal Goto said. Fujita translated every sentence after that. "You can expect a fine education experience and a welcoming campus with many career opportunities.", Principal Goto said half-heartedly. "Here is your set of uniforms, wear them everyday you're at school."
Principal Goto picked up a box containing a set of 3 female uniforms. He handed it to Socorro, who took it eagerly. "There are three uniforms in that box, wear each uniform for two days then wash it. Repeat this process for the whole week and every week after that.", he said. Socorro nodded and said, "My gratitude.", in Japanese. Principal Goto rolled his eyes and looked frustrated. Socorro put the box in her suitcase that was near her.
"Lastly, here is your schedule for all of your classes.", he said. He gave her the papers and she put them away. "It also contains your student I.D. as well."
Principal Goto crossed his arms and said, "Now Sano-san will tour you around the school and show you to your homeroom class." Fujita walked over to the desk and shook his hand, "Thank you for your patience.", he said in Japanese. Fujita and Socorro started to walk out of the principal's office. Socorro grabbed her luggage, which was now much heavier. Fujita exited first this time. Socorro turned around and took one last look into the room. Principal Goto had a smirk on his face, almost looking relieved that Socorro was leaving. Socorro turned away, feeling nervous. She exited the room and shut the door behind her.
…
After about an hour, Socorro and Fujita were walking down a street near the school. They had just finished touring the school, and Socorro was overwhelmed. There was so much in the school and it was quite prestigious, much nicer education opportunities than the ones at her older schools. "I'm going to get a very good education there. I'll have to study a lot.", she thought to herself.
Fujita was guiding Socorro to where she'll be living, she would be living in an apartment complex near the school. Socorro was curious to see what kind of place she would be staying the next year at. Fujita stopped after a couple of minutes and stared at the scenery in front of him. Socorro stopped and turned to look at what he was staring at.
There stood a large complex building adorned with five floors of apartment housings. It looked quite old, with red worn-out paint and a rusty fire escape ladder. The building looked older than most of the other apartment complexes on the street.
Socorro was confused, she didn't understand why she would be living in such a decrypted place. "This can't be it.", she thought.
"Are you sure this is the place I'll be living at?", she asked Fujita sternly. Fujita, looking tired and impatient, yelled, "Just shut up and go inside!" He stepped defiantly towards the entrance, muttering "Brat" in Japanese, Socorro didn't understand what he said. She felt guilty for making him angry. "Hopefully, he calms down and my room doesn't turn out to be so bad.", she thought to calm herself down. She then picked up her stuff and entered the building.
Inside, there was a small lobby that had a few chairs in a waiting room-like area. There was a counter with no one behind it, Fujita was standing in front of it. Socorro walked over to him and he said, "You have to sign the contract over there.", while pointing at the open book and pen on the old counter. "It is a contract saying that you agree to stay here for the year while the school pays for it.", he continued.
"Okay...", Socorro said sheepishly. She picked up the pen and was ready to sign her name. She couldn't read what the contract said. She thought about it for a minute. "Do I really want to stay here? This place doesn't look too good.", she thought, "But where am I supposed to go?" Although she was cautious, she realized she had no choice. No one had time to move her somewhere else before school started.
With that, Socorro signed her full name on the contract. She signed her name in Portuguese, not knowing how to do it in Japanese. Fujita took the book and pen, closing them in the process. "Come on, your room is ready.", he said. Socorro grabbed her stuff and followed Fujita down the hallway towards the stairs.
The first floor hallway past the entrance lobby was long with a few doors on one side and windows on the other. "These must be the rooms.", Socorro thought. She and Fujita passed an extra room at the end of the hallway near the stairs. The sign by the door read "Landlord's Office" in Japanese, though Socorro didn't know.
They both climbed up a flight of stairs to the second floor. The stairway was old and worn out, much like the rest of the building. "Looks like the interior isn't much better.", Socorro thought quietly to herself. She slightly struggled with getting her stuff up the stairs, using most of her strength to do it. Fujita looked back at her struggling, but ignored it and kept walking up. "I guess he doesn't like me...", she thought.
Once reaching the second floor, Fujita said one thing: "Your room is on the third floor. Come on, hurry it up." He stormed up the stairs angrily, while Socorro struggled to keep up. She felt confused and upset. She didn't know why he was getting so angry with her. "He's getting so frustrated, I wish I could know why so I can stop making him feel stressed. Maybe it's my slow speed, or maybe it's a bad day for him.", she thought.
