--- title: When nobody sits with you: making friends again — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «When nobody sits with you: making friends again», a lesson of the reflection course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Loneliness can become a circle: three months into a new school, Zainab still ate lunch alone most days, and at night sh --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Reflection](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/) / When nobody sits with you: making frie… # When nobody sits with you: making friends again Lesson 23 of the reflection course of Mova's primary school: 16 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/0/) — Loneliness can become a circle: three months into a new school, Zainab still ate lunch alone most days, and at night she thought: "Back home I had loads of mates. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/1/) — Here I'm invisible. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/2/) — Maybe I'm just not likeable any more." - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/3/) — The first weeks she was nervous but hopeful; by month two she felt flat and tired and stopped trying to join in, and pulling back made her even more alone, so the circle turned again; hiding in the library every lunch meant nobody even saw she needed someone. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/4/) — Then a teacher noticed and found her a lunchtime art club; when someone asked her to sit with them, she said yes; by month four she had two friends; she was never unlikeable, her friendships just hadn't had time or a place to grow. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/5/) — Other kids feel like the odd one out for reasons nobody can see: a dad away on an oil rig, a family that keeps Eid not Christmas, a home where Mum is very ill and you help out; sharing a bit of your story often turns "weird" into "interesting". - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/6/) — When friends whisper and stop as you walk over, the worried brain fills the gap with the worst story; sometimes, like for Ella, the whisper was a birthday surprise, so asking beats assuming. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/7/) — Loneliness can make people pull back, and pulling back makes loneliness worse; this circle can be broken by small steps like a club or saying yes to an invitation. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/8/) — Feeling lonely at a new school does not mean you are unlikeable; friendships need time and places to grow. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/9/) — Teachers often notice lonely pupils and can help with clubs and buddies; telling one speeds this up. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/11/) — Families celebrate different festivals, such as Eid (Muslim), Diwali (Hindu, Sikh and Jain) and Hanukkah (Jewish); sharing your own can help others learn and help you feel seen. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/12/) — Some families do not celebrate birthdays for religious reasons; explaining calmly helps most friends understand. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/13/) — New players often need time before a team trusts them; "like a lemon" is UK slang for looking silly or useless. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/14/) — When we are worried, the brain fills gaps with the worst story; "paranoid" means wrongly sure people are against you. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/17/) — A young carer is a child who helps look after an ill or disabled family member; young carers' groups exist, and friends can visit instead of always being visited. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/23-when-nobody-sits-with-you-making-friends-again/18/) — When a best friend moves away, it leaves a gap; new friends usually fill it slowly, often through group games and clubs. - ← previous: [Lonely and different: accents, big brothers and being too much](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/22-lonely-and-different-accents-big-brothers-and-being-too-much/) - next →: [I failed: the missed penalty, the lost race, the bad mark](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/24-i-failed-the-missed-penalty-the-lost-race-the-bad-mark/) - ↑ back to [Reflection](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/reflection/)