Write a story about how you played a part in a rescue

My name is Tenerife. Folks call me "Ten". I come from a poor family and we live in the poor
workman's quarters on the outskirts of a Mexican city. Dad is an odd job worker and Mum is a
domestic help. She works for a rich family in the city. When Dad is at home, he is often drunk and
likes to beat both Mum and me.

I hate school. It is boring and the teachers call me "stupid". The rich children will have nothing to do
with me and after a theft in school, even the poor children ostracized me all because the pesky
teacher fingered me unfairly as the prime suspect. I was cleared eventually, but the stigma remains.
Hence, I often play truant.

One day, I was hanging outside Uncle Willie's store, gazing longingly at the chocolate candies inside.
Then, my attention was drawn to two men. One was tall, lean and looked young except for a shock
of white hair on his head. He looked mean. The other man was stocky and even more sinister-
looking. The men were paying for their purchases at the cashier. They had bought a lot. A fortnight's
supply of food, I reckoned. "Come on!" the small man grumbled to his partner. "Let's get going."
They went out of the store and towards the car park. What attracted me, however, were the stacks
of colored liquorice they were carrying. I was hoping to have one of them if I pestered them.

However, I had no such luck. The men glared at me. Something in their manner was strange and my
sixth sense told me that something was amiss. I decided to follow them secretly. At the car park, one
of the men, decided to go to the toilet after loading his bags. Dave, his friend, decided to accompany
him. My attention, however, was drawn to his prolonged stare at the partly opened car boot. "What
could be inside it that made him look at it for so long?" I wondered.

After the men left the car, I approached the boot. To my surprise, I heard muffled cries of a small
child in need. Putting my ears to the car metal, I heard, "Help me! Help me out!" Shocked
and flabbergasted, I reassured the child as loudly as I could, all the while keeping a lookout for the
two men. Then I acted quickly. After mentally noting the make of the car, color and the vital license
plate number, I made a dash for the nearest police station.

But it was here that my troubles began. At the police post, they did not believe my story. In the first
place, I was out of place in my school uniform. I was sternly asked why I was not in school. A phone
call by the officer to my school confirmed his suspicions that I was a truant. My pesky teacher told
him that I was untrustworthy. Then I was escorted back to the school in disgrace. It never occurred
to the authorities to wonder why I would want to lie to them in the first case about the cries in the
car.

That very night, I heard news from my village people that confirmed my fears and suspicions. A
prominent politician's only son had been kidnapped. The kidnappers wanted a huge sum of money.
After hearing this, I felt vindicated and prepared myself for a visit from the police.

When they arrived at my home, I was treated with care and respect. In fact, I was treated very well.
After ascertaining from me a detailed account of the morning's incident, Inspector Basheer left,
leaving me to answer the excited queries from my neighbors.

The next day, Inspector Basheer was back. The police had traced vital particulars of the criminals.
They also knew where the car was stolen. However, they still had no clue as to the whereabouts of
the kidnapped boy. Could I, they had asked, remembered anything more? I scratched my hair and
tried to recall that morning's event. Then I shouted out something to their delight, "Chaco Mount
Ain!" I explained excitedly that I had heard the kidnappers mention this place twice that morning.
Delighted, the officers left.

That night, I learned from my neighbor whose friend owned a television set, that the police had
caught the kidnappers. I could not sleep that night, happy in the knowledge that I had played no
small part in helping the boy and his parents.

The next day was one I will not forget in my life. In school, the Principal and Inspector Basheer
invited me to the stage in the school hall. In front of the pupils, I was commended for my bravery,
civic-mindedness and alertness in helping them nab the criminals. I also received a cash reward from
the grateful father of the boy, now safe at home.

ostracized shunned

liquorice candies

flabbergasted shocked

Write a story based on the following scenario: You went on an expedition with your friends and
encountered a difficult problem at its last stage.

Joseph was my best friend. He was the only son of Adam Tan, a well-known former athlete and a
member of the first Malaysia team to reach the South Pole in an expedition. Hence, many expected
and assumed Joseph to be as sporting as his father. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Since he was young, he has been a weakling. He suffered from asthma and preferred to stay indoors.
He preferred to read books and was nicknamed "Professor" unkindly in class. He did not seem to
mind these remarks until one day. That particular day marked the first death anniversary of his
father who died tragically in an expedition in the Mautu wilderness in Africa. He had been gored by a
wild bull on the last mile of his expedition.

So on this anniversary of his father's death, he was stung by the jibes of Bala and Azhar, his
classmates. They had called him `weakling', remarking that he was a disgrace to his father. He lost
his cool and fought with the bullies. Of course, he lost. From that day onwards, Joseph devoted
himself to building up his body. He exercised religiously and turned his attention and efforts
enthusiastically to sports. No one, he vowed, would bully or compare him unfavorably to his father.

Joseph joined the scouts troop in my school and became its leader. We were all agog with
excitement when we learned that the school had planned an expedition in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It
was also meant to be in memory of Joseph's father, who was its former adviser.
The expedition really tested the mettle and skills of my fellow scouts and me. Though we had the
help of our two teacher advisers, we were determined to succeed in the expedition which was to
cross a mountain, river and forest. The last stage was the forest and we were within sight of our
target. We had only four more kilometers to cover before we would emerge from the forest and
successfully complete our expedition in the required time. If we succeeded, we would be the first
school team to have done that in record time.

However, on December 27th, Joseph experienced a recurrence of his asthma. We noticed at first
that he was faltering behind us. When we asked him whether he had any problem, he gave us the
thumbs up sign. Just before the last kilometer, his team-mate, Shafiq, noticed his labored breathing.
His face was pale and Shafiq signaled us to stop walking. We gathered around Joseph anxiously and
forced him to stop and rest. Then we noticed his trembling hands. This was serious trouble indeed.
When we asked him about his medication, Joseph said that he had lost his pills somewhere during
the expedition. Behind us was 20 kilometers of wilderness which we had covered. We had left our
teachers two kilometers behind us as it was agreed that we would attempt the last stage ourselves.
We could not go back; it was a matter of pride. Furthermore, it was too difficult. Ahead, lay
civilization in the form of the nearest village. We had to cover the last stage ourselves.

While we were deliberating on our best course of action, Joseph had all the while, been pleading
with us to carry on. "Help me finish the expedition for the sake of my father. This expedition is in
memory of him and he did not complete the final stage of his last expedition" was in essence what
he was blurting out faintly.

Joseph was therefore carried piggyback by four of us alternating in turns, on this last lap. How we
made it and burst through the jungle into the clearing we did not know. It seemed an eternity but
according to our teachers who timed us, we had taken half an hour.

Half an hour! We went through hell at that time. Enduring pesky mosquitoes and squelchy mud
were only minor difficulties. Carrying Joseph was a very heavy load but we did not mind the physical
part of the burden. What worried us was not finishing the expedition in record time but that Joseph
would die before he received medical help.

We struggled. By Herculean strength of spirit and body, we labored the last meters. We reached the
village, but the welcome team did not get to complete their cheery support. They cut short their
cheering when they saw us carrying Joseph. He was later rushed by helicopter to the capital, Kota
Kinabalu, after receiving medical aid. We later learned to our relief that he was hospitalized but had
not got out of the critical stage.
Five days later, Joseph came home from Sabah. The school gave him a hero's welcome. After all, he
had tried and completed the last stage of the expedition in his own way. He had not disgraced his
father. After this, Joseph returned to the pursuit of his first love - his books.

agog eager

mettle courage

pesky annoying