Chaper two: Trouble in School

Chapter two: Trouble in School


Baseball is going great. Coach has put me at starting pitcher just as I have always dreamed. I really love playing, especially because all of my teammates like me. When I was ten, none of my teammates liked me. I don't know why, it's not like I stunk or anything. That was the old days; now I'm in college. The way I'm playing, I am certain that I will make it to the MLB. There is just one problem; I heard that I need a GPA of 2.1 in my school work. In school, I was always an average student; I mean I could pass... barely. The highest grade that I have ever gotten was a B-. My skills in baseball kept on getting higher, but my grades kept on slipping. I don't know what I am supposed to do. I figure I should just go to sleep, seeing as it's late. Maybe I'll do well in school if I have a good night's sleep.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Click! I turned off my alarm clock at 6:15 A.M. I got up, took a shower, got changed, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door. I felt nice and awake. I haven't gone to sleep at eleven o'clock in awhile. My first class is math. I hate math; I don't see why I have to do it if I'm going to be a baseball player. I don't do very well in math; my grade points in math alone are a 1.1. Ouch! I have to do better than that. That probably explains why my teacher doesn't like me. I found my desk in class, got my pencil and notebook out, and now I am ready to study.
"Alright guys," my teacher said. "Today is test day. I assume that you guys studied... as I told you to."
My eyes got pretty wide. Wide like an owl.
I can't believe I forgot to study! I thought to myself. As if he can read my mind, the kid next to me slapped me right on the forehead.
"Ow! What the heck was that for?"
"I saw your facial expression," he said. "Don't think I don't know what you just thought about."
"What!?" I asked.
"I'm on to you Evans. Just remember, I'm always watching you."
"Shut up already, Erwin."
"It's Matthew."
“Whatever,” I thought.
"Daniel is there a problem?" my teacher asked.
"Well... uh... I... don't look at me! Erwin started it!”
"It's Matthew!"
"Don't butt in on our conversation, Erwin. This is a conversation between me, and Mr. Hendricks."
"Daniel!" Mr. Hendricks yelled.
"Ah! Sorry sir."
"What is the problem?" he said angrily.
"No sir, there is no problem."
"Daniel didn't study for the test!" Matthew yelled.
"Erwin! I told you to stay out of our conversation. That's very rude." I said.
"What?!" Mr. Hendrick yelled. "You didn't study for the test."
"Well... not exactly."
"It's a yes or no question, Dan! Did you, or did you not study?"
"Yes! I did study." I lied. "You see, I don't know what Er..."
"Stop right there!" Mr. Hendrick yelled. "I have heard enough. We'll see if you studied or not by the results of your test."
Phew! I'm glad that's over with. I thought.
"By the way," my teacher added. "I prefer that you call Matthew by his proper name."
"Yes sir." After the test was over with, I waited nervously all by myself in class. Mr. Hendrick made me wait while he corrected my test. After he was done, he gave me my paper back with a giant, circled, red "F" on it.
Shoot! I thought. On the bottom of the paper was a note. It said:
Daniel, please see the principal. Normally, I don't send kids to the principal if they have failed; but you didn't study, and you lied.
I had a very big scolding from the principal when I told him what I did. That made me try harder for the next test.

Out for Good?

Out for Good?


Introduction

This story is about a boy named Daniel Evans, whose dream it is to play Major League Baseball. He receives a scholarship at Harvard because he is such a talented player. He does great at practice, but his grades are slipping in school. Will he be able to conquer this problem? This story is COMPLETELY FICTIONAL!



Chapter One: Packing for College


My name is Daniel Evans. Ever since I was little, I have loved baseball! My dream has always been to be in Major League Baseball. All of my friends said that I was good enough to make it. My parents, though, they were a whole other story. They said that I was just little. According to them, every little kid wants to be in the MLB. They said I was just dreaming. They wanted me to be a lawyer! Yeah, in their dreams. Look at me now. I just got a scholarship to Harvard University just because I am good at baseball. Not because I am smart… BASEBALL! I’ve got a pretty good shot at the MLB. Right now I am packing for Harvard.
“Good-bye, Daniel,” my dad said. “I’m very proud of you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Good-bye, Danny,” my mom said. “I’m… also very proud of you.” My mom just got through that sentence without crying.
“Good-bye, Mom.” I gave them my hugs and kisses and then headed off to college.
When I finally arrived, I almost fell asleep I was so tired from the drive. I grabbed my suitcase full of stuff and found my room. Luckily, I had no roommates. I had the WHOLE room to myself.

