Prayer is My Only Weapon

As I arrived at the park on an early Saturday morning, I noticed that there were quite a few people that I recognized from my usual morning walk which is usually between 9 and 10. Guess that they were awakened by the bright sun on that morning like me and decided to head out to the park earlier.

On my second kilometer I heard some people screaming “Catch him! Thief! Catch him!” I continued to walk but trying to make way for the police cars that we invading the park.

As I reached the end of my second kilometer, I saw the little bandits being handcuffed by the authorities. I reduced my speed to pay more attention to what had happened. Apparently the little boys, there were two of them, had mugged little old lady and two other men running in the park had caught them before the police arrived.

The little old lady had been carrying her purse around her neck when one of the little bandits pushed her while the other grabbed the purse. He also tore her blouse in the act. The little old woman was being helped by a young woman who was telling her everything was going to be alright while she helped her to one of the exits of the park also reassuring her that she would escort her all the way to her home as they passed by me.

Approaching the police car and the little bandits, I overheard one of the cops asking the boys why they had attacked a little defenseless old woman. One of the boys looked and pointed right at me and said, “You can’t expect us to mug someone like her. Look at those two guys she is walking with. It would be madness to mug her.” Enraged the cops threw the kids in the back of their police car and said “Let’s have them take a drug test.” “Yeah, they must really be on something powerful” answered the other one.

I decided that it was time to walk faster. I was very thankful but confused at the same time. What two guys were they talking about? I was all alone. I mean, I was walking in the park all by myself, although surround by other strangers. What two guys did the boys see that nobody else did?

As I continued my walk, the police car with the little bandits left and another stayed in the park to make sure the coast was clear before leaving. I kept wondering what the two little boys saw. Then it dawned on me that my morning prayer includes the line “Surround me by your angels.”

I am grateful!

(Written: December 27, 2014) Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Dog Poop

As I walk in the park, there are two Korean men walking ahead of me speaking in their language. Because I live in Liberdade, in Sao Paulo, also known as Chinatown, I have learned to differentiate the Korean language from the Chinese and the Japanese languages. Of course there are other factors that help me be sure of my assumption like, eye shape and other body features that I am not going to list here.

Anyway, these two men are engaged in a very lively conversation when all of a sudden in the middle of a sentence one of the clearly says “dog poop” in my language: Portuguese. (The reason they said it is that someone forgot to pick up after his or her dog and people had to walk around it although some runners don’t look down when they run.)My eyes widen because I have recognized a word as I eavesdrop. But then again, I quickly start to wonder whether this word does not exist in their own lexicon. I know for a fact that dog meat is sold in North and South Korea and transformed into main courses. Since they consume meat they do not mention the dog poop when speaking, could it be a taboo in their culture? Maybe they only think of a dog as a stew, roasted, boiled or fried and perhaps they have special words to describe the animal. Like us, we never say that we are eating a dead cow; we call it beef.

Between you and me, I was dying to ask them why they had said it, but then again, some things are best unknown.

Written: December 7, 2014 Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Bell and August

This is my story. It might be similar to other stories that you have read, but then again I feel that I have to tell it. It happened around the time when I was five and in kindergarten. Oh, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. My name is Bell. It is not a miss spelling Bell named after the metal thing that makes noise when you hit it. It does not come from Isabel, although I wish it did so I did not have to explain the origin every time I have to say my name to some one. I am not going to leave you hanging. The story of my name is very simple. When I was born, my mom had been in labor for 12 hours, as soon as I came out into the world I was lifeless. My mom says that she prayed and while she was praying she heard a bell ring three times and right after the third stroke I started to cry. She says that it was the bell that made me come to life therefore named me Bell. Guess it is better than ding-dong or bong!

Back to the story. Like I have already said the story takes place when I was five in Kindergarten. Going to school then was pure delight (I wish I could say the same for nowadays). We would play, dance, sing, draw, listen to stories, have cookies at the break time and take a nap in the afternoon. I was a rather quiet child who loved being alone looking at books in the library wondering when I would be able to decipher all those letters on the pages.

