PART 7

Staying out of Trouble

Α. Nicola
I didn’t know Tonia and Angela very well, but we hung out every now and then. That was until I got an unpleasant surprise one day when we decided to go to our local department store after school. Angela wanted to buy a dress for a party she was going to, and Tonia and I decided to tag along. As I was admiring a silk scarf, Tonia came up behind me and whispered, “Take it!” in my ear. I must have looked confused because she added, “Just put it in your pocket.” When I refused, she was annoyed and told Angela to ignore me from then on. I was upset for a while but, a few days later, I learnt that they had been caught shoplifting. Their parents had to go to the police station and, because they’d done it before, they were in a lot of trouble. I was really glad they weren’t my friends any more.

Β. Oscar
Colin loves joyriding. He’ll steal a car and drive it around for a bit, then abandon it somewhere. To be honest, I went with him a few times; it was exciting. I used to admire Colin because he knows so much about cars – his dad’s a mechanic, you see. Colin’s only 15 so, legally, he’s not supposed to be driving at all and of course car theft is a very serious crime. Apart from that, he goes kind of crazy when he’s behind the wheel. He drives really fast and recklessly, but that’s part of the fun. The last time I went with him, we crashed into a parked car. Luckily, we were both wearing seat belts, so we weren’t hurt. Nobody saw us, and Colin just drove away. But it put me off the whole idea for good. I hope Colin stops, too, before he hurts himself or someone else.

C. Rebecca
It was a lovely summer’s day – perfect for a long walk and a picnic under the trees. When I heard the motorbike the first time, I didn’t pay much attention, to be honest. Then we heard the bike coming back down, and I had a good look at them. They were in an awful hurry. There were two people on the bike, both wearing black leather jackets and jeans with black helmets on their heads. Not long after, we smelt the smoke. My sister insisted that we walk back to the car immediately. It’s a good thing she did. Very soon, great orange flames were moving quickly down the hillside and threatening everything in their path. Lots of trees were destroyed. I look at the area now, all black when it should be green, and I feel very sad. Why do people do things like that?

D. Walter
I was sitting on a rock, admiring the view. The sea was very blue, and I could see a white fishing boat not far away. I’d just climbed out of the water after a long swim, and was getting my breath back while enjoying the heat of the sun. A plume of water suddenly burst out of the sea and after a split second I heard a loud ‘boom’. At first I couldn’t understand what had happened, but then I saw the fishing boat heading for the spot where the plume of water had appeared. The fishermen had nets in their hands and they began scooping up fish from the surface. I realised they were fishing using dynamite, which is illegal. I was glad I wasn’t in the water when the explosion occurred, but very angry with the fishermen who obviously didn’t care about how dangerous their actions could be.