Lucy’s family had recently moved. She was extremely nervous about her first day at her new school. She tended to be shy and frightened around new people. As a result, she was never truly able to make real friends. She dreaded that this would happen in her new school. On her first day, her teacher introduced her to the class and assigned her a seat. All the unfamiliar faces made Lucy nervous. To calm herself, she focused on looking out the window.

“Lucy, what is the right answer to the question?” she suddenly heard her teacher ask.

Lucy jumped in surprise. Every single eye was on her. She had not heard the question but was too embarrassed to admit it. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Slate,” she muttered. “I don’t know the answer.” A few students giggled at her response. That only made Lucy feel worse. She looked down at her desk, fearing that she would burst into tears.

When recess came, Lucy thought she would spend some time alone in the classroom. All the other students left the room except for one boy. He sat alone and looked rather glum.

“I wonder what’s wrong with him,” Lucy thought to herself. It occurred to her that she should talk to the boy. “I’m tired of being afraid of people,” she thought. “It’s time to change that.”

Gathering her courage, she walked up to the boy and quietly introduced herself. The boy responded with a bright smile. After speaking to him, Lucy found out that the boy’s best friend had recently left the school. Now he had no friends. Lucy offered to be his new friend. The two became great friends, and Lucy was proud of herself for stepping out of her comfort zone to talk to him.

A.
doing challenging things can be rewarding
B.
nervous and shy people can never make friends
C.
a student has to be confident in front of classmates
D.
teachers are the kindest people at school