It was in the library that I met my best friend ever, August. She was a foreigner, though I never asked her which country she was from. She was a bit older than me, but she went with me everywhere I went. At that time, I couldn´t understand why she was in my class if she could read and write. I met her in the library on a rainy day. It is very clear in my mind.

It was pouring outside so the break was indoors. As usual I went to the library. I was looking at a book that had a princess on the cover when she came through the bookshelves and asked if I wanted her to read me the story I had in hands. I was marveled at the idea but scared that we would get into trouble because in the library you were not allowed to talk. She told me not to worry; the only person who could see or hear her was me. I felt privileged and special. I had a friend to myself and did not have to share her with anyone. I was so curious to find out what happened to that Princess that I accepted her offer without a second thought. So that is what happened every break time we would be in the library and she would read to me. It was an awesome feeling to be read to and to finally see the world through those marvelous stories.

I felt real lucky to have August with me in the halls, in the classroom and especially at lunch time. In the classroom, she spent most of the time standing behind me. Besides helping me with the work I had to do, she always told me funny things and I got into trouble several times for laughing in the classroom out of the blue. I had made a promise not to tell anyone about August. So I was sent to the principal´s office on several occasions for misbehaving in the classroom. Between you and me, the teacher didn´t appreciate all the laughing; that was all I ever did.

As I grew up, August also grew up. Well, not physically, but in ideas. She was more mature than I was and I could talk to her about anything. She always knew the answers and would whisper them to me. I was the brightest student in the class. On one hand it felt great to know all the answers to the teacher´s question. But, on the other hand, she was my one and only friend. The other kids in the class did not invite me to any parties or other events.

Sometimes I felt bad about not having other friends, but August made up for their absence. She did not go home with me. It seemed like she was a prisoner at school. So on weekends, I felt very lonely.

Grade after grade, year after year, I grew up and was an honor student in all the subjects. I learned a lot and loved going to school especially because I would have some quality time with my dear friend. But then one day this all changed.

I was in the bathroom when I overheard some girls from my classroom talking about the freak in class that is always alone talking to herself. It dawned on me that that freak was me. I never talked to myself so how could that be me? When I left the bathroom stall the girls giggled when they saw me. I then knew that they were talking about me.

On that day I was very sad and felt sick. The school nurse called up my mom and asked her to take me home. I was coming down with something and it would be wish of her to take me to my doctor.

It turned out that I had a virus. The doctor told me to stay home, so I felt miserable for not seeing my best friend. I was ten years old at the time. Those days that I spent in bed, I wondered about August. I wondered whether she was a special friend or just a figure of my imagination.

My mom came into my room to see how I was feeling.

´Sweetie, how are you?´

`My stomach hurts a bit, but I am ok.´

`Honey, what is happening to you? I got a call from your teacher and she said that she has noticed that you have been acting strange lately.´

`I don´t know, mom. I have been myself.´

`How come you never bring a friend home? Don´t you have any friends?´

`I have a very dear friend. Her name is August. We have been friends since Kindergarten.´

`That´s nice sweetie. So why don´t you invite her over so I can meet her?`

 `It´s complicated mom.´

After this talk Bell´s health got worse. She was admitted into the hospital and it had been months since that she had been away from school.

Nobody came to visit her. No one called to see how she was doing. Her mother thought that was strange and decided to go to school to see if August could come to the hospital to spend an afternoon with Bell so that she would cheer up a bit.

When she arrived at the school, the secretary checked her files and the computer came up with the name August Smotthers. Her face was in awe.

´Mrs. Renadals, I am afraid that August Smotthers studied here in the 80s before your daughter was even born. It says here that she passed away when she was 10. She died of an unknown virus.´

Bell´s mom thanked the secretary and ran to the hospital. It was happening all over again. The same thing happened to one of her cousins. It seemed to skip a generation, but it was getting to her daughter. No, she wouldn´t allow it. But what could she do?

When she reached the hospital, she saw Bell prepped up on her bed and cheerfully chatting away.

