The Mystery of the Missing Money

 

Rea has a lot of money. She hides the money in a box under her bed. One day Rea comes home from school and the money is missing. She looks everywhere but she can’t find the money or the box. Rea investigates the robbery.

 She looks for clues in her bedroom. She finds an English book. Rea has English class every Thursday. Her teacher is John. She asks her English teacher if it is his book.

“Is this your English book?” Rea asks her teacher.

“Yes, that is my book. Thank you,” her teacher says.

“Is that a new watch?” Rea asks her teacher. “It looks expensive. Where did you get the money to buy that expensive watch?”

 The expensive watch is another clue in the mystery. Rea thinks that her teacher is the thief.

 Her teacher says that he can’t come to class next week because he is going on holiday. He is going to Paris.

 “How can you go on holiday? It is expensive to travel to France. Why do you suddenly have so much money?” Rea asks her teacher.

Now her teacher is very nervous. He is thinking.

 “I won a lot of money in the fruit machine at the café. I won two hundred euros.”

 “That is very interesting, because my box of money is missing and I had exactly two hundred euros in the box,” Rea says.

 Rea is very angry. She knows that John is the thief. Rea calls the police. Two police officers arrive quickly.

Rea and the Fruit Machines

Part I 

Rea is ten years old. She lives in Valencia, Spain, on the coast of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. She has one sister who is thirteen yeas old. Rea and her sister go to the same school, but they are in different classes because her sister is older. The name of their school is Parque Colegio Santa Shakira.

 In the morning, Rea walks to school with her father. Her school isn’t far from her house. It is only three or four blocks away. She walks past a café on her way to school. Sometimes, she and her father stop at the café so that her father can have a cup of coffee. Rea only drinks milk in the morning. There are two fruit machines in the café. Rea can’t play the machines because she is too young. She isn’t old enough to play the machines. You must be 18 years old.

Rea has a lot of money. She hides her money under her bed in a metal box. Rea likes money. She wants more money. She watches people in the café play the fruit machines. Sometimes people win a lot of money.

“Maybe I can win money if I play the fruit machines,” Rea thinks.

She asks her father if she can play the fruit machines.

“No,” her father says. “You aren’t old enough, and everyone loses when they play the fruit machines. It is a very bad habit. Gambling is an addiction.”

A man is playing one of the machines. Suddenly, the machine starts to make a lot of noise and the lights are flashing. The man wins a lot of money. Rea can hear the coins falling in the machine.

“Mama mía,” Rea shouts. “That man is rich. He has a bag of coins. I want to win a bag of money.”

“He will lose it all again soon,” Rea’s father says. “Wait here at the table, I have to go pay for our drinks.”

Her father walks to the bar to pay for the coffee and the glass of milk. Rea is alone next to the fruit machine. No one can see her. Rea has an idea.

Tomorrow, when my father goes to the bar to pay, I will play the fruit machine and win a bag of money, Rea thinks.

The next morning, Rea and her father are at the same table in the café. When her father goes to the bar to pay, Rea puts some coins into the fruit machine. The machine starts to make noise and the lights flash. Rea wins ten euros. Rea puts the money in her backpack.

When her father returns to the table, Rea is smiling.

“Why are you smiling? Are you happy to go to school today?” her father asks.

Rea doesn’t know what to say. She can’t tell her father that she won ten euros.

“Yes, I’m so happy to go to school. I love school,” Rea says.

 Part II

Rea tells everyone at school about the bag of money she won playing the fruit machine in the café. People always talk about when they win money. But they never talk about the money they lose.

After school, Rea walks home with her mother.

“Can we stop at the café and have ice cream?” Rea asks her mother.

“Yes, but when we get home, you have to do your homework,” her mother answers.

Rea and her mom sit at a table near the fruit machines. Rea has ice cream and her mother has a cup of coffee.

“Wait here, Rea. I am going to pay the man at the bar.”

Her mother walks to the bar to pay. Rea immediately puts some coins in the fruit machine. The lights flash and the machine makes a lot of noise. Rea wins more money. She puts the money in her backpack. Rea is very happy.

Her mother returns to the table.

“Why are you smiling, Rea?” her mother asks.

“I’m happy because…because I love ice cream,” Rea answers.

Rea’s family lives on the sixth (6^th) floor of her building. When she gets home, Rea doesn’t do her homework. She sends messages on WhatApp to all of her friends at school.

“I won again!” she writes to her best friend.

“I’m rich,” she writes to Cesar.

“I am the queen of the fruit machines,” she writes to her cousin.

Now Rea has 60€ in coins. She changes the coins for three 20€ notes. She has an idea. She will bet all of her money.

The next day, Rea and her father stop at the café again. When her father goes to the bar to pay, Rea puts the three 20€ notes into the fruit machine. The lights on the machine don’t flash. The machine doesn’t make a lot of noise.

Rea loses all of her money.

When her father returns to the table, Rea isn’t smiling. She isn’t happy. She is crying.

“Why are you crying, Rea?” her father asks.

 

Two Strangers at an Airport

 Frank yawned. His flight wasn't for another two hours, and the wait was driving him crazy. It wasn’t easy waiting for a flight; airports aren’t the most interesting places in the world and there isn’t much to do.

 

He yawned again, and this time he felt time go by slower than ever. His trip to America seemed so distant. New York seemed to be light years away from him ...

 

He saw a girl walk by. Was it love at first sight?

