1. (On Monday in class)
A Cheerleader's Dream
Kelly has been cheering since she was in elementary school. She is now in
her last year of college cheering for her school's sports teams. She plans to
be a professional cheerleader for the Lakers team. That was her dream.
Her parents wanted her to do something more normal, like becoming a
nurse or working at a law firm. Kelly ignored her parents.
Kelly and her teammates were cheering at their last basketball game.
When Kelly stood on top of her teammate's shoulder, she fell down.
Everyone was silent. Her teammates checked up on her and asked if she
was okay. Kelly had to be taken to the hospital. Her leg was permanently
injured. "Can I ever be a professional cheerleader?"she asked. "I'm afraid
you cannot," the doctor said. Kelly felt that life was unfair.
Kelly was scared for the future. All of her friends already knew what they
wanted to do after college. Kelly had to change her plans. She already
canceled her audition with the Lakers cheerleaders. Kelly thought about
what she wanted to do for a career. She still wanted to do something
related to cheer. After some thinking, Kelly wanted to be a coach for high
school cheerleaders.
2. (On Tuesday in class)
Afraid to Cry
Dean was known as the tough guy at school. He always wore tight shirts
that showed off his muscles. He always pushed the skinny kids at school.
He always treated the teachers like they didn't matter. He never did his
homework. He got in a lot of fights. People were afraid of him, and Dean
loved it.
Dean's world turned upside down when his brother passed away. He still
went to class. His English teacher was talking about Shakespeare, whom
Dean's brother admired. Hearing about Shakespeare reminded Dean of his
own brother. His eyes started to water. He didn't want anyone to see him
cry. He got up from his desk. "Dean, you can't get up while I am teaching,"
Mr. Chen said.
Everyone stared at Dean. Everyone could see the tears in his eyes. They
laughed at him. Dean ran out of the classroom. Mr. Chen followed him and
sat down with him. "Dean, it's okay to cry. Something tragic happened. Go
ahead and cry." Dean put his head on Mr. Chen's shoulder and cried out
loud. It was the first time he cried in front of someone. It was the first time
he didn't act tough.
3. (On Wednesday in class)
Addicted to Coffee
Daniel was addicted to coffee. He drank two cups in the morning and three
in the afternoon. He can't think or do anything without coffee. His mom
wanted him to stop drinking coffee. She decided to throw out all the
coffee and give him milk. Daniel was so mad. "Mom, I can't go to school
without coffee," Daniel said. "This is for your own good," his mom said.
Daniel went to school. He was cranky and tired without coffee. He didn't
want to talk to his friends or pay attention in class. His teachers kept
waking him up. They told him to go to the nurse's office. Daniel went to
the nurse and asked for coffee. She laughed at him. She said that he
needed to drink less coffee, but not stop completely. She told him to drink
4 cups a day, then 3, and eventually he won't need coffee.
Daniel told his mom what the nurse said. "But that means I have to buy
coffee again!" Daniel laughed at his mom. Daniel and his mom went to the
market to buy some good coffee. Daniel did what the nurse told him to do.
It was much easier to drink less coffee than none at all.
4. (On Thursday in class)
Secret Relationship
Diane and Bobby are dating. Diane's dad does not know that they are
dating. He doesn't want Diane to date until she is in college. It's hard for
Diane to hide her relationship. Every time she wants to go out with him,
she has to tell her dad she is going out with friends. Every time Bobby gives
her presents, Diane has to hide them. Her dad is getting suspicious.
Bobby is upset that Diane is hiding their relationship from her dad. Bobby
wants to meet Diane's dad. He decides to take matters into his own hands.
After school, he goes to Diane's house. Diane is still at school, because she
has violin practice. Bobby knocks on the door slowly. His hands are
shaking.
Diane's dad opens the door. "How can I help you?" Bobby doesn't say
anything for a minute. "Are you going to talk or what?" Diane's dad angrily
asks. "Sir, I am dating your daughter," Bobby says. Diane's dad frowns.
"Break up with her immediately. She's too young to be dating!" Bobby is
sad. He tells Diane that they have to keep lying about their relationship to
her dad. "I know," Diane says.
5. (On Friday in class)
Twins Are Cheating
Annie and Diana are identical twins. It is hard to tell them apart.
Sometimes their best friends even get confused on who is who! One key
difference between the two was their feet. Annie's feet has a mole on it,
and Diana's does not. Annie and Diana sometimes disguise as each other.
Annie pretends to be Diana when Diana doesn't want to take math tests.
Diana pretends to be Annie when Annie has to do the mile run in physical
education class. They have been doing this for years.
Annie and Diana's enemy, Scarlett, finds out what they have been doing.
She tells their math and physical education teachers that they have been
cheating all along. Mr. Thompson, the math teacher, gives them both an F.
Ms. Nguyen, the physical education teacher gives them both an F, too.
Annie and Diana are sad. Annie tries to explain that she gets out of breath
easily when she runs. Diana tries to explain that math gives her anxiety.
Mr. Thompson and Ms. Nguyen don't care.
Annie and Diana no longer pretend to be each other anymore. After they
got Fs, their parents forced them to move schools. The two schools were
not that far apart, so they still got to see each other.
6. (On Saturday in class)
The Acne Problem
While most teenagers had acne, a condition where one gets a lot of
pimples, Melinda had great skin. Her skin was perfectly smooth with no
flaws whatsoever. She thinks she got her smooth skin from her parents.
She also might have smooth skin because she drinks a lot of water.
Having acne is tough because teenagers care a lot about their appearance
and what other people think of them. Having acne can cause people to feel
bad about themselves, shy away from others, and not go out. Melinda
doesn't have this problem, but her sister, Ivana, does. Ivana didn't
understand why she had acne, because no one in her family had it. Ivana
ate fairly healthy, too. She felt like she was just unlucky. Because of her
acne, Ivana felt insecure about herself. It was hard for her to be confident.
She always tried to avoid attention. She barely talked to anyone.
Ivana decided to try ProActiv because she kept seeing it on TV. It ended up
improving her skin. It was less red and bumpy. Meanwhile, Melinda got her
very first pimple, and it was on the day of her big speech in class! It was
horrible timing. That's the thing about pimples though, they just appear
out of nowhere!