Socorro just reached the third floor once she finished her train of thought. Fujita was already walking towards her room by this point. As Socorro followed him, she took notice of the surroundings. The third floor hallway was the same as the other two, but without the landlord's office. The hall was old and smelled bad, just like everything else in the building. "I guess this isn't a surprise. At least it's consistent with everything else.", she noted internally.
After a minute, Fujita stopped in front of the third door in the middle of the hallway, it was in between two doors to the left and right. The door bore the number "13" on it. "This is your room, Ms. Mota.", he said. Socorro looked at it, and she felt somewhat excited about finally arriving at her new home. "Here is your key.", he said while handing it to her, "I'll leave it to you to unpack all of your stuff and get settled in. I will be staying in Room #7 on the second floor for my time here. Tomorrow, we'll go out in town to shop for food and clothing for you." He was about to leave, but Socorro wanted to ask Fujita one last question. She hesitated for a bit, scared of angering him further by annoying him like earlier. She then asked, "Do I have to do any other paperwork for living here?" Fujita groaned and said, "No, Ms. Mota. I'm going to take the contract you signed to the landlord's office and drop it off. He's almost never here anyway. I'm going to my room after that." Socorro nodded, understanding. "As for you, get some sleep, tomorrow will be busy. Goodbye.", Fujita said. "You too.", Socorro said quietly. He walked down the hallway towards the stairs, turning and disappearing out of sight.
It was extremely quiet all of a sudden. Socorro, feeling relieved that she can have some alone time, decided it was time to get settled into her new house. She unlocked the door using the key Fujita gave to her and stepped inside.
The apartment was much smaller than Socorro thought. She looked around and saw how little was there. In front of her beyond the entrance door was a small room containing a bed in the lower right corner, a table in the upper right corner with a chair, a large window on the adjacent wall, a small dresser in the upper left corner, and a mini refrigerator on the left wall beside the dresser. It was the largest room in the apartment despite being small. The only other room was a small private bathroom to her left. "At least the room has one, so I don't have to use a shared one.", she thought. She put the key in her pocket and shut the door behind her, locking it with the one old rusty deadbolt.
Socorro set down her large suitcase on the floor in the center of the room. She stood up and walked around the apartment, inspecting everything closer. The bed was old with a wooden frame and an old mattress adorned with plain sheets and pillows. The table had nothing on it and it was very dusty. The window had no curtains or blinds, the view was just the backs of the other apartment complexes surrounding the area. Socorro was disappointed, "At least I can see where the sun is.", she realized. The dresser was empty and dusty as well. The mini fridge was empty, much to Socorro's disappointment. She then checked out the bathroom. It was basic: only containing a simple shower, sink, and toilet. "It's clean at least.", she thought.
Socorro walked back over to her suitcase. "This room has a very old feel to it. This place is more like an old, abandoned hotel than an apartment complex.", she thought to herself. "Well, it isn't much, but looks like I'll have to get used to it!", she said aloud to herself. She opened her suitcase and began unpacking.
After an hour, she was done. She cleaned up the room a little as well. She dusted off the dresser and the table, put her clothes in the dresser, and put her other stuff on the table. There was a lot she brought just besides clothes: Her MP3 player and headphones, some books, some snacks, her cell phone, some bathroom supplies, and some family pictures.
Now that Socorro was done unpacking, she wanted to do one more thing before getting ready for bed: try on her school uniform. "I'm interested to see what it looks like.", she said. She opened the box and sure enough, there were 3 female uniforms inside. "Looks like I am going to have to wash these at a laundromat.", she said while remembering that there was no washing machine in the building. She took one of the uniform sets and went to the bathroom to try it on.
When Socorro finished putting it on, she looked at herself in the bathroom sink mirror. The uniform consisted of a dark green collared top with a white button-up shirt underneath, a knee-length black pleated skirt with dark green stripes wrapping around it, black knee-high socks, black loafer shoes with dark green soles on the bottom, and finished off with a long purple necktie. The top had a couple of pockets on the bottom on both the left and right sides, the school emblem was also on the left side with the same symbol Socorro saw earlier and the school's name under it. Socorro also noticed how this appeared to be the winter uniform, she assumed she would get the summer version when the time comes.
Socorro loved the uniform. Her previous schools didn't have uniforms. It fit on her very well, "Thank goodness it fits me just right, they got the size right.", she thought. She loved the way it looked. "I love how the main color is green!", she thought while reminiscing that her favorite color is green. She also loved the tie, loving how the purple contrasts with everything else. "I never wore one before, but it looks extra nice with the uniform.", she thought. She then remembered what Fujita told her about the ties - that each grade level student group wears a different colored tie. First years wear purple ties, second years wear gray ties, and third years wear black ties. Socorro thought it was weird how the ties got more bland as the grade level went up. "Makes me glad to be a first year student because I get to wear a unique tie color.", she said.
