The Great Debt

Jack ran to his house from School. He was finally out of fifth grade, and summer vacation had just begun. Jack had a lot of light-brown hair, brown eyes, and was somewhat tall. He lived on his home in New York, New York, with his parents, and his cousins, Charlie and Marie. Charlie was 11, tall, and blonde. He had light brown eyes that wore resemblance in Jack's. Marie was a beautiful 15 year old girl, that had long blonde hair. She had green eyes as dazzling as an emerald. Jack's cousins were his best friends in the city. They did everything together, like playing soccer and playing basketball. They were more than cousins. They were brothers.

When he arrived at his house he said, "Mom there's some kind of weird animal in the yard. Where are you going?" Jack asked.

"To eat at a very fancy restaurant." His mother said.

"Are we just staying here?" Jack asked, "What will we eat?"

His father was putting his tie on as he said, "You can order some pizza. Order a large one for you three."

Jack smiled, "Thanks, dad." Jack, with Charlie and Marie, waved goodbye to his parents as a grin that meant mayhem spread across his face. "He, he, he..." He laughed to himself. Jack was disappointed, though, as Marie appeared in front of them with a serious face.

"Here's the deal," She said in a bossy tone, "No running, no climbing, and for the love of god, NO TYING CHARLIE'S HAND TO THE TOILET!" She screamed at that last one. Charlie went red as we remembered.

"How was I supposed to know he would get his foot stuck in the toilet while trying to get out!?" Jack said.

"At least you could have helped him out!" Marie spat.

Jack seemed mad as he said, "I did! I pulled with all my might!"

"No you didn't!" said Marie, "You just flushed the toilet!"

Jack suddenly looked as if his head was about to explode, "Well, I did pull with all my might!" Marie rolled her eyes while Jack left silently. Jack noticed that Charlie was on the computer. "What are you doing?" asked Jack as Marie yelled in the kitchen,

"Oh, my GOD!" Jack went running to her call.

"What the-" said Jack as he saw the mess that was the kitchen, "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?! There's piles of dirt over there, half-eaten, rotten, and smelly food over there and..." Jack's brown eyes were about to pop out, "Oh my GOD, IS THAT A BROKEN SINK!?!" Marie seemed worried and was holding a broom as she said,

"It's a stupid ferret! It's making a mess out of everything!"

Jack seized a butterfly catching net and swung it around to catch it, "Gotcha! This was the animal I was telling mom about!" he yelled. He grabbed a bag and stuffed it inside. He went outside and released the ferret.He went back to the room and saw that the computer screen read:

"THANKS FOR USING JOHN RIVERS' PC STORE. YOU HAVE SUCCESFULLY PURCHASED A DELL
DIMENSION 9400."

"What did you-" Jack stood transfixed, "How did you-"

Charlie stood up and said, "This computer is old so I bought a new one." he said matter-of-factly.

"CHARLIE!" They inmediately called John Rivers' PC Store to cancel but the line was busy. They ended up calling John Rivers himself. The conversation was somewhat like this:

• Hello?
• Yes?
• Are you John Rivers?
• Yes.
• Why?
• I called to cancel a PC purchase.
• Ok. What for?
• Wait. Before that, I have a question.
• Fire away.
• Ok. Here goes. Is Mrs. Walls there?
• No.
• Is Mr. Walls there?
• No.
• Are there any walls there?
• No.
• Well how does your roof hold itself? Hahahahaha.
• *Click*
• Hello? Hello? Hello!?!

"Ha! That was a good one!" said Jack.

"Well, you forgot something."said Charlie.

"What?" asked Jack. "Gee, I dunno, maybe, CANCELLING THE PURCHASE!" said Charlie, infuriated.

"Sorry." apologized Jack.

Later on... "Well, maybe Marie can pay with her allowance." said Charlie.

"Shush! I'm thinking." Jack grinned evilly, "You know, this isn't my problem. Fix it yourself."

"Please, Jack, Help!" said Charlie, dropping himself to his knees, "I'll do anything!"

Jack couldn't help but force a malicious grin, "Fine."The days passed and nothing happened and Jack couldn't think of a plan. They couldn't bear and tell Jack's parents or Marie 'cause she would tell them. One day Marie and Jack's parents were out shopping and they were free to solve the problem. Later that same day the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."said Jack. He opened the door and was surprised at who it was."John Rivers..." said Jack.

"Yes. I'm here for my money since you haven't bothered to pay."said John.

"Oh, yeah... about that..." said Jack, "We don't have it."

"Fine." said John, "Guys, tie him up. Check the place to see if there are any witnesses." They grabbed Jack and Charlie and tied them to chairs.

"What are you gonna do to us?" asked Charlie.

"Let's see now, I'm thinking of taking you with me and make you work until you pay." said John.

"That's kidnapping!"said Jack.

"You think I don't know that kid?"said John. Things got worse when they opened the car doors and forced them inside. They relieved as they saw John's face pressing tight against the window.

"Holy cow!" said Jack.

They saw the door open and the man standing there said, "Come with me, I work undercover for the F.B.I. I've been after John Rivers for a while. "Now! While the others are thrashing the place!"They saw other police cars arrive and storm inside. They arrested John Rivers and all his men.

Jack felt his mom choking him in a hug, "My baby! Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes, mom!" said Jack, "Yo, Charlie! What a day, huh?" Charlie nodded. They were happy again, back to their normal life, and they grounded Charlie and Jack for all they did. They were happy, though, that everything went back to normal.

