Week [4] of June Holidays.

"Great! Look what you've done" Pete hissed.

Still in shock, and soaked wet, Frank couldn't move. The gate opposite opened.

A tall bald man in a black T-shirt ran out and saw Josh.

"You little rascal!" he shouted.

Josh suddenly recalled Miss Amy's face as she said, I have no choice but to suspend you if your poor behaviour continues.

"I'll be calling your father later," warned the bald man. Josh recognized him as one of his Dad's workmates.

Josh felt depressed. He shrugged off his worries about school and the accident and returned home.

Week [3] of June Holidays.

The interview with Miss Amy wasn't as tense as Josh had feared. She asked him and Mr James to sit down.

Miss Amy began to talk to Josh and asked him. "Is there anything that is making you angry?"

Josh couldn't think of anything, so he shook his head.

Mr James interjected Miss Amy as she was about to reply Josh. "Why do you keep going for Pete? Do you hold some grudge against him?" he yelled. Josh didn't know why.

Miss Amy took off her glasses.

"This isn't the first time such incidents have occurred, Josh. Even if your grades aren't satisfactory, please have some decorum. If this carries on I would have no other choice but to suspend you from school. Do you understand?" she reprimanded.

Josh nodded slightly. His eyes were pricking with tears. Miss Amy put her glasses back on again and patted his back.

With that, Josh stood up and strolled back home.

As he turned into the street where his house was, a jet of cold water caught him right between the eyes. Another stream of water hit Josh hard on his shoulder.

"Said I'd get you, Josh Denver," jeered Pete.

Pete raised the water pistol and showered Josh with water.

Josh had enough, his blood was boiling. Josh grabbed hold of Pete's arm and swung it violently, hurling the water pistol as far as he could.

There was a short-lived silence which was then replaced by a sound of cracking glass across the road.

Week [2] of June Holidays.

Josh's classmates trooped in sweating, red-faced and noisy.

"Hey, Josh, you should have seen me save a goal," shouted Ricky.

"Yeah, but you didn't save my goal as it sailed past you, did you, Ricky?" Pete asked sarcastically.

He suddenly glanced at Josh's term paper and his mouth was agape.

"Oh my, Josh! I don't understand! Who on the face of God's green earth could fail such an easy paper?"Josh exclaimed as he tried to stifle his laughter.

Josh launched himself at Pete and grabbed him by his hair. Pete stumbled and fell flat on his back. His shoulder banged against a chair and both of them fell in a struggling heap. Mr James stood at the entrance of the classroom wide-eyed.

"On your feet, both of you! Atrocity!" he ordered. Pete was holding his hand to his shoulder, groaning in agony.

"You wait, Josh Denver, I'll get back at you." he shouted, as he pushed Josh aside and got on his feet.

Josh, white-faced, stood bewildered. It had happened so fast, it was like a train wreck. Mr James looked at him and shook his head sadly.

"Be in Miss Amy's room straight after lessons." he uttered.

Week [1] of June Holidays.

Something made Josh look up from his textbook. Across the classroom, Adel was holding a rule in front of her mouth like a microphone. Her wispy ponytail swung side to side as she closed her eyes and dramatically mouthed a song as if she was in front a crowd of a million people.

Everyone in the class burst into laughter.

Mr James, a tall kindly man clad in a green track suit, looked back and glanced around the class. Everyone had their heads down, pretending to be hard at work.

"How is your work coming along, Josh?" he asked.

Josh ran his fingers through his ginger hair. The truth was that it was in a complete fiasco.

"Well..It's coming along..great!" he attempted to lie convincingly.

"It better be that way."Mr James answered, crooking his eyebrows.

For the rest of the lesson, Josh was either looking out the windows or sleeping.

The bell went for the start of break. Mr James dismissed everyone except Josh.

"Josh, come here."he said.

Josh wasn't too happy as the rest of the classmates trickled out of the classrooms to the canteen or the play area.

"Quit dragging you feet and hurry up Mister."yelled Mr James.

Josh stood in front of Mr James and awaited his instructions.

"Do you know why I am holding you back?" he asked.

"No idea, Sir"Josh replied.

Then Mr James flipped through the pile of paper on his desk and fished Josh's out.

"See it for yourself,"he said as he shoved the paper into Josh's hands.

Josh's heart sank. All he could see were messy red crossed everywhere on his paper. The top page of the pile was covered in neat red ticks and even had a "Well Done!" sticker pasted on it.

"I'll give you one last chance," said Mr James.

"If you still fare so badly for the test term paper, I shall send you to Miss Amy. She will probably speak to your parents and decide how to deal with you. You jolly well work harder. Do you understand?" he questioned loudly.

Josh nodded and heaved a sigh.

At this point the bell for the end of break sounded.

Josh wanted to just run out and play and he wanted to cry but all he could do what to sit down at his seat and stare out of the window watching his classmates flocking back to the classroom.

T2W10 Journal

Gerard's definition of an idyllic life is one where he is omnipotent.

He grew up to lust for fame and avarice.

