ONLINE DATING

Amanda turns on her computer and opens her e-mail. She has a new message. She smiles.
It is from Tall_and_Handsome34, a man Amanda met on FindNewLove.com, an online
dating website. She really hopes to find a new love, and Tall_and_Handsome34 could be
the right man for her!

Amanda reads the e-mail. Tall_and_Handsome34 asks Amanda if she would like to meet
in person on Friday. He tells her his real name is Mike.

Amanda considers meeting Mike. She only chats with Mike on the computer, but she
really likes him. He is smart and funny. They are the same age, share many interests, and
live in the same city. She does not know what he looks like, but she enjoys the mystery of
a blind date.

Amanda replies to Mike, "Hi Mike. My real name is Amanda."

They agree to meet at Amanda's favorite restaurant at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. They plan to
meet beside the fountain in front of the restaurant.

On Friday, Amanda prepares for her date. She puts on a dress and curls her hair. She feels
nervous and excited!

When Amanda arrives at the restaurant, she sees a tall man by the fountain. She cannot
see his face.

"That must be Mike," Amanda thinks.

She walks toward the man.

"Mike?" Amanda asks as the tall man turns around. She sees Mike's face. She is
surprised!

"Amanda Jones!" Mike exclaims. He realizes he knows her. Amanda Jones and Mike
Miller dated in high school. "I cannot believe it is you!"

Amanda and Mike laugh and hug. "Well," Amanda thinks to herself, "sometimes you can
find an old love too!"
 - Ainul

THE PET SHOP

Cody and his sister April decide they want a dog. They head down to the local pet store
and have a look around. It is a very small pet store that doesn't have many animals.
The owner of the shop is a nice old man named Mr. Smith. He walks over and greets
Cody and April.

"How can I help you?" he asks.

"We would like to buy a dog," April responds.
"Ah, well, we are not a big pet shop," Mr. Smith tells her. "So we only have two dogs to
choose from." They ask Mr. Smith to show them the dogs.

Mr. Smith leads them to the back of store where the two dogs are. One of them is a very
big bulldog named Buster. The other is a very tiny chihuahua named Teacup. April wants
Teacup. Cody wants Buster. They walk outside to discuss.They cant agree on a dog.
April suggests they race home for it. The winner of the race chooses the dog.

Cody agrees, then tells April her shoelace is untied. When April looks down, he runs off
and gets a head start. Cody runs as hard as he can. He really wants that bulldog. He looks
back. April is so far behind he cant even see her.Cody finally gets home. He is tired but
he is happy. He knows he is the winner.

April arrives a few minutes after Cody. She congratulates him. They return to the pet
store to purchase Buster the bulldog.However, when they arrive they only see Teacup the
chihuahua. They ask Mr. Smith where Buster is.Mr. Smith gives the details. He explains
that a few minutes after April and Cody leave, two boys walk in and buy the bulldog.

Cody looks at April, and she holds back a smile. Cody sighs. He turns back to Mr. Smith.
"Sometimes you win the race, but not the prize!" Cody smiles sadly. "Well take the
chihuahua, please."
 - Anjelin

ANNIVERSARY DAY

Chloe and Kevin enjoy going out to Italian restaurants.

They love to eat pasta, share a desert, and have espresso.

Chloe and Kevins anniversary is coming up. Kevin wants to plan a night out at an Italian
restaurant in town. He calls a restaurant to make a reservation but they have no tables
available. He calls another restaurant, but they have no availability either.

Kevin thinks and paces around the house. He knows that Chloe loves Italian food more
than anything else. He knows that nothing makes her happier. But the only two Italian
places in town are too busy.

Kevin has an idea. What if he cooks Chloe a homemade Italian meal? Kevin pictures it:
he puts down a fancy tablecloth, lights some candles, and plays romantic Italian music.
Chloe loves when Kevin makes an effort.

There's only one thing. Kevin isn't a good cook.

In fact, Kevin is a terrible cook. When he tries to make breakfast he burns the eggs, when
he tries to make lunch he screws up the salad, when he tries to make dinner even the
neighbors smell how bad it is.

Kevin has another idea: if he calls up one of the restaurants before Chloe gets home and
orders take-out, he can serve that food instead of his bad cooking!

The day arrives. Chloe is still at work while Kevin orders the food, picks it up, and brings
it back home.

As he lays down the place settings, lights the candles and puts the music on, Chloe walks
in.

"Happy Anniversary!" Kevin tells Chloe. He shows off their romantic dinner setting,
smiling.

Chloe looks confused. "Our anniversary is tomorrow, Kevin."

Kevin pauses, looks at the calendar and realizes she's right. He looks back at her.

"I guess it's always good to practice!" he says.

 _Brandon Choo

ACT LIKE OTHERS

Jack and Lydia are on holiday in France with their friends, Mike and Anna.

Mike loves to visit historical buildings. Jack agrees to sightsee some historical buildings
with him.

Lydia and Anna decide to shop in the city. "See you boys when we get back!" the girls
shout.

In the village Jack and Mike see a beautiful old church, but when they enter the church, a
service is already in progress.

"Shh! Just sit quietly, so that we don't stand out. And act like the others!" Mike whispers.

Since they don't really know French, Jack and Mike quietly sit down. During the service,
they stand, kneel and sit to follow what the rest of the crowd do.

"I hope we blend in and don't look like tourists!" Mike tells Jack.

At one point, the priest makes an announcement and the man who sits next to Jack and
Mike stands up.

"We should stand up, too!" Jack whispers to Mike.

So, Jack and Mike stand up with the man. Suddenly, all the people burst into laughter!

After the service, Jack and Mike approach the priest, who speaks English.

"What's so funny?" Jack asks.