The Best Gift Ever

THE BEST GIFT EVER

It was a sunny day when two great friends played at the park. One was named Nick. He is twelve years old and his friend is Amanda. She is eleven years old. No one could describe their friendship. They sat next to each other on the bus. They let each other eat their lunch if one forgot theirs. They'd stick up for each other. Amanda and Nick were the best of friends on earth. On the playground, they were playing tag. After awhile, they both got tired. Nick went and got their packed sandwiches from a bench and met Amanda under the slide.
"Hey, Nick?" she said.
"What?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yea, anything," Nick said.
"Do you..." she stuttered. "Do you want to know who Jesus is?"
"Oh, not this again! I already know who he is. He's the fairy tale who died on the cross to pay for my sins so I can go to heaven; whoopty doo!"
"He's no fairy tale Nick," she said calmly. "He's real."
"Not anymore! He died on the cross if you remember," Nick said irritated.
"No, remember he rose again three days later."
"Yea, whatever," Nick said. "Just... let's change the topic."
Both friends sat there quietly eating their food. Amanda finished her sandwich and waited for Nick to finish. As soon as he finished his last bite, Amanda touched him and said, "tag your it!" Nick chased after Amanda trying to catch her. Nick started to catch up and then Amanda stopped. She fell on her knees and started to cough.
"Amanda!" Nick said running over. "Are you okay?" She continued to cough and cough.
"Someone help me!" Nick yelled. A man ran over to where he was and called 911.
"Amanda! Hang in there," Nick said. Amanda tried to say something but she kept on coughing. Now she started to lay down and curl up.
"Just relax," Nick said. "Take deep breaths." She tried to relax but the coughing was just too much. Every time she breathed in, she coughed out. Next, she started to stop coughing, and started to close her eyes.
"Amanda, don't go on me, please," Nick said trying to hold back the tears. The ambulance arrived but it was too late. She was gone.
"Amanda! NO!!"
Two days later, Amanda's funeral took place. The preacher kept on talking about how she is in heaven, and that she is happy. Nick didn't want to hear one more second about God and Jesus. He was mad at Him, he said that God let Amanda die. The next morning was a Thursday. Nick sat in the same bus seat he and Amanda always had. He wouldn't let anyone touch her specific spot though. Not even a flea. The sun was on the side of his seat shining in his window. The sun shined on something that reflected into his eyes. He noticed the reflection came from the floor. He leaned forward and saw a necklace on top of a yellow, small paper. He put the necklace beside him and read the note.
Dear Nick,
I've been sick for a while now. I knew I wasn't going to last much longer. Right now I am happy; I am in Heaven. If you ever want to see me again, trust in God. He's the only way you will get to Heaven. In case you forgot what I told you, I wrote down a little prayer for you to say. You can say this in your head, but you have to mean it with all of your heart. Here it is:
Nick stopped before he read the prayer. That day at school was rough. He got in two fights because two kids made fun of Amanda. He couldn't concentrate during any of his subjects. Especially math, that was the only class he and Amanda were in together. They were both in the middle of the front row. He kept on looking over at Amanda's desk, trying to picture her sitting there, and then down at his papers. The next time he looked over, he saw a man with a beard and long brown hair holding Amanda in his arms.
"Trust in me," He said.
"Please," Amanda begged in the man's arms. Nick thought the man was Jesus so he rubbed his eyes and the picture was gone. Just an empty seat.
That night, Nick had a dream of Amanda and him running in Heaven; then a big word that said "trust" smacked him in the head and he fell out of Heaven and into his bed. He then woke up.
During lunch at school, Nick reached in his back pocket to give the lady his wallet. He opened it up and reached in to grab money. Without looking, he accidentally handed the lady the note that Amanda wrote.
"This ain't money, Nick," she said sternly.
"I'm sorry Ma'am," he put the note back in his wallet embarrassed. He gave the lady money and sat down by himself. A kid named Charles sat down right next to him.
"Are you sitting by yourself because you don't have your girlfriend here," he mocked.
"She's not my girlfriend," Nick said crunching his teeth together.
"Then why do you always hang out with her?"
"Because she's my FRIEND! Not GIRLFRIEND!"
"Yo, yo... relax," Charles said. Nick's face turned cherry red.
"I think I want to eat your face right now, it looks like an apple!" Charles said laughing. Smack! Nick picked up his tray and smacked his mashed potatoes in his face. Charles wiped the potatoes off of his face and punched at Nick. Nick swooped out of the way and poured his juice down Charles's shirt. Nick ran out of the lunch room and out the school door. He fell on his face in the parking lot grass and started to cry. He heard Amanda's voice in his head. It got louder, and louder, and louder.
"Trust In God!" He reached in his back pocket, grabbed his wallet, opened it up, and grabbed the note. He skipped down to the prayer. He repeated it in his head meaning it from his heart:
Dear God, I know I'm a sinner, and I know that since I have sinned, I can't go to Heaven. But you sent your only Son to die on the cross. He then was buried and rose again three days later. God, I believe that you did that, and I want to thank you for doing that. Please come into my life and save me. I accept your free gift, Jesus Christ. Please forgive me of my sins; in Jesus name, Amen.
Nick really meant that prayer and he was certain that he would go to Heaven when he died.