The only thing Socorro didn't like about the uniform was the skirt. She didn't like wearing skirts, they felt too revealing and unnecessary in her opinion. But girls were required to wear them in their uniforms, unfortunately. "Maybe I'll get used to it, it's not like it's really short or anything.", she said while looking at it in the mirror. Other than that, Socorro absolutely admired the uniform as a whole. It was the nicest outfit she had ever worn before.
When Socorro finished looking at the uniform, she looked out the window and noticed the sun was setting. "I think I had enough for today.", she said. She decided to go to bed early, the long day and constant social interactions wore her out.
She changed into lounge clothes and got comfortable, it was dark outside by this time. Since there was no food, Socorro ate some of her snacks she brought from home for dinner.
After eating and brushing her teeth, Socorro climbed into bed and tried to sleep.
…
Socorro couldn't even get close to sleep after 3 hours of trying. The bed wasn't comfortable and she couldn't stand the quietness or the loneliness of the room. This was the first time she ever slept in her home completely alone before. The darkness of the room didn't help either, with the only light being from the starry-moonlit sky shining through the window. Socorro felt so alone and unsettled, there was no one with her and the only people she truly knows are halfway across the world now. It was a difficult thought for her to comprehend. "I'm pretty sure there's no one else even living in the building besides me and Fujita.", she realized.
But what was mainly keeping Socorro awake was the nearly endless questions and scenarios about her past that keep flooding her head. These thoughts made Socorro feel anxious and regretful, preventing her from sleeping properly.
"Why does everyone hate Father? Why did they turn on him so quickly? Why did they automatically believe that woman they barely even knew? Could I have done more to prevent it?", Socorro kept asking endlessly to herself.
She then started to feel angry when she thought about the collapse of her family. "The court is supposed to find defendants as innocent until proven guilty, but it's really guilty until proven innocent. Especially if you're a man, since the court favors women for no good reason; it's so unfair!", she thought.
Socorro then started thinking about her regrets. "I wish I didn't yell at Mother, I feel really bad for hurting her feelings like that. I wonder if she hates me now... But I still love her, I hope she gets better." Still feeling sad, she thought about her father. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to him, he probably doesn't even know where I am right now. He's just sitting in prison, wanting to know when he'll get to see me I bet. He's so good to me, maybe he still believes in me right now.", she smiled as she thought about it. "I hope Fujita doesn't hate me, nor does Principal Goto. I'm good at upsetting people, but they are patient. I'm sure everything will get better soon."
Socorro was finally calming herself down. She focused on her new life in Japan as a positive aspect, and calmed herself down even further. She felt safe sleeping now.
She did this more and after a few minutes, Socorro was finally able to get to sleep.
…
Socorro was awoken by knocking on her door the next day. She opened her eyes and was met with warm rays of the morning sun on her face. The knocking continued for a few more moments before a familiar voice rang out, "It's me, Fujita. Get dressed, Ms. Mota. We will be leaving to buy supplies for your room in a few minutes, and be ready in five minutes."
"That's right! I'll be going out today to buy food, clothes, and other supplies for my home.", Socorro remembered. "Okay...", she said, answering Fujita's request despite feeling very tired.
Socorro put on some casual clothes and grabbed her wallet just in case. She stepped outside her room door and locked it behind her. Fujita was standing next to the door waiting for her. "Let's get this over with...", he said in a bored tone. Socorro nodded and followed him all the way to the bus station.
They took the bus to the downtown area where all the shops were located. Socorro realized that buses were the main method of transportation in Sakin-ku, not monorails or subways like in most Japanese cities. She liked it and thought it relaxing.
After a few minutes, Socorro and Fujita got off the bus and arrived at their first destination. It was a large convenience store called "Satomi Tadashi". They came here to buy food for Socorro's apartment. Inside, there were many aisles of various foods and medicines. Socorro was overwhelmed by what to pick, there were so many different kinds of food. Socorro couldn't read Japanese, so she only picked out stuff she recognized from home.
"Hurry it up!", Fujita said impatiently. Socorro was already finished with her shopping, planning on buying about a month's worth of food. But she was distracted by the song always playing in the drugstore. She got the song stuck in her head, it was catchy despite it being in Japanese and her not understanding a word of it. "Fujita?", Socorro asked, "Why does this store have its own song?" He sighed and then started to explain.