With a smile on his face the priest says, "Well boys, there is a new baby born, and it's
tradition to ask the father to stand up."

Jack and Mike look at each other and Mike shakes his head. He smiles and says, "I guess
we should understand what people do before we act like the others!"
 -Manuel
A SECRET TALENT
Eve is excited to go to her first Dylan Wyman concert in New York. Dylan Wyman is
Eve's favorite singer. In fact, Eve tells her mother Jeannine, Dylan Wyman is her favorite
person!

When they are about halfway to New York, Jeannine hears a weird noise. "Oh no," she
says, realizing that they have a flat tire.

There isn't much room on the side of the road, but Jeannine pulls the car over and climbs
out. Sure enough, their right rear tire is completely flat.

Jeanine opens the trunk to get the jack and the spare tire. Traffic continues to whiz by at
seventy miles per hour.

"Mom, are we going to die?" Eve asks. She is really scared.

"Don't worry honey, I'll be quick," Jeannine says as she starts to jack up the car.

"Wow Mom, how do you know how to do this?" Eve is shocked at her mother's secret
talent.

Then Jeannine takes off the flat tire.

"Wow Mom, how do you know how to do that?" Eve asks in wonder.

Jeannine just laughs. Then she puts the spare tire on. Eve says, "Mom, whoare you?"

The entire tire change takes only 10 minutes. They both climb back into the car and
Jeannine says, "I'm so sorry honey, but we can't drive all the way to Albany on this spare
tire. We're going to have to stop and buy a new tire. We might be late for your concert."

"That's okay, Mom," Eve says, "You're my favorite person now!"

-Merleen
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
Every summer, Penny travels to a family reunion barbeque. Penny is never excited, and
this year is no different. She dreads the drive.

She does not like talking to her relatives. And she does not like the smell of hamburgers.
(Penny is a vegetarian.)

When Penny arrives, she sees lots of familiar faces. It is July and Uncle Vernon is
wearing a sweater. Uncle Vernon is always cold. Its very mysterious.

She sees her cousin Polly. Polly has six children. The youngest one screams. Then the
oldest one screams. Pollys children are always screaming.

She sees many of her other cousins in the field playing softball. They play a softball game
every year, and it always ends in a big argument. Penny wonders, again, why they never
solve it.

Then Penny sees an incredibly handsome man. She stares at him. He catches her staring.
He smiles and walks over to her. Penny is very nervous. She is nervous because a
handsome man is walking up to her and she is nervous because this handsome man might
be her cousin.

The man sticks out his hand and says, "Hi, Im Paul."

"Hi, Im Penny," Penny says. "Are we related?"

Paul laughs. "No, we are not related. I am Vernon's nurse. He is sick and needs to keep
me close by. But he did not want to miss this barbeque!"

"Oh, thank goodness," Penny says and then blushes. Penny always blushes when she is
nervous, embarrassed, or hot, and right now she is all three.

Handsome Paul laughs and says, "Would you like to go get a hamburger with me? They
smell delicious."

Penny smiles, "Sure. I love hamburgers!"

- Fakhrul

THE BEST PRACTICE EVER

Shannon loves basketball. She loves everything about basketball. Shannon always looks
forward to basketball practice. She enjoys the workout. She enjoys the competition. She
enjoys the time with her teammates.

Coach always starts practice the same way. They run ten laps around the gym and then
stretch out. They then practice shots. (Shannon usually sinks most of hers!)

Then the coach introduces new drills. Then they practice the plays they use in games.

Shannon concentrates and does her best. She works hard, and her teammates appreciate
her for it. She always has a positive attitude and encourages her teammates to work
harder and do their best.

But today, Shannon twists her ankle and falls down. She cries out in pain, which is
unusual for Shannon. She rarely cries. Everyone rushes over to see if she is okay.

One of her teammates runs to get ice for her ankle. (Ice helps with the swelling.) The
others help her off the court and she sits down to rest.

The coach asks Shannon if she is okay. She says, "I am fine. Ankles heal."The coach
shakes her head. "Shannon," she says, "As usual, I am impressed with your attitude and
team spirit. In honor of Shannon, we should all go get ice cream!"

So, the whole team climbs aboard the school bus and the coach takes them all out for ice
cream.

As she licks her mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, Shannon says, "Today, I love
basketball practice more than ever!"

- Ihsan
 LOST AND FOUND

Donna and her husband John go to the beach every Saturday in the summer. Today is no
exception. Donna packs a picnic lunch. She packs the beach umbrella and sun lotion.

She cannot find their beach towels. Donna always loses things. The towels are not in the
laundry basket or dryer. They are not in the closet, either. She finally looks in her beach
bag. She sees the towels folded in the bottom. Of course, the beach towels are exactly
where they should be.

Donna puts on her swimsuit and floppy sun hat. She is almost ready. She just needs her
sunglasses. She thinks they are on the table by the door. Or maybe they are in the
bathroom. They could also be in her purse. Donna sighs.

John puts the picnic basket, umbrella, and beach bag in the car. He checks his fishing
poles and equipment. He places them in the car beside the picnic basket.. Daisy, their
dog, jumps in the backseat. She loves the beach! John is ready to leave. Where is Donna?
She knows he likes to arrive at the beach before the crowds.

John groans and shakes his head. Donna is always late!

Donna searches for her sunglasses. She cannot find them, and she knows John is waiting.
He hates when she is late! She grabs her purse and locks the door.

"You are late," John says as Donna gets in the car. Donna tells John that she could not
find her sunglasses.

John looks at her and laughs! He flips down the sun visor so Donna can see herself in the
mirror. Donna looks in the mirror and laughs too. Her sunglasses are on top of her head.
They were there the whole time!

"It is always in the last place that you look," Donna giggles!
- Affiq