THE END

Epilogue: He ended up dying at seventy-nine years old and he and Amanda played tag in Heaven...for a long time!

Out of the Galaxy: Part 2 of Walking on the Moon

Out of the Galaxy
Part 2 of Walking on the Moon

After dinner at his mom’s house, Willie went home… an astronaut!
Willie woke up the next morning with an idea. An idea so great, it would put him and all the other astronauts to shame! He wrote his idea down on a blueprint and headed off to NASA. The man who helped Willie with the rocket, Jerry Parker, approached him.
“Why, if it isn’t Moon Walking Willie,” he said. “Weren’t you just here yesterday in your spaceship?” he joked. “Why are you back?” Willie handed Jerry the blueprint of his idea.
“You want to go out of the galaxy!?” Jerry asked surprised.
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Well, the design of the rocket looks pretty good,” he grinned at Willie. “You know Willie? You’re pretty smart; none of our guys here at NASA could design something like this. Come back in three months and we should have the money and supplies you need.”
Willie couldn’t believe that NASA would already start on a project only three months after he walked on the moon. Willie’s goal is to go into outer space twice in one year; so he told NASA that they need to build his rocket fast.
Again, Willie was at his Mom’s house. Ding-Dong! His mom opened the door.
“Holy cow, Willie!” his mom screamed in surprise. “You have not been at my house this consistently in years!”
“Mom, I’m going out of our Galaxy.”
“What! You can’t! I won’t let you.”
“What! Why?”
“People have had trouble just by going into space,” she paused, “Including you. Now you want to leave our galaxy!”
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll be fine.” Then he left.
Finally, the long three months passed. Willie and Jerry met near the large pile of supplies. The date is, September 1, 2000. NASA and Willie would have to build a super advanced rocket that goes out of the Milky Way in a little less than four months to complete Willie’s goal -- to go to space two times in one year.
Time passed and they were now in November. Luckily, the rocket was almost done. Right now they are working on putting a camera onto a pole attached to the ship. It could not create too much weight. Willie was on a fifty foot ladder that went to the top of his ship. He was attaching the pole onto the rocket.
“Jerry!” Willie yelled. “Could you hand me the screwdriver?”
“You’re going to have to come down and get it yourself, I’m busy.” Willie sighed and started to climb down the ladder. As he approached the first step under him, he tripped. He had forgotten that he had tied his shoelaces to the ladder so he wouldn’t fall. He swung forward and smacked his head on the step of the ladder.
“Willie!” Jerry screamed. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a huge headache.” Willie pulled himself up straight and untied the shoelace from the ladder. He started to walk down again. Slip! Willie forgot to tie his shoes and he slipped on his lace. Down, down, down, down, he went and onto the hard concrete floor. Jerry ran over to where Willie was.
“There’s no way he survived a fifty foot drop.” After he said that, Willie opened his eyes.
“Willie, how did you survive?” Jerry asked.
“I’m flying this mission,” Willie demanded. He got up limping and started to climb up the ladder.
“Willie,” Jerry stopped him. “I know you want to reach your goal but it’s not safe to be injured in space.”
“I’m not injured!”
After building and building, it was time. December 14, 2000, and Willie was inside his spaceship. The name of Willie’s ship was written on the side of it: “Super Hydro Monster.” Willie did not know what it meant; he just thought it sounded like a science name. The camera was set, the engines were hot, (all sixteen of them), and the citizens of America had their televisions on. Finally, NASA started the countdown; 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1… Lift Off! The rocket was shaking, Willie was scared, and the ship… reached space.
