Short Novel : Japanese expat children in 70s - 80s (5.1): A Japanese school on the seaside (Chapter 2)
1978 — Life at the Boarding School Monday morning. First period was Mathematics. "Good morning, everyone. Right then, open your books to page eighteen..." I did as I was told, but several of my classmates still looked half asleep. A month had slipped by since I'd arrived at the Japanese boarding school. I'd become quite used to eating in the dining hall. That morning, Maiko and I were chatting over scrambled eggs as usual. Before we knew it, the bell rang, ten minutes before lessons were due to begin. We grabbed our bags and ran to the classroom. It didn't take me long to notice that, out of the twenty-eight students in our year, fewer than I'd expected paid much attention in lessons. It was the same in Mathematics as it was in Japanese. Some slept with their heads on their desks. Others didn't even bother to listen. The moment the bell rang at the end of each lesson, a handful of students disappeared outside, ...