After several years of condescending to his adroit teachers, he finally reached the zenith of his career, as a renowned businessman.

He did receive everything he had yearned for-wealth and a successful career. But what he failed to acknowledge was that he had no friends and no family.

Gerard has forsaken all his relationships and his decorum to become the lonesome man he is today.

My Favourite Author.

Well, favourite author? The truth is I don't read a lot. No kidding.
I watch movies. Hearing the language is definitely better than just reading it. Both can be equally exciting. You don't have to be a dictionary to understand a movie/TV show.
Just watch an English show, that cannot be as taxing as anything else. I am NOT discouraging you from reading. I am merely trying to say that watching English shows can be equally helpful sometimes. So why not give it a try?

So introducing my newest favourite author: Harlan Coben.

I recently picked up one of his books, "The Woods", at the library. The start of the novel was a little dry but the story slowly unfold into a compulsive page-turner.

Well here are some of the information I google-ed.

1)Harlan Coben is a past recipient of an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award, and an Anthony Award. In fact, Harlan Coben is the first writer ever to win all three of these awards.

Wow. Remarkable achievement isn't it.

2)Born in 1962 in Newark, New Jersey, but brought up and educated in Livingston, he graduated from Amherst College with a degree in political science. After working in the travel industry, he eventually turned to writing full time.

Who would have known that he as a budding writer during college in a political science class?

3)Harlan Coben published two stand-alone thrillers, Play Dead and Miracle Cure, while still in his twenties. But his true success came with the Myron Bolitar series of thrillers. The Myron Bolitar character is a former basketball player who becomes a sports agent and frequently finds himself having to investigate and solve murders involving his clients.

How many of us can publish two thrillers when we are only in our twenties?

4)Harlan Coben is a good friend of Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code.

Hey, who knew that the "flair-for-writing" virus can be passed from person to person. I wish I had it.

5)The plots of his novel very often revolve around past events that have gone unresolved or have been misinterpreted, like murders and fatal accidents. Harlan Coben's novels are usually fairly complex and involve multiple plot twists.

Mystery stories never go out of style.

The book I fell in the love with is: "The Woods". Basically, it is amount a group of four people who ventured into the woods. Two of these people in the group were found dead with a slash on their throat. The other are still yet to be found.
The protagonist of the story, which is a County Prosecutor is the brother of one of these missing victims. He finds himself having to battle his emotions and confront the truth again when one of the other victim is found dead in his apartment.

Go get the book if you find it intriguing, I am not going to spoil it any further.

T2W9 Journal

The obese man was inebriated.

Clement laid his heavy head on the bar counter. It was about midnight and the bar was closing for business. Hence, the owner, went forward to Clement to exhort him to leave.

Initially, Clement pretended not to hear the bar owner and continued sitting there. But when the bar owner tapped his shoulders to "wake" him up, Clement sat up and shove his hand aside.

The owner showed his pique by shouting, "Leave my bar now!"

Now Clement thought that the owner was courting trouble with the attitude of his so he refused to leave.

The fracas started when both of them exchanged glares. But Clement did not stand a chance, he was not fit or strong unlike the owner.

The owner did not spare his adversary a chance, Clement laid on the floor of the bar, whining in agony.

T2W8 Journal

Fred always had an insatiable desire for avarice even when he was young.

He grew up to be a stock investor, who encouraged and helped people to invest in the stock market.

After a few months, being a stock investor, he was tempted to invest some of his pay.

"What was there to lose? Everyone is earning.. stocks are climbing." Fred thought.

Sure enough he thought that nothing could impede him from earning more money and he invested all his savings at one go.

Initially, the stocks continued to rise and Fred never had the slightest thought of withdrawing it. He wanted to earn more.

Then on that very fateful day, the stock began to drop. Irrationally, Fred refuse to withdraw the stock, thinking that it will rise soon. It continued to drop and soon enough Fred found himself in a bedlam.

T2W7 Journal

Cody was an ambitious person from young. He had always dreamt to be someone powerful, like a doctor.

Finally, after many years of hard work serving in the hospital, he finally managed to reach the pinnacle of his career.

Initially, he was in exultation. He continued to serve patients as an ardent doctor but soon he grew weary. He in retrospect felt that what he doing was meaningless and began to falter. Now he was beginning to feel that being a doctor was tiring and unfulfilling.

He was no longer that passionate doctor who earned day and night to cure mankind but he became egotist who care nothing more than himself to bother about others.

T2W6 Journal

"Get on with it!" The hostile boss rebuked at his secretary.

The lethargic secretary evinced a half-reluctant nod and carried on with her work.

Lunch was approaching and she could practically smell the aroma of the food wafting towards her from the food court one storey below.

"Only fifteen minutes more.. bear with it" she thought to herself as she stared at the clock.

Her colleagues were busy doing their own work as if they were unaware that they were minutes from a long-awaited lunch.

But the hungry secretary could not wait any longer. It was a tussle between her conscience and her yearning for good but she decided to sneak out early.