“Hello stars, I’m back,” he said. To get up to space, he only used three engines, now he turned on the other thirteen. Willie’s thermometer said he was going four hundred miles per hour. His speed and his altitude kept on increasing! One thousand miles per hour!
“WooHoo! I’m going fast!” Willie screamed. Willie just thought of something.
“What’s going to happen when I leave the galaxy? Will my ship heat up with fire like when it leaves the Earth’s atmosphere?” Suddenly, Willie got really scared of what was about to happen. After a couple of hours, the ship started to jerk. At one thousand miles per hour, the ship started to shake like a bucking bull.
“Come on!” Willie screamed. “Is that all you got?!” Next, the jerking stopped. Willie thought that he had made it so he turned off all of his engines. Willie turned the Super Hydro Monster into auto pilot. He floated to the back window and saw something that dazzled his eyes. He saw… the Milky Way Galaxy. Willie fainted. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He heard some bangs on the roof of his ship. Willie got a rope, tied it to himself, opened the latch above him, and tied the other end of the rope to a little handle he put on his ship for this reason. Willie started to float up until the rope was all the way stretched out. He did not see anything on top of his roof. He decided to stay up just in case. Out of the corner of his eye, Willie saw something green. He whirled around… but saw nothing. Willie stared and stared in the same spot. The green thing was back in sight. He could only see a little of it though. The thought of an alien came to Willie’s mind. Willie’s mother always told him that aliens weren’t real. Expecting to see a huge, giant, hideous alien… a little green blob appeared on the roof. Willie could now see the entire green thing now. The blob was about as round as a soccer ball, but flat. He was all gooey like snot. The blob slid over to Willie and started to sniff his foot. The blob then squealed a hideous loud sound that hurt Willie’s ears; then it jumped off of the ship and floated off into the distance.
“Whatever,” Willie thought. As Willie was looking around, he saw a giant rock the size of a large in-ground swimming pool coming at him.
“Whoa!” Willie screamed. He got himself inside of his ship and turned off auto cruise.
There were no satellites near his camera so no one could see what was going on. He also didn’t have contact with NASA.
“That’s enough sightseeing for me!” Willie yelled. He swerved his ship to the left but the rock hit the side of it. The ship started to spin like a tornado. Luckily, Willie was able to get back into control of the ship. Willie blasted his engines and entered the Milky Way Galaxy going one thousand miles per hour. After a while, he saw Earth. He entered the atmosphere going way too fast, for he turned off his engines too late. Now, he was out of the atmosphere and entered the Earth’s sky. Willie yanked back on his steering stick but it wasn’t pulling the ship up. Straight, straight, down he went with no control at all. The point of his ship dug straight down into the Earth’s hard rock. Half of Willie’s ship was in the ground, and half was sticking up. Willie climbed up the spaceship as best as he could. He opened the back latch, looked up, and yelled excitedly when he saw that he luckily landed at NASA. After a bunch of pats on his back and cheering, Jerry came up to him not happy at all.
“Willie,” he said. “You passed your goal. You took off in 2000, but you landed in 2004.”
“I was up there for four years! Time really flew. Why are you so upset?”
“Your mother was very worried and had a heart attack. She didn’t make it.” Willie stood there very shocked. He just walked to his car and drove home. Willie had quite a journey. He decided to retire from being an astronaut. Also, he retired from his job. He earned one billion dollars for doing two missions. It was sad that his mother died, but at least he made her proud.
“If you have the motivation to do it son, I’m sure you’ll be walking on the moon just like old Neil.”