`Mom look who is here to visit me, August. She says she has come to get me out of this hospital.´

Mrs. Renadals fainted.

(Written November 18, 2014) Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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The Boy Who Sang to Every Word

There once was a boy who sang to every word anyone said. It really didn’t matter what language the word was from; he knew a tune.

Sometimes the songs were cool; others a bit rude and vulgar. Most of his friends were used to it, but the strangers he met thought it was a bit weird that this boy could not control his musical side.

It didn’t matter where he was; at church, at home, the supermarket, the classroom, the zoo or the bathroom. Whenever someone said something he would sing. Sometimes there would also be a little dance movement along with it.

After some time his family and friends started getting tired of this bizarre involuntary act. There were some situations where singing was not appropriate and they were very ashamed of being around him. Like the time when they were at a teacher´s wake and he started singing ` I´m a bitch. I´m a bitch and the bitch is back´ because some one had said the teacher was a real bitch but she could teach. His friends wanted to die.

Or the other time when he and his mom were at a doctor consultation and when his mom greeted the doctor with a cheerful ´hello doctor´, he let out a loud ´doctor, doctor give me the news. I´ve got a bad case of lovin´you´. For this he was grounded for a week.

No one knew how to help him and he became a prime study at the Institute of Psychology in his town. He would go visit the specialists once a month. After some time they noticed that he started covering his mouth whenever a song dared to come out. It was making him miserable. And unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

Most of his friends stopped inviting him out. He started getting in trouble at school because the teachers kept kicking him out of the class. He spent his breaks in the library alone; there he would not be singing because total silence was the rule.

As time went by, the older he got the lonelier he felt. He managed to get a job where he could work at home and really didn´t need to interact with people personally only via email. He also got a college degree from another state studying from his computer. He could watch the classes on line and only needed to go to the school whenever there was an exam and he was safe then for total silence was the rule.

Life was not easy for this, now, young man. One afternoon, he was having trouble with his computer; therefore, he called a technician to make a house call.   

It was love at first sight. When he opened the door and the blond young technician said `Hello´ the young man started singing `hello, is it me your looking for´. The technician grinned and answered in a high soprano tune `You had me at hello´.

And so it goes to show you never can tell. Our young singer and the technician fell in love and sang to each other from there on and were enviously happy. ` Happy. Happy. Happy. Happy. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. Because I´m happy.´

(Written November 6, 2014) Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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The Other Girl Who Tried to Cheat on a Test

Apparently in that one classroom where the girl in the wolf-skin studied, there were others who wanted to follow in her footsteps. Generalization aside, this story is about only one other girl. The difference between the two was that this new girl did not have the same skills at cheating as the one in wolf-skin.

The wolf-skin girl was a sly one. She had tricks up her sleeve that would throw back the biggest con artist who ever lived. There were talks about her in the staff room and her methods of cheating were never the same. She got caught on a couple of occasions, but it was still very hard to prove that she had cheated.

This other girl was an amateur and truly sweet. So much so, that the teacher immediately realized that she was cheating the moment she laid eyes on her. Her method of cheating was from a cheat sheet that she had neatly hidden in her book that was laying on the table smack in front of her. Every time she needed to know an answer she simply lifted the cover of her book and took a peek at her notes.

 However, it was not that easy for her to glance at them for the teacher had her eyes on the girl, especially because she was sitting right next to the experienced girl in the wolf-skin. Do not think that little wolf-skin girl wasn´t trying out her own tricks, she sure was. However, this time around the girl in the wolf -skin made a huge mistake: she sat next to her apprentice.  

The teacher let out a loud: Please do not cheat. Remember that teachers were students once too.

Some students smiled and laughed. The girl in the wolf-skin said she was not doing anything. Bingo! Whenever you deny something, it is very clear that you have done something wrong.  The apprentice turned as red as a turnip. She was getting nervous because the teacher would not turn away.

A break at last! One of the students went up to the teacher´s desk to ask her a question. The apprentice lifted her book and put her cheat sheet under her test paper. Meanwhile the girl in the wolf-skin sat on her hind legs so she could take a peek at another classmates test. 

