1. One Week, Four People: a short vacation<br />Chapter 1 – Packing Up<br />Episode 1:<br />In front of the house was a boy; the bags in his hands suggested he had just come back from grocery shopping. However, a voice from the other side of the street made him stop on his tracks and look at the girl who was running towards him:<br />“Steve, Steve! Guess what?”<br />The cheerful, pretty girl running towards Steve was his classmate and good friend Susan.<br />“What? What is it that makes you run here so early in the morning, on a Sunday?”<br />“Jeez, don’t act so cold! I just spoke with Ann, she has something to tell us!”<br />“Ah, I see. What is it?”<br />“I have no idea; she only told me to get you and meet her at her house in one hour.”<br />Ann was another of Steve’s close friends; she was very smart, very cute and very rich, mainly because her father was the CEO of a famous game company.<br />“Very well, then; can you wait for a few minutes while I put these inside? Or, better, come in and have some water, you must be tired after all that running.”<br />“Ah, sure, if you don’t mind…”<br />Steve opened the front door and entered the house, followed by Susan. He put the bags in the kitchen and, turning to the girl behind him, said:<br />“The cups are on the cupboard and the cold water on the fridge, I’ll go tell my mom I’m leaving again.”<br />He then left the kitchen towards his mother’s room, curious about what Ann had to say.<br />“Mom, hey, mom, are you there?”<br />“Ah, you’re back! Wait a minute, please!”<br />A few seconds later, a woman emerged from the room. Steve’s mom was a gorgeous woman; her green eyes, long, wavy, brunette hair and skin with nearly no wrinkles gave her the appearance of someone 10 years younger; this woman’s name was Katherine.<br />“There you are; mom, Susan is here. It seems Ann called us to her house, she wants to tell us something important.”<br />“It’s ok; I don’t have any more errands for you.”<br />“I’m off, then.”<br />“Hey, wait! Let me at least say hi to Susan!”<br />“Fine, fine…”<br />Katherine followed Steve back into the kitchen, where Susan had already drank her water and was ready to go back outside.<br />“Hello, Susan!”<br />Katherine hugged Susan like she always did whenever they met.<br />“Oh, hello, Mrs. Taylor! I’ll be borrowing for a while, ok?”<br />“He told me about it already of course it’s ok! Just be careful outside.”<br />“Then, mom, we’re leaving.” Turning to Susan, he said: “Ann said one hour, right? We should hurry, then.”<br />“You have money? We should go by train.”<br />Katherine interrupted her son as he was about to answer and replied: “No need to worry, I’ll give you the money.”<br />She left the room and came back a minute later with some bills in her hand.<br />“There, it should be enough to go and come back for both of you.”<br />“Thanks, mom; let’s go before we run out of time.”<br />“See you, Mrs. Taylor!”<br />*End of Episode 1*<br />