The Good and Bad Eye

The Good and Bad Eye

My name is Henry Jones. People always laugh at me as I walk by. Want to know why? One of my eye is green, while the other is brown. People don't know yet, but my green eye sees truth, while my brown eye sees much, much, more. The first day I ever actually used my gifted eyes was last month. A kid named Erwin goes to my school. His style, well, he had tight pants that he pulled up to his belly button. His teeth were covered with braces, he had red hair, he had huge glasses, and his face was spotted with freckles. Like usual, the two bully, popular kids went up to Erwin and slammed his books out of his hands. I saw the whole thing. One kid lifted Erwin up by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the locker!
"Hey, Erwin," the kid said in a mocking voice.
"Yeah, hey, Erwin," the other kid echoed. "We need your lunch money."
"I don't have any," Erwin said.
I watched as the two kids urged Erwin for his money. I covered my brown eye while watching out of my green eye. What I saw was, me going up to those two kids and stopping them dead in their tracks. The kids started to make fun of me and started to call me a suck-up. I didn't like that picture, so I uncovered my brown eye, and covered my green eye, watching through my brown eye. In that picture, I walked up and grabbed Erwin out of the bullies' hands.
"Erwin," I said. "Give them the money now!" He just stared at me very scared. I turned him around, grabbed the back of his neck, and gave him a pressure point.
"Do it!" I screamed. He started to cry and scream. Erwin then gave me the money, I gave the bullies the money, and they wanted me to be their friend. Before I answered, I quickly uncovered my green eye for I did not like that picture either. When I started to look through both eyes again, I just saw what was actually happening. The two bullies were still holding Erwin up against the locker demanding his money. Then I thought, "Those kids are the most popular kids in school. If I do what my brown eye showed me, they'll love me, and I'll be popular too." I loved the thought of that. So you probably know what I did next. I walked up to Erwin, and gave him that pressure point. Soon, every day, I was hanging out with those two bullies more than ever. Man I wish I never did that. Now, I find myself getting suspended from school, failing classes, and, worst of all, losing my parents' trust. Yeah, it was cool to be popular, but I did not feel good. I felt sick inside.
Right now, I am waiting for my two friends by the principal's office. I don't why I am going to do what I'm about to do right now. Finally, I spotted my friends. One's name is Tristan, the other's name is Joseph.
"Do you guys got the silly string?" I asked.
"You bet we do," Tristan said. "Joseph," he handed him the bottle. "Henry," he handed me the bottle. "And me." I haven't been looking through my green eye every time something bad was about to happen, just my brown eye. So I looked through my truthful green eye and saw only me. It was a picture of me looking through my green eye; that's all. Then I looked through my naughty brown eye, it was a picture of me looking through my brown eye.
"I wish it gave me a picture of what is going to happen in the office," I thought. Suddenly, I noticed my friends staring at me confused as I was covering my eyes.
"You guys ready?" I said fast.
"Yeah," they replied at the same time. We ran in there while the principal was studying some papers. We lifted our silly string cans and started to spray. As Tristan and Joseph were distracted spraying, I dropped my can and covered my brown eye. I saw me taking the cans away from my so called friends and giving them to my principal. I apologized for what I did just then and all the other things I did in the past. I uncovered my brown eye and started to cover my green eye. Before I saw anything, I stopped. Forcefully, I pulled my hand away from my green eye, walked up to those kids, snatched the cans from them, gave them to the principal, and apologized.
"Henry, I forgive you now, and for all the other times," he said. "Since you stopped what you were doing, and stopped these two, you will not be suspended. As for you guys -- I have not thought of what I am going to do to you. Henry you may leave. Tristan, Joseph, you can stay here while I have a little chat on the phone with both of your parents." As I left the room I felt good. Even as a watched the tongue of Tristan sticking out at me. I got home and happily told my parents what I did today. At that moment, I decided to never cover my green eye again!

