Short Story

Anniversary Day Chloe and Kevin enjoy going out to Italian restaurants. They love to eat pasta, share a dessert, and have espresso. Chloe and Kevin’s 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.

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. It’s very mysterious. She sees her cousin Polly. Polly has six children. The youngest one screams. Then the oldest one screams. Polly’s 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, I’m Paul." "Hi, I’m 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!" THE END

Act like the 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!" THE END

Daniel Loves the Beach Every Saturday Daniel and his family go to the beach. They live far from the beach, but once a week the family gets into the car and Daniel's father drives for hours until they arrive. Daniel's parents love the beach. Daniel and his sister and brother love the beach. The family's dog loves the beach very much. But it is a problem to go to the beach every week. Daniel's father gets tired from driving so many hours. The rest of the family gets tired from sitting in the car for so many hours. Daniel's mother says: "It's fun in the beach, but it takes too much time to get there and back!" Daniel and his sister and brother are very sad. They want to go to the beach, but it is a problem. They try to go the swimming pool, but it is not the same thing. One day Daniel's parents come to talk with the kids. They say: "We have a problem to go to the beach every week, but we love the beach, and you love the beach, and the dog loves the beach. So we have a solution. We need to live near the beach!" Daniel and his sister and brother are very happy! Now they live near the beach. They go to the beach every day! THE END

Language Confusion Laura is at the airport. She waits for her flight. Her flight is to Berlin, and it is 4 hours away. Laura walks around the airport and looks at the shops. She has a nice time. After an hour she wants to visit the bathroom. She searches for it, but she doesn't find it. "Where is the bathroom?" she asks herself. She looks and looks but she can't find it. She starts asking people where it is. Laura: "Excuse me sir, could you please tell me where is the bathroom?" Man: "You mean the restroom, right?" Laura: "No, I mean the bathroom." Man: "Well, the restroom is over there." He says and walks away. Laura doesn't understand. She asks a lady: "Excuse me madam, could you please tell me where is the bathroom?" "The restroom is over there," the lady answers and walks away. Laura is confused. "What's their problem? I need to use the bathroom and they send me to rest?! I don't need a restroom, I need the bathroom!" After a while Laura gives up. She feels tired of all this walking and asking. She decides that maybe they are all right and she does need to rest. She walks to the restroom. Now she is surprised. She realizes the restroom is actually the name for a public bathroom! THE END

Sean and the Birthday Cake Sean likes food. He likes fruit and vegetables. He likes bread and cakes. He likes fish and dairy products. He likes meat. He eats everything! One day he goes to a party. It is a birthday party for his friend Leo. He enjoys the party with his friends. They dance and have fun. At the end of night, Leo's mother comes with a cake. Everyone is very happy. They like sweet cakes. Sean is also happy. He likes food! Leo's mother slices the cake and gives every kid a piece of cake. Sean is the first one that gets a piece. At first, he is very happy, but after a few moments he turns blue. He runs outside. When he returns, everybody is very surprised. His friend Leo asks, "Sean, is everything alright? You don't behave like yourself!" Sean is surprised. "Why, Leo? Why do you say that?" "Well," Leo answers, "you usually love food very much! You don't run away from food!" Sean smiles and says, "Yes, Leo, I love food. But that cake is not food!" THE END

Kevin's Car Kevin likes cars. He reads about cars in magazines and he watches shows about cars on TV. His head is full of cars! He tells his parents, "Please, please, please, could you buy me a car?" "No," says Kevin's mom, "You are too young to drive a car. This is dangerous." "No," says Kevin's dad, "A car is very expensive. We can't buy you a car now." Kevin is very sad. He wants a car. He wants a fast red sports car! He decides to build one! He buys books and reads about the subject. He hangs around at the garage and watches the mechanics fix the cars. It is very interesting for him and he has a lot of fun. Finally, he starts building his own car! He tells his parents about it. His father doesn't believe him. He says it's too difficult. His mother says she is worried. She doesn't want him to do anything dangerous. After two months, Kevin invites his parents to see his creation. His parents are surprised! It is beautiful! It is red! It is shiny! It is a big toy sports car! Kevin can sit inside it and drive! Kevin's parents are very happy and proud. Kevin's dad says: "I was sure you can do it!" Kevin's mom says: "I was sure it was not dangerous!" Kevin smiles and drives away. THE END

Emily's Secret Emily is 8 years old. She lives in a big house. She has a huge room. She has many toys and she has a lot of friends. But Emily is not happy. She has a secret. She doesn't want to tell anyone about her secret. She feels embarrassed. The problem is that if nobody knows about it, there is no one that can help her. Emily doesn't write her homework. When there is an exam – she gets sick. She doesn't tell anyone, but the truth is she can't read and write. Emily doesn't remember the letters of the alphabet. One day, Emily's teacher finds out. She sees that Emily can't write on the board. She calls her after class and asks her to tell the truth. Emily says, "It is true. I don't know how to read and write". The teacher listens to her. She wants to help Emily. She tells her, "That's ok. You can read and write if we practice together". So Emily and her teacher meet every day after class. They practice together. Emily works hard. Now she knows how to read and write! THE END