Jana's Summer (English)

Chapter 2: The First Impressions

As the students were finally allowed to leave the bus after the room assignments, the classes 9b and 9c were instructed to line up with their teachers to discuss the plan for the day. Mrs. König, the homeroom teacher of class 9c, handed out a sheet of paper for a kind of "city scavenger hunt." Jana, Julia, and Emma formed one group and received a sheet for themselves. Medina was in a group with Juliane, and Max was paired with Jonas and Daniel, with whom he was sharing a room. Each group had different tasks to complete. After discussing everything, including the meeting point at the Barbara and Borka Apartments at 3:00 PM, the groups were allowed to set off and explore the area.

Jana, Julia, and Emma set out together. They walked along a forest path. It was quite warm, and the air smelled pleasantly fresh from the nearby sea, the Adriatic. Their task was to find the restaurant "Marina." While the girls took a break on a bench, Julia suggested asking other tourists for directions.

"Julia, you do know you'll need to speak English with most people here, right?" Jana asked with a grin.

"Yes, of course, I know that. I'll manage. Besides, you're with us. Since you're our top student in English, nothing can go wrong," Julia replied with a smile.

Emma, who was listening attentively, remained silent. She probably felt too shy to voice her opinion, knowing that Julia's English skills were quite basic. Julia was so confident in her plan that she didn't take Jana's well-intentioned advice to ask someone else seriously, insisting on doing it herself.

So, the three continued their exploration. A few meters further, they encountered two attractive, blonde boys in shorts and no shirts, showcasing their muscular torsos. Julia was determined to approach them. 'Oh dear, this could be a disaster. I hope she doesn't embarrass herself too much,' Jana thought as she stepped aside with Emma to give them some space.

With a confident smile, Julia approached the boys and said, "Hi, you speak German?"

"No, sorry, we are from Denmark," one of the boys replied with a grin.

Julia then tried to ask the boys for directions to the Marina restaurant, but her limited English made it challenging. She held up the map Mrs. König had given them and pointed to the restaurant while carefully attempting to form a question. "I go here?" was what came out.

The boys started laughing loudly, and Julia's face turned red. Realizing that Julia would only embarrass herself further if they continued the conversation, Jana gently pulled Julia away from the boys and suggested they ask someone else. Julia reluctantly agreed, feeling disheartened by her inability to communicate with the attractive boys and her embarrassment in front of them.

Seeing Julia's bad mood, Jana found it difficult to cheer her up after the incident. However, she managed to lift Julia's spirits when they encountered a German couple whom they could ask for directions. This time, Jana took over. The couple was very friendly and explained that they were already on the right path, just needing to turn left at the next fork, and they would find the restaurant.

Jana thanked them warmly and returned to Emma and Julia, who had kept their distance during the conversation. Jana took charge and said, "This way, we need to turn left up ahead, and then we should be almost there."

Jana's mood improved significantly, which surprised Julia, considering how much emotional turmoil her best friend had been through during the bus ride. Emma and Julia followed Jana, and Julia's mood gradually lifted as well.

Arriving at the restaurant, they checked off the task on their scavenger hunt list and saw that it was now 2:30 PM. "Come on, we need to be at the meeting point in half an hour," Jana told the others after glancing at her phone.