Walking on the Moon

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." July 20, 1969 is the date Neil Armstrong said that -- the day that he was on the moon! A kid named Willie Hopkins and his family didn't miss one second of the moon landing that was broadcast on television.

"Mom, someday I'm going to go to the moon!" Willie exclaimed.

"Son, if you have the motivation to do it, I'm sure you'll be walking on the moon like Neil is right now."

Willie was determined he would make it to the moon no matter what. He didn't need NASA either. He could build his own rocket and fly into space all alone. Willie listened to his mother's words, and thirty-one years later, in the year 2000, at forty-one years old, he was ready to start his journey. He had a great plan to build his rocket. He went to college and majored in science and engineering. His only problem was he didn't have enough money to get the supplies. Willie decided to start doing some fundraisers. He stood on the side of the road selling hot dogs. That got him a couple hundred dollars.

"That's some good money," Willie said. "But it isn't enough to build a rocket." Finally, Willie quit being stubborn. He wrote a letter to NASA that said:

Dear NASA,

My name is Willie Hopkins. I was born to be an astronaut. I went to college and everything. The thing is, I need a lot of money. So I was wondering if you could help me out with my rocket. I want and need to be the thirteenth man on the moon. Please, please help me out.

Sincerely,

Willie Hopkins

Willie was a little doubtful that NASA would help him, or even respond. Surprisingly, exactly two weeks later, a letter from NASA was in his mailbox. Willie jumped up and down when he saw the envelope. He ran back inside to his house squeezing the letter to death. Willie ripped up the envelope and read:

Dear Willie,

Usually we would say no to someone requesting to walk on the moon after so many years. But we love your motivation! Come on down to NASA and we'll get started right away.

Sincerely,

NASA

Willie was starstruck. His jaw was opened so wide it started to hurt his mouth. So he closed it. After moments of silence, Willie dropped the letter and jumped up, then down, then up, then down, and repeated that for five minutes. Then he picked up the letter, shot out of the door, and entered his car. Ding-Dong! Willie rang his mother's doorbell. His seventy year-old mother opened the door.

"Why, Willie, what a pleasant surprise," she said. "What is it?"

"Mom," Willie said. "I wrote NASA a letter to tell them I need help with the rocket and this is what they sent me." Willie held up the letter trying to look and sound disappointed to trick his mother.

"OH MY!!" his mom yelled. "Your going to be on the MOON!" Willie joined her and shouted too.

"I am going to watch you walking on the moon on television. Make sure you wave," she added.

"Why, Mom, you don't even have to bring it up. I'll being waving my hands in the air like a wild man!"

Two days later Willie was at NASA. A man who was without hair, had a beard, and had a mustache walked up to Willie and shook his hand.

"Hello, Willie," he said. "My name is Jerry Parker. I will be helping you with your rocket."

After a lot of working, one year later, the rocket... was ready! The launch was filmed on TV. Willie's mom had her hand over her mouth for she was shocked that her own son would be walking on the moon. Finally, they started the countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Lift Off! The rocket flew into the sky followed by a huge flame of fire. Bursting through the Earth's atmosphere, Willie reached space. The rocket disconnected from his ship. Stars lit up Willie's wide opened eyes. He thought that he was in a dream... so he slapped himself.

"Ouch! I sure ain't dreaming! This is real!" He nailed it -- Willie was living his dream that he had since he was ten years old. After he was in space for awhile, they stopped broadcasting it on TV. After a three-day journey, he reached the moon. He was back on television. He landed his ship on the moon. Everything was going great. The landing was perfect, and he was on the moon. Willie wanted to top Neil Armstrong. Neil jumped off of the ladder, but Willie did a back flip off of the top rung. That made NASA mad.

"Willie, there will be no fooling around up there."

"Don't worry, Houston, nothing harmful happened there."

Like Willie promised, he "waved his arms like a wild man." His mom touched the screen of the television to say hi back. Of course, Willie didn't notice. Well, after walking on the moon, Willie climbed into his spaceship and headed back to Earth. As Willie was flying his spaceship, one of his engines went out. The ship went very lopsided.