The teacher could not simply go up to the girls and humiliate them in front of their classmates, nor could she simply take the tests away. Besides, she would bother the other students who were really focused on taking the test and doing their best.

Once again the teacher let out: You do realize I can tell whether or not you are cheating. Please do not make me take away your test and give you a zero.

That being said, the wolf-skin sat down properly; the apprentice stopped checking her cheat sheet. However, the apprentice made a huge mistake.

She handed in her test with the cheat sheet stuck between two of the pages. It just so happened that she had used one of those yellow pieces of paper that stick on to things to write her notes down on: caught red-handed.

(Written October 30, 2014) Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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The Cardboard Box Couple

They live in a cardboard box that sits in front of a school for children between the ages of 4 months to 5 years of age. She is probably in her 30s and he seems to be a few years older. They haven’t bathed in a while, when the wind blows you can tell. Everything they own is in that box. Not that they own much, but there are things that aren´t of any value to others, however, to them rare treasures.

The school principal has done everything in her power to try to make them move. But where to? She has spoken to them. She has called the city officials. But to no avail. They stay there day in and day out. Night and day. Come rain, come shine.

The couple met right there in front of the school. The man was inside the box. The woman was walking by on a sunny afternoon, as he remembers it to be, when he poked his head outside the box and said: hello. It was love at first sight. They made a deal to not know about each other´s past nor what their names were. Therefore, they chose different names every day according to their taste and used them when they had to deal with strangers. But most of the times, they just called each other Cream Puff and Snuggles.

Cream Puff and Snuggles seem to be quite happy in their relationship. When the man is out collecting cans, the woman is at home making sure no one else invades their cardboard box. Afterall, it is a beauty and it keeps them warm in the winter. The only thing that is not good about it is when it rains. However, they managed to find an old plastic raincoat which they are able to use as a cover for their home. It seems to keep the water out and they can easily fold it up and hide it when they don´t need to use it. There have been times when the man has found food in garbage cans and at night they eat outside the box ; candle light and the stars: quite romantic.

The people who live in the neighborhood help them out as much as they can by giving them food and clothing. Sometimes they manage to get their food from the school trash cans. You see, the children who study there don´t always eat everything off their plates and since the school recycles their garbage, getting the leftover food is quite easy. So, Cream Puff and Snuggles manage to gather enough food for lunch and dinner. There have been times when they have even handed out some food to other homeless people in the streets nearby.

At night, they can´t watch TV like a regular couple, so they read to each other. They managed to find some books some one didn´t want anymore on one of their garbage hunts. They were saddened by the fact that some one had the courage to dispose of all those amazing stories instead of donating them to an institution, which is what they do whenever they finished reading a book. Don´t think that they donate stinky dirty books. No. They clean them and make sure that the book is in readable conditions.

They have read so many amazing stories. One that told a story about a love affair between a young couple that ended up committing suicide because their parents would not allow them to get married. Cream Puff cried at the end. Another about a wolf who wanted to eat a little girl dressed in red. Their all time favorite was about a ring that was very precious. This story was told in three huge books. Snuggles thought it would make a great movie.

It was so nice to be together and reading to each other until the last ray of the sun. Sometimes they would be lucky and find a candle somewhere or even some batteries with a little bit more energy to give out. You see, Snuggles had a flashlight. It was one of his treasures.

Life had been pleasant until one late afternoon when everything just turned upside down. Like a gust of wind that simply blew their box over, their lives ended. Yes, that is right. They passed away.

It seemed that in this city there was a madman or two who were going around town and shooting the homeless down. Cream Puff and Snuggles had heard the rumors about this but they really didn´t believe the other homeless that told them. Since they couldn´t neither watch TV nor afford to buy a newspaper, it was just a rumor to them and besides, life was wonderful.

It was a late afternoon during the rain season, however, it hadn´t rain for a while now because the city was going through some strange weather phenomenon which caused a drought, that the couple where getting ready for their night of storytelling.