Morals of the story:

1. Don't let your small-brained cousin alone with a computer and,
2. Butterfly catching nets are perfect to catch ferrets.
   
   THE END

Flashback to Aberfan: What Happened?

People affected by the Aberfan coal mining disaster have joined together for a special church service to remember those who died.

40 years ago, a normal morning turned into a nightmare when a coal mine in a village called Aberfan slid over a hillside hitting and utterly destroying a school and 20 houses. 116 children and 28 adults were killed in the accident. The students had just begun class on October 21, 1966, when a landslide, bigger than a house, hit Pantglas Junior School.

• Some 3,000 people gathered for a mass funeral for the victims, which was held a week after the disaster
• The organisation in charge of the mine said that heavy rainfall had caused the mining waste to slip down the hillside.
• An inquiry later found that the organisation - called National Coal Board - was to blame and should pay compensation to the people affected.
• The mines have now closed.
• Pantglas school was demolished and a memorial garden now stands on the site.

The village in south Wales still remembers this horrible day. The NCB was blaming heavy rainfall when it really was all their fault. Lots of people went to the rescue of those trapped but few survivors were found.

CBBC Newsround-Service to mark Aberfan disaster

This is a video of someone who lived through that time. I feel horrible about howe many people died that day.

Robo-Waiter

Technology just keeps growing. In China, customers are spending time in a restaurant with a special waiter- A robot! The robot assigns you a table, and you place your order on the robot's mic. It's like a drive through in your seat! People say that in the future, maybe, there may also be robot chefs.

"The man who invented the Robo Waiter 1 said: "People like high-tech gadgets. Since the launch of the robot, the sales of the restaurant have increased by 20 to 30 per cent."

"The waiter is proving very popular with the younger customers, with one diner saying: "My daughter really likes to come to this restaurant because she finds the robot very interesting and is something new to her."

"This is the third time we have eaten in this restaurant and today she has brought her classmate here too."

If you want to see the article click here.

My Worst Holiday

Have you ever had a holiday in which you think nothing will make it worse? I have. There was this one christmas when everything went wrong. It was all boring, uncrowded, and unexciting(1). There was, from my generation, my cousins Eduardo, Hernando, Susana, and Carlos Andres(2) and my brother and sister Guillo and Marce. Yes,(3) it sure was horrible.

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I told my mother how I felt, she told me to forget it, but still I was bored(4). My cousin, however, seemed very excited(5). Before he recieved his presents, he was playing a video game(6). Having finished his game, he left the room(7).

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When I got my presents I was still bored. I got very few presents. The last one was special. I grabbed it, I unwrapped it, and I opened it(8). It was a small book about ancient civilizations. The presents were bad, I didn't like the food, and I was bored altogether. I hope you don't have to spend such a holiday.

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1. Series of Modifiers.
2. Series of Objects.
3. Introductory Yes, No, or Interjection.
4. Series of Independent Clauses.
5. Introductory Adverb Clause.
6. Introductory Prepositional Phrase.
7. Introductory Participial Phrase.
8. Series of Phrases.

When My Sister Came

I really like it when my sister comes to visit. She is very nice to me. She is 19 years old, and she studies medicine in the University of Los Andes in Bogota.

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She came to Cartagena on Saturday last week and she just left today. The day after she came, we went to play basketball to the court in Bocagrande. The first few minutes I practiced shots while she talked on her cellphone. After that she practiced shots with me. Then, people started arriving and she left, so I played with them.

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We also saw a movie called Silent Hill on her Creative Zen Vision: M the night before she left. The movie wasn't scary but it was fun. That night our parents were out so the only thing we did was watch it. I really miss her. I wish she lived here, and my brother too. I'm going to visit them in November, though. They live in an apartment in a building called Tabasko.

My Problems and Their Solutions

How do you solve problems? Do you solve them in a calm way? Or do you solve them in an exasperated way? Sometimes I solve problems with a bit of a rage, but, most of the time, I try to be calm. It is a lot better to hear each side of the story before making accusations. Maybe the mistake was yours. If it's not, you shouldn't be too harsh with that person. If that person's sorry, accept his/her apologies.

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I have some bad habits when trying to solve a problem. Sometimes I ignore the person. Other times I try to make myself innocent, or even blame that person completely. That is very bad. Try not to do that. If you don't people will like you more. If you do, try to make up for it. Surely they'll forgive you. Sometimes I solve a problem on different ways, depending some things. Under group pressure, you may make the wrong decisions. Try to evade your friends' decisions. make your own, because, you are capable enough of thinking for yourself. Sometimes this happens to me. It is completely different, though, when I have time to meditate. I make less rash decisions, and make better decisions. You are more relaxed when no one is telling you what to do, and if you make the right decision, surely all people involved in the problem will be happier.

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One time I got involved in a problem, was when I was in Social Studies of Colombia class and my partner was Sara. We were answering questions and I was telling her what to write when she stopped writing for that question. When we read it aloud, I "made up" what I was saying to Sara, the teacher caught us. I blamed Sara for stopping and said it wasn't my fault. Turns out, though, that the question that she stopped on was question three. We were reading question one aloud. See the mistake? You should hear both sides before you accuse. I accepted my mistake and apologized. She forgave me, but I felt bad. You should analyse the situation before doing something.