 

The girl was tall and slender, with long black hair and brown eyes. She had a curious smile on her face as she looked around her. She seemed to be looking for something, but Frank didn't know what. She carried a small suitcase and a purse in one hand, and in the other hand she had her cell phone.

 

Frank almost yelled for her to stop. The beautiful girl was going to walk past without even looking at it. It was a tragedy.

 

Until, suddenly and without provocation, the girl asked him a question that would change everything.

 

"Where can I charge this phone?" she sighed. Apparently, she didn’t have her charger. Frank looked down, and then back at the girl. Our phones are the same brand, he thought. She can charge it with my charger!

 

Trying to act cool and calm, Frank raised his voice and spoke to her.

"I have a charger if you're interested."

 

The girl turned to Frank and nodded amiably.

 

"Yes, oh my God, I really need one, thank you!" she said in a cheerful voice, and sat down next to him. Frank felt nervous. He took his charger out of his bag without dropping it. His hands were shaking nervously.

 

The girl connected her phone into the charger, then plugged the charger into the wall socket.

 

"Does it work?" Frank asked, admiring the girl without her noticing.

 

"Yes!"

 

A few seconds of silence passed, and Frank got the nerve to talk to her.

 

"Where are you going?" She will surely be meeting her handsome and wealthy boyfriend, Frank thought.

 

“Ah, well I am heading to the United States. I'm touring America to post on my travel blog!”

 

Frank felt his heart melt.

 

"What a coincidence," he managed to say, "I'm going to the United States, too," he said with a nervous laugh. "New York City, to be exact," he added.

 

"Seriously? Me too!"

 

Frank couldn’t believe his luck. Without knowing why, he held out his hand. They shook hands.

 

"I'm Frank, nice to meet you."

 

"Kate, a pleasure." The girl finally had a name. It was a nice name, very pretty.

 

"What will you do in the Big Apple?" asked a curious Frank. "Do you have plans?"

 

"Well, yes, of course. I'm going to visit the Empire State Building, take a selfie in Times Square, and I also want to visit Central Park."

 

Frank tried not to show his amazement. It was exactly what he wanted to do. Of course, it was exactly what every tourist in New York wants to do.

 

“Ok, we have very similar plans, Kate. Tell me, why do you do for a living?"  (Or “What do you do?”)

 

Kate looked at him strangely. The topic had jumped from one extreme to the other, but she still she answered him.

 

“Well, I'm a writer and also a web designer. As I said, I have a travel blog,” Kate said. “What do you do?”

 

Frank wanted to lie to sound more interesting, but he knew that lying was never a good idea, and certainly not with a girl he liked.

 

“I am a business administrator. Although I work with many big companies, I would trade my boring job for yours. It sounds very interesting.”

 

The girl smiled and shook her head.

 

“Sometimes it is better to have a normal job. Sometimes my job can be very difficult.”

 

Finally, Kate asked, "When is your flight?"

 

Frank looked at his watch. The conversation had managed to distract him a while.

 

"In an hour and a half. And yours?"

 

Kate looked at her watch as well.

 

“Now that I think about it, it's the same flight!"

 

Frank tried not to show his emotion.

 

"I suppose so," Frank said, trying not to sound too excited. He changed the subject again. "Why are you traveling alone?"

 

Kate suddenly looked very unhappy and annoyed.

 

"The plan was to come with my boyfriend," she said, and Frank was seized by a sudden sadness, “but the idiot forgot my birthday so I broke up with him.”

 

Frank’s heart was beating hard. I have a chance, he thought.

 

"And you, why are you traveling alone?” she asked him.

 

“My girlfriend went to prison. She robbed the Valencia Art Gallery. You may have read about her in the newspaper. Her name is Hanna Black.”

 

The girl looked at him curiously, but she didn't ask anything. Then she changed the subject.

 

"And what will you do there? Are you planning to go other parts of the city? " Kate was already asking, not just answering. It was a good sign.

 

“Well, I want to go to music clubs, to the theater, in addition to the places that you also mentioned. I want it to be an unforgettable experience."

 

Kate looked thoughtful as she looked towards the boarding gate.

 

“We just met, but could you help me write my blog? I think you will have some interesting stories for my readers.”

 

Frank's heart was beating faster now.

 

"And how do you want me to do that, Miss Kate?"

 

"You could tell me about your experiences in a few days, after you have walked around the city. That would be good."

 

So, we will see each other again? Frank wondered excitedly. Apparently we will!

 

"Of course," he said without showing emotion. "I'd love to."

It wasn't long before they started calling the passengers of the flight, and the two travelers said goodbye with a smile.

 

“I’ll see you in New York,” Kate said.

 

“Yes, see you there.”

 

Then something really incredible happened. When Frank finally got to his seat on the plane, guess who was sitting next to him on the flight? No, it wasn’t Barack Obama, it was his new friend, Kate. She didn’t see him because she was writing in her notebook. When she finally looked up and saw that Frank was sitting next to her, she laughed out loud.

 

“I think something special is happening between us,” she said.

 

Two years later…

Kate looked at Frank and put her hand over his. They were on the balcony of an apartment with a beautiful view facing the sea. They lived on the coast of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea in Valencia. Now they both wrote the travel blog and they traveled all over the world, but they were always happiest at home in Valencia.

 

 

Questions

   1) How long did Frank have to wait for his flight to leave?

a) Six hours

b) Thirty minutes

c) One hour

d) Two hours

    