 On this particular evening they were going to read a book called: To Kill a Mockingbird.  Cream Puff was very excited about it, she loved birds. However, they didn’t even get to page one.

Two men on a motorcycle stopped in front of their box and opened fire. As I read the paper the next morning, I saw that the police had counted 15 shots in all. But the peculiar thing was that their bodies were locked tight in a hug. Poor Cream Puff and Snuggles. True happiness brings forth envy.

(Written October 27, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Sunday Afternoon at the Supermarket

Having to go to the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon, for some people, must be quite a nerve racking event, but not for me. I actually enjoy my visits to the supermarket on any day and I do go quite frequently so as not to waste food. However, for some people, the arduous task is written all over their faces, one just needs to observe them. Observing people is one of my favorite activities.

As I drive my cart up and down the isles, I watch and learn. Learn about the people by what products they have put in their carts.  You can tell whether they are single, married, have kids, are trying to be healthy or just do not care and stuff themselves with junk food. You can also tell if they dread going to the supermarket.

This past Sunday it was not different. I noticed a young couple shopping together. They seemed to be in their early 20´s. Both were tall and slender but neither was smiling. The lack of the smiles was odd. Such a young couple, shouldn´t they have been radiant and shining their passion? I guess not.

I ran into them at many of the isles, you see even though I had gone to buy a couple of items, I go through each and every isle to see if there is a product on sale or something new in the market. As I was at the cash register, they were lined up right after me. I noticed that they hadn´t bought much, just a couple of beers, a big piece of meat, some potatoes, lettuce and a cake. I guessed that they were going to have a small party or it was their lunch; still no smiles.

All paid up and heading for the parking lot, I saw the couple come towards my car. I immediately understood that their car was parked close to mine. However, what caught my attention was the fact that the woman was walking ahead of the man carrying all the shopping bags while he was just carrying the car keys.

Those bags looked really heavy. Why wasn´t he helping her out? By the look on their faces, they were not speaking to each other, perhaps a lover´s quarrel; perhaps the end of a relationship; perhaps it was just their deal as to who does what when it comes to going to the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon. Whatever the reason, I just thought that he could have been kind and help her carry the bags.

(Written September 29, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Polka Dots Fell from the Sky

It was early October when the Family decided to move from an apartment in a poor part of town to a luxury house in the upper part of the city; beautiful four-story home on a quiet street with very few neighbors. For this reason they decided that they should get a dog to guard the house when the family was away at work and school.

The family consisted of a mother who worked at an international company; the father who was a partner of a chain of hotels that was just starting to become famous in the country; the son who was in the first grade and the daughter who was just a year and a half younger than her brother and went to day care.

The siblings would fight quite often and there was only one thing they agreed on: a Dalmatian. Both of them wanted this breed of dog. If they could have more than one it would have made them happier, but just one was a good thing too. However, they could not agree on the name of the dog, therefore, the parents decided that the dog would have two names.

 The boy wanted to name the dog Polka because he was studying about dances around the world at school and he really enjoyed the Polka. He also liked the pronunciation of the word and how his tongue rolled in his mouth when he said it.

The girl wanted the dog to be named dots because she really liked the way the Dalmatian’s coat was covered in little dots. It was as simple as that.

 So they decided on naming the dog Polka Dots.

Everyone really loved the name, especially Polka Dots who would wag her tail feverishly whenever she heard it.

Polka Dots became part of the family the same day the moving truck parked in front of the house. After the movers had unloaded all the boxes and furniture from the truck, the kids were entitled to go out to the pet shop and pick out a dog.

 It was love at first sight. They spotted her as soon as they walked into the shop and she immediately licked them and barked happily at them. It was settled, they took Polka Dots home.

The first night was tough for the whole family. Polka Dots howled all night long in its comfortable bed outside near the kitchen door. The kids wanted to bring her into the house but their mom said that that would be possible because she was going to grow into a big dog and big dogs needed outdoor space. Besides the inside of the house had to many nick knacks and that would be a problem. Polka Dots could knock things down and break them.