"Houston, we might have a problem," Willie said. After he said that, they stopped broadcasting it on television.

"Oh no," his mom said. "I can't see my baby boy anymore. I hope he makes it." Boom! Another engine blew! The ship started to spin and spin and spin in a spiral.

"Houston, this is not good!" Willie screamed while puking.

"Just hang in there, Willie! There's nothing we can do!" BOOM!! The last engine blew!

"Mayday, Houston, all engines are dead, I repeat, all engines are dead!" Willie screamed.

"Willie, there is a nearby space station," NASA said. "We have contacted them and they are hanging a rope down from the station. All you have to do is open the latch above you, jump, and you'll float right up to the rope!" Willie followed his orders and opened the latch. He saw the station right in front of him with the rope hanging down. He jumped... up, up, up he floated... but he missed the rope. He started to float right over the station.

"Houston, I have missed the rope! I repeat, I have missed the rope!"

"Willie! Come on!" The crew threw a rope out of the hatch on the roof of the station.

"Grab it! Grab it!" one man yelled from inside of the station. Willie swung his arms out in front of him and grabbed the rope.

"Hold on tight!" the man yelled. The zero gravity started to make him float away from the rope, but he held on with one hand. The man pulled him in with all of his might and, finally, Willie was inside.

"I can take you home on my spaceship," the man said."Oh, by the way, my name is Robert."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Willie." Willie saw a pistol tied up to a table nearby.

"Um... what's... what's that for?" Willie stuttered.

"Oh that!" Robert said. "Don't be scared. I believe in aliens. You never know when one might come up to my station."

"Oh," Willie said still feeling suspicious. Willie was about to say something and then, BAM! Willie got punched in the face by Robert. Next thing Willie knew, he was floating at the top of the station.

"You're never going to see Earth again," Robert said.

"That's what you think!" Willie yelled and forced himself back to the floor. BAM! Willie returned Robert's punch with an even harder punch. Willie ran to the space ship, started the engines, and headed home.

"I guess you'll never see Earth again!" Willie yelled as he flew away. A couple days after traveling, the Earth was in sight. There was no way of contacting Houston so Willie was anxious to get home and surprise everybody. Next thing you know, Willie's ship was on fire, (in a good way, he was going through the atmosphere)!

"Sir, is that Willie?" one guy from NASA asked. "As a matter of fact it is!"

Willie put out his landing wheels and landing smoothly at NASA. Everyone at NASA shouted and cheered when Willie stepped off of that ship. Willie drove home and rang his mom's doorbell. She opened the door and her eyes went very wide.

"Willie!" she screamed. "You made it!" Willie and his family had a huge dinner party and Willie told them how walking on the moon was, he told them about Robert, and, last but not least, he told them that his dream had been fulfilled!

Chapter 9 Home

Chapter 9
Home


Finally the canal was finished. The year was 1914 and a lot of sailors were going through the canal.
“Well Richard,” George said. “It has been an honor for you to work on this canal.
“Thank you George.” Richard went to his wagon and started on his long journey back home. Richard stopped for lunch at Aladino’s house. He knocked on the door and waited for Aladino. Aladino opened the door very fast with a rifle in his hands.
“Who is it!” he screamed. He lowered his rifle, “Richard! What a surprise! Just in time, I have lots of tacos and quesadillas ready to eat!”
“That’s exactly why I came here,” Richard said. “I had to have one of your taco one last time.” Richard ate the tacos and quesadillas and talked for a little. Then he was on his way to home again. It was very late when Richard got back to his apartment in New York. He walked in very quietly so Rachel wouldn’t wake up and think he was a burglar. He walked over to the bed and tapped on Rachel’s shoulder. She rolled over and her eyes got very wide.
“Richard!” She held up the letter.
“They had a little miss understanding,” Richard said. Rachel ripped up the letter and threw it in the garbage. She jumped up and hugged Richard very tightly.
“So the canal, is it finished?” she asked.
“Yes it is,” Richard replied. “It turned out very nice too.” Both Richard and Rachel went to bed and lived happily ever after; and Richard never went on a long journey without Rachel again.
The End