Short Story

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Ngai Yi Lam 4B

A magic book

John went to Dubai with his family during his summer vacation. One day, when they were wandering along the street, John discovered a mysterious shop located in an alley. As he was very curious about the unique location of this shop, he strayed away from his parents and sneaked into the shop.

“Creak…”

The door was pushed open quietly.

“Is there anyone?” John crept into the shop and asked. However, no one responded to him. The wind bell rang because of the howling wind. This made John shiver with fear.

“Welcome to my shop, and you can find various kinds of goods here!” a female shop assistant came out from the depot.

John glanced around and he gave all his attention to a book that was placed in a transparent box.

“What is this? Why do you place it in such a way?” John pointed at the box to show the assistant what he was talking about.

“Well, this is a magic book. When you open the book and think of your dreams in your mind, they will all come true in a second,” the assistant replied boastfully.

“Are you lying?” John frowned. He could not believe it at all.

“Of course, I’m not! If you are interested in it, I can sell it to you with a cheaper price!” the assistant continued.

John scratched his head thoughtfully. “Maybe I can use it to help me finish my homework!” he laughed at the thought and he finally spent one hundred dollars buying the book. The truth was revealed after they came back to Hong Kong…

“Hey, John, how come you’re still playing with your PSP?” John’s mum glared curiously at John as she knew that he had not finished any homework during their trip to Dubai.

“No worries!” John replied confidently. “I am sure that the teacher will not scold me when I go back to school.”

“Okay…”Although John’s mum was quite puzzled, she believed that John would not lie to her.

Time flew and John’s summer vacation came to an end. When he entered the classroom, he saw lots of his classmates doing their unfinished homework. He was very happy as he thought that he just needed to rely on the magic book.

“John, come on.  Finish your work quick.  Are you waiting for the punishment from Miss Wong?” Alex asked while rushing through his summer assignments.

“I have already finished all my homework,” John replied and gave Alex a secretive smile.

“It’s really unbelievable!” Alex doubted.

Soon the bell rang. “Anyone hasn’t finished the holiday homework that I assigned you?” Miss Wong asked, pacing down the aisle. “If no, then pass out all your homework.”

“It’s time for me to use the magic book,” John immediately took out the book from his drawer and opened it with expectation.

After he opened the book, he followed the instructions that the assistant told him and waited patiently for his wish to come true. A few minutes later, when he checked all his homework, he could not find any answers.

“What happened?” John was very confused and he tried to check the instruction page to see if there was any missing point. However, what he could only find was a price tag which was written “Two dollars”. John screamed hysterically.

“What happened to you, John? If you haven’t finished your homework, stay behind after school and do it!” Miss Wong said angrily.

“I was being cheated…” John scowled miserably…