The kids tried to understand what their mother had explained, so each of them took one of their dirty t-shirts and put them in the basket where Polka Dots was. On the next day, their mother saw the two little kids sleeping with their heads against the kitchen door and holding hands. When she looked out the window, she noticed that Polka Dots was sound asleep with her head up against the kitchen door too.  What a heartwarming scene it was.

Time passed and Polka Dots grew big and strong. She really looked forward to 4pm when the kids would come home and play with her for some time before they had to go upstairs to do their homework.

While the kids were busily studying Polka Dots would roam in the front yard and bark at any stranger who would walk by the gate. Although she was a friendly dog, Polka Dots knew that she had to protect that family.

On one of those evening while Polka Dots was waiting for the kids to come home, a black car stopped in front of the house, rolled down the window and threw in a metal object covered in beef. At first Polka Dots just barked at the car and ran over to smell the object. She knew it was something yummy but she had never eaten anything like that before so she just sat there and waited for some one to come home.

The clock struck 4 pm and the kids came home. They noticed that Polka Dots did not come to greet them. They also saw the strange metal object. The boy, who was into science, took a closer look and noticed that it was a bomb covered in beef. He freaked out. He told his sister to back off. She started to cry and ran in the house.

The boy ran in the house after his sister and immediately called his father to ask for help. His father told him to dial 920 for help and let the police in.

In no time the police arrived and they tried to check what the metal thing was. However, Polka Dots had it in her mouth and as the police officer tried to take it from her, she growled. It was a very tense situation.

By now, everyone was back home. The whole family was united. All the neighbors came outside to see what was going on. There were even TV cameras and reporters trying to get the scoop. The kids were weeping. The mother was trying to calm the kids down. The father was negotiating with the police. The bomb rescue team had been called in and they thought of giving the dog a tranquilizer and removing the bomb and then taking it to a safe place to set it off. But that could be dangerous. It could go off with any brisk movement.

Suddenly the little boy told everyone to hush. There was a new sound in the air. It sounded like a clock ticking. Panic struck.

The police told everyone to back off. The bomb squad had the tranquilizer gun ready. The mother decided to take the kids to the neighbor’s. As soon as she opened the gate, Polka Dots took off carrying the bomb in her jaw.

The kids screamed. The police yelled. The bomb squad ran after her. Polka Dots ran as fast as she could. She found a hole that had been dug to insert some pipes for the new condo that was being built just up the road. There she hid quietly.

BOOM! From the house they saw a flash of light and dirt go up in the air. The kids screamed and started to cry. Polka Dots had saved their lives.

(Written September 30, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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Out the Window It Went

Saturdays were always sleep-ins. The only day of the week when the alarm clock would not go off at 5 a.m. Little did the family know that this Saturday would change their lives forever.

Dad was exhausted from a very stressful week followed up with a probable job loss. He still had a couple more weeks to work on a project that could save his job.

Mom knew what was going on with her husband and his job and was going to do everything she could to let him rest a lot on this day. She woke up quietly and headed for the kitchen to prepare a really nice breakfast for the family.

The kids ran into the kitchen all excited about the brand new day. The little boy was 7 and his older sister 9. They started talking at the same time.

“Kids calm down dad is trying to get some rest today. After breakfast we will see what we can do today. How does that sound?”

The kids agreed and told their mom that they would go and play in the living room until breakfast was ready.

The little boy grabbed the tablet first.

“Hey, I want to play with that.” the girl screamed.

“I got it first.” the boy yelled back.

Mom ran out of the kitchen horrified that all the yelling would wake up her husband.

“Kids, what did I tell you about dad’s sleeping in?” she reminded them.

“Sorry mom.” they whined.

Mom went back into the kitchen and resumed her chores. Meanwhile the kids played in the living room and dad was asleep in his comfortable warm bed. All of a sudden there was a loud cry. It was the daughter. She was sobbing out of control because her little brother had smacked her face real hard when she took the tablet away from him.

