There isn’t room on the sidewalk coming up to the apartment for two people to walk abreast of each other. So when two middle-school girls on a bicycle together came up behind me, I stepped into the gutter to let them pass.

The girl pedaling stopped and squinted at me. The other giggled.

Pedaling Girl said, “S – sss – orry!” She worked very hard to get the “s” sound right. I said, “Daijoubu desu.”

They zoomed off, both chortling at the fact that they had actually used their English lessons.