Useful Japanese

My graduating seniors just had their big high school entrance exams last week. Several of my students were attempting to get into not only the city's best high school, but also its prestigious English program. To help them better prepare for their English interviews, I practiced with them almost daily. Whereas some school's interview questions remain the same every year, at this particular school, the format and questions are top secret. So, no matter how hard we tried, none of us really knew what the test would be like...

Yesterday, I finally found out the details of the test. One of the activities was for the students to choose and explain several useful Japanese words (which, I might add, Sarah later pointed out that the best answer would have been "Do you speak English?"). My kids responses, though good (and hopefully they will pass) hardly compared to the important word I needed today....

You see, after Japanese class I got onto a really, really crowded bus. I was holding a horribly broken umbrella (with its arms grabbing everything in its reach), two large book bags, and a very delicate piece of cake from my Japanese teacher's wife. Attempting to be as tiny as possible (not an easy task when brandishing an unruly umbrella) I squeezed into the smallest space I could find between several high schoolers. Soon someone behind us needed to get off the bus. Unfortunately, I had no where to go but onto the entrance stairs. I stepped down just as the doors were folding-opening, right smack-dab into their path. This, of course, was an unsuitable location since the doors were automatic. Their sole desire was to open even if it meant smushing me in the process. As I was flattened between books and aforementioned poky-umbrella, I raised my arms in attempt to rescue my cake. This of course, made matters worse since the doors now had more room to continue in their path of destruction. I squirmed. I wriggled. I was flattened even further. Nobody seemed to take notice of my destitute state. I whimpered. I cried. I tried to to think of the Japanese word for stuck but alas it was not in my vocabulary. Finally, in one last desperate move, I shouted "AHHHH!!!!" Well, I'm guessing my response must have been part of the universal language (or maybe it was my panic-stricken face and squashed torso). Needless to say, the high schoolers quickly came to my rescue and muscled the doors closed (and off of me) while the bus driver (seemingly oblivious to my former state) calmly drove away...