“He hit me! He hit me! He hit me!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Honey, please stop yelling you will wake up daddy.”

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

“You shouldn’t have done that to your sister young man. Now you apologize.”

“I will not. I was playing with the tablet and was almost winning the game!”

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

“You asked for it!”

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!” an alarming roar came from the bedroom.

“I am going to break that thing! Give it to me!”

The father was in the living room. They had awakened him and he was mad.

The kids hid behind their mom.

“GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME!” he grabbed the tablet and as if he were tossing a baseball, threw it out the window.

“There problem solved” he headed back to his bed.

The little children were shocked. How could their father have done that? He simply took the tablet and threw it out the window. The daughter had a problem and was unable to deal with her sadness. She just started bawling and headed towards the balcony.

The father heard a thump and ran towards the living room. His wife was on the floor unconscious; she had fainted and the son was just sitting next to the mother’s body wide eyed.

(Written September 20, 2014) Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

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The Girl Who Tried to Cheat on the Test

Last class of the day and the anxiety could be felt in the air as the teacher walked in carrying the TEST. It wasn’t difficult in the teacher’s point of view because she had decided that she would include similar exercises that had been done during the classes on the test. Since the kids had done them and had been present for the corrections, they should do well.

Some of the students, however, were not that prepared, especially Berta. Remember Berta, The girl from the story of the student in wolf’s skin? Berta had not studied for the test but it was a grammar test therefore, she would be prepared to use her cheating technique.

On this particular day she was wearing her torn jeans. They were beautiful and fit her quite well, but she had torn them herself and apparently wore them whenever she had a test. Why, you might be asking yourself? Well, the tears that she had made were basically on her thighs. What she did was very simple; she wrote the grammar formulas on her thighs and if she raised the torn area just a bit she would be able to see what she had written. She was confident that she would ace the test.

The test was handed out and placed upside down in front of her. She smiled and thanked the teacher, and anxiously waited for the test to start.

“Three, two, one turn over your tests and have fun!” the teacher said before sitting down at her desk.

Berta thought for a moment the reason why the teacher always said `have fun’ and not good luck like the others. How can anyone possibly have fun taking a test; most of all a grammar test? Slowly she turned over her test and started to read the directions. Oh my, good thing she had written the verb tense formulas on her legs, she thought and smiled.

Meanwhile the teacher was aware that Berta was going to try something. She wasn’t the brightest student in class but she was the most devilish. The teacher noticed that everyone had both hands on their desks as they answered the questions, but not Berta. The little girl had one had on the desk holding her pen while the other hand was on her thigh. She was definitely up to something. And suddenly it dawned on the teacher- could she have written on her legs?

Having this in mind, the teacher decided to stare at Berta to try to find out what she was up to and confirm her hypothesis. Berta could feel the teacher’s eyes upon her, so she looked up at the teacher and smiled. She always got away with murder just by smiling. She was a cute kid and her parents always let her off the hook when she gave them her irresistible smile, and she knew it was a powerful weapon.

A few minutes had passed and Berta checked to see towards where the teacher was looking. Oh my, the teacher was still looking at her. How was she going to check her formulas? She waited a bit. Suddenly the teacher let out, “5 minutes left.”

Berta started to panic. She had only done half of the test. She needed to hurry up. Lucky for her, her classmates when getting up and handing in their tests and blocking the teachers view. Because of this she managed to finish the rest of the test just in time.

As she handed in her test, she smiled at the teacher and said, “I studied really hard for this one.” She didn’t know why the teacher’s face turned red all of a sudden. Berta was proud to have fooled the teacher.

In the meantime, the teacher’s blood pressure rose, she had gotten away with this one for now. But then again, how could she have proved the student had written on her legs without embarrassing the kid? There would be other tests.

“Berta?”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Nice jeans by the way.” the teacher said without smiling.

Berta choked, “Thanks.” A chill ran up her spine. Did the teacher know? Students do say that teachers have super natural powers. Berta quickly left the room and headed to the bathroom. 

(Written September 1, 2014)Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.