However her excitement was transient when she realised that food court was not operating for business today. Which explains why her colleagues were ignoring the lunch hour.

T2W5 Journal

Jon was in the doldrums as he sat in front of his computer which he had been staring at for the past afternoon.
Be it Monday or Sunday, day or night, there's one place Jon will always be- at his computer. You could consider it an awesome sight to see him leave that "jail" of his.
His parent's efforts to stop him from his addiction to the computer were as broad as it is long.
Needless to say, Jon's grades were deplorable.
His parents are often rueful that they had pampered him when he was young, making him the couch potato he is today.

T2W4 Journal

Steve made a cursory glance around the diner, thinks about how it’d feel to just get up and walk out. But then he considers the uncountable reasons to stay and the guy from the bank calling this morning about his missed installment payments.
The waitress comes back with the coffee pot and fills Steve’s cup until he stops her about an inch from the top.
She drops off a small plate of dry wheat toast, lightly toasted, at the top of his plate.
Amos drops two bacon slices on top of his bread. “Make yourself a sandwich,” he says.
"No thanks,"Steve replies, adding a spoonful of sugar to his coffee and stirring it with one of the diner’s dirty spoons.
Amos goes on eating.
The awkwardness after not meeting for more than three years is undeniable despite the fact that there hasn't been much difference then and now.
Now Steve has his own doubts about the Amos he is with. Is he still the vulnerable yet bizarre kid who had a fetish for voodoo dolls or has he changed into other person? Many of such questions flashed in Steve mind as the tension continued to escalate.
"Where are we heading after this?" Steve asked.
"Let's go head over to the Voodoo Shop!" Amos exclaimed.
The tension seemed as if it was sucked away into a void of emptiness.
Steve managed a half-reluctant nod. Since young, when Amos and Steve were still in high school together, Amos would often force Steve to go to that shop that Steve abhors.
There was once when Amos bought a voodoo doll using all the lunch money he got for the week. When Steve found out he was laughing at Amos' imprudence.
Seeing that Amos was finishing his plate, he paid the bill. He is still one dyed-in-the-wool weirdo he muttered to himself as Amos and him made their way to their destination- The Voodoo Shop.

T2W3 Journal

I spent an inordinate amount thinking about how to get out of this treacherous place but I came up with nothing.
The weather was maladjusted and the mosquitoes were irascible.
"We're trapped here for good.." I thought.
The thought alone shook me.
Something had to be done to save us, someone has to do it, but who is it going to be? I kept asking this question, hoping that a miracle would send us out of this torturous site.
Morning was approaching. I had to think fast.
I felt guilty on organizing this trip. I am responsible for their situation now and their lives rest on my shoulders. Who was I to ask them on such a dangerous trip which turned out terribly wrong?
I was both physically and mentally exhausted but I set out of the cave to find an exit out of this unpleasant place.
I was on the qui vive for any threats in this unknown place as I took a glance at the seemingly unending hectares of jungle.
Since we had ventured here alone by a boat and we arrived at a beach, all I have to do is to find the beach and we could be saved!
But that was easier said than done.
After a day of such torment, I was lost for directions.
"How was I suppose to figure out where the beach was? In this gargantuan jungle?" I enunciated loudly.
Just when I was on the verge of breaking point, I heard weird sounds. Whatever it was it seem to be getting louder, as if it was approaching me.
I made a dash for the cave but the next thing I knew, I collapsed.
It must have been days past, as I found myself lying on firm, comfortable bed. I opened my eyes slowly to find my family around me.
I heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that we have been rescued.

T2W2 Journal

A gust of chill wind blew, sending a shiver through me.
Here we were in this recondite cave and in a sad plight. It was dark already and the wind was blowing stronger.
The group of us were in a frenzy to get out of the forest. Sam proposed the idea of waiting till dawn but everyone demurred. Though many of us were weary and weak, we wanted to leave this place swiftly.
It was imprudent of us to had the idea of venturing into such territory and now we have landed ourselves in such a predicament.
However, I knew that it was only going to get more dangerous if we tried to escape now. Hence, I made the decision that we rest here till morning. But I knew i was only deluding them, I had no idea on how to go out of this place.
The group acknowledged my decision and went to rest.
I knew I have to take action immediately.

T2W1 Journal

Steve walks into a diner, the one where he’s supposed to meet Amos.
The diner’s built out of an old cable car, with a lunch counter along one side and booths
on the other. Amos sits alone at the last table eating, hunched over his plate, long brown hair
hanging curly around his face.
Amos smiles when he sees Steve. “Steve!” he exclaimed, showing Jack the other side of his
booth with a big hand, not getting up. “You look good. Like you put on a little weight.” He
winks. “In a good way.”
“Thanks.” Steve pats his back.
He pondered and realized that it has been more than three years since they last met each other. As much as Amos would have hoped for a remarkable metamorphosis, Steve still looks like the obese scion of the cinema popcorn seller.
Of course, Steve had his little share of good points. He was not a disciple of materialism despite his opulence. Though he had a lot of things Amos did not have, he never discriminated Amos.