If you are confused about something in class, don't wait. Raise your hand and ask for help

immediately. Do it while your teacher is still explaining the material. Your teacher will probably be

happy that you are taking an active part in your education and should attempt to explain the material in a

different way. If you are still confused, ask your teacher if he or she is available after class to give you

additional instruction. You are worth it. Don't give up on yourself.

Suzie applied the lipstick to her lips. She had never done this before. She smacked her lips like she

had seen other women do in the movies and looked in the mirror. She felt unsure about what she saw.

She turned to her friend Donna and asked, "How do I look?" Donna gasped and said, "You look

breathtaking, Suzie." Suzie smiled. She was grateful for these words, even though she didn't believe

them.

The parade marched down the street. It was led by a caped drummer. He set a stately pace and tapped

the accompanying rhythm. A marching band followed behind him, matching his pace. Behind the band

were floats of all sizes and designs. Children and adults were riding on the floats, tossing out penny

candies, streamers, and plastic prizes. The street was lined with people. The noises of revelry filled the

streets.

A bus drove by Kiko as she sat on the park bench. A woman pushed a double stroller with a set of

twins down the sidewalk. Several pigeons approached Kiko. "Go away, flying rats. I do not have any

food for you," Kiko shouted at the birds. They squawked and flew off. Kiko crossed her legs and took a

deep breath. She picked up the newspaper, flipped through a few pages, and put it back down. Then her

phone rang.

Pete didn't feel like doing homework. He felt like playing baseball. He grabbed his mitt off the shelf

and began to fantasize about being out in the field. His fantasy was interrupted shortly by the opening of

his bedroom door. It was his mom. She started to yell, "Pete, you're not failing baseball class! You're

failing math class! You need to study. Put the mitt away!" Pete put the mitt away, but he didn't know the

first thing about studying math.

Penny pedaled her bike as quickly as she could, but she couldn't seem to build up enough speed. She

started rolling down the hill. "I can't do it," she thought to herself. Her friend Melissa was riding behind

her. "Keep trying! Stand up on your pedals. You can do it!" Melissa shouted. Penny decided to take her

advice. She stood up on the pedals and put all of her weight into the climb. She started going up the hill.

This made Penny very happy. "Thanks Melissa!" she said as she got to the top of the hill. Melissa smiled

and said, "What are friends for?"

The sun was rising. Ivan saw the light piercing through the drawn curtains in his bedroom and knew

that he would have to get up soon. He hadn't been sleeping for the last hour. He had been thinking about

the future. He nudged his wife Nadia. Nadia came to slowly. She smiled, still thinking about the pleasant

dream that she had been having, until she looked at Ivan's face. She could tell that something was

wrong.

The green ooze dripped slowly down the steps. We didn't have a Geiger counter with us, but if we

had, I bet that it would have been beeping. I noticed Chris moving toward the ooze and said, "Chris,

don't!" but it was too late. Chris dipped the front part of his shoe in the ooze and the ooze burned the

sole off his shoe instantly. Then it melted his sock, and then it began to go to work on his foot. Vanessa

began licking her lips. "I wonder what it tastes like," she said. I screamed, "No Vanessa! Don't!"

Carrie and Kylie giggled. Neither of them knew what they had just found. They thought that they

had discovered a cool looking rock. They had no idea that they were holding a real life dinosaur egg.

This surprise would dawn on them later, when they brought the egg home. Carrie was using the egg as a

paperweight, so she kept the egg under her desk lamp. But this egg would soon hatch, and Carrie and

Kylie were about to have the adventure of a lifetime.