"Satomi Tadashi was a very popular and successful chain of convenience stores that were all over Japan. The stores were named after the man who started the first one in a small city called Mikage-cho.", he explained. "Were?", Socorro asked curiously. "These stores are now unfortunately going out of business, getting beaten by more successful companies. The one we're in now is one of the last ones around.", he explained. "The song that you hear right now describes the various medicines available and what they do. The song is also rumored to brainwash the customers into not leaving the stores, but don't believe that. Rumors are just rumors, they can't be dangerous.", he continued.
Socorro nodded, intrigued by the explanation. She loved the song and wondered if there was a home music version. When it came time to pay, she was nervous and didn't know what to do. She didn't have any yen, only reals from Brazil that were her life savings. She also didn't know how to say anything she wanted to. After putting all of her items on the counter, the cashier lady gave her a weird look and looked confused. Socorro tried to speak, but only stuttered instead. Fujita then stepped in and explained everything to the cashier. The cashier understood and totaled up the cost of all the items, costing 50,000 yen altogether. Fujita paid for all of it and helped carry some of the bags.
Socorro was confused, she didn't understand why he paid for it. She asked him and he explained that the funds come from the school to help pay for all of Socorro's household necessities. Socorro, feeling relieved, thanked him, but he just ignored her.
They both carried some bags as they were walking out of the store. "Maybe I can get a part-time job here sometime. This place seems nice.", Socorro thought as she left the store.
It only took a couple minutes of walking before Socorro and Fujita reached their next and final destination, a clothing store called "Rosa Candida".
As Socorro stepped inside, she noticed tons of different clothes all over. She couldn't decide what clothes to get, but she eventually decided on casual clothes. Socorro didn't like anything fancy or revealing. She tried on clothes and decided on which ones to get. When she was ready to buy her clothes, Fujita noticed her and said, "Took you long enough." "Sorry, I went as fast as I could.", she replied. He rolled his eyes and went with her to pay for it. The woman at the counter was nicely dressed, likely being forced to. "Your total is 10,000 yen.", she said with a sad tone.
After Fujita paid, he said, "I'm doing this because I have to, it's not my money anyway." Socorro understood, but couldn't help asking, "Why was it so cheap?" She knew that a few thousand yen wasn't that expensive. She bought ten sets of clothes, but the price was dirt cheap. "This place is also going out of business at the end of the year. Rosa Candida was also once a popular clothing store chain that originated in Mikage-cho. But like Satomi Tadashi, it got beat out by more popular stores. This is also the last one around. I chose these two stores for this reason, as it is much less expensive to buy your supplies from them due to the liquidation sales.", he explained.
Socorro nodded and felt bad for making Fujita explain himself again. "I'm sorry for troubling you again.", she said. "It's fine...", he said in a monotone voice. "Thank you, but I have one last question.", she said, "What's the deal with this Mikage-cho you keep mentioning?" Fujita groaned and said, "Mikage-cho was a small city that was infamous for an incident that happened 8 years ago. A scientific corporation located there known as SEBEC scammed people about its scientific findings when weird anomalies occurred and it shut down afterwards. The case was infamous all over Japan for a while, known as the SEBEC scandal."
"Are you satisfied now?", he finished. "Yes, thank you.", Socorro said. They both grabbed the stuff they bought and exited the store. They headed to the nearest bus stop to return home.
They took the bus home and arrived after only five minutes. Socorro liked how her new home was so close to all the major parts of the town. After carrying everything up to her room, Fujita gave her something. "These are your school supplies I forgot to give to you yesterday.", he said. He gave her a notebook, some pencils and pens, and a book bag to carry all of her stuff in. Socorro smiled and said "Thank you!" in Japanese once again. Despite his annoyed look, Fujita replied with a "You're welcome." in Japanese.
"Now get some sleep, Ms. Mota. You have your first day of school tomorrow, you need to wake up earlier than you did today.", he said, switching back to Portuguese. "Okay...", Socorro said quietly while bowing to him. "Good night.", Fujita said quietly as he walked away. She watched him disappear from the hallway and went back into her room.
Socorro spent the rest of her afternoon putting away all of her new clothes and food Fujita got her. After she was done, she ate a basic dinner. She then listened to music on her MP3 player while reading on her bed, her favorite hobby.
Afterwards, she got ready for bed. This time she was able to fall asleep much easier. Her thinking about the first day of school the next day relaxed her.
"I hope everyone at school accepts me.", Socorro thought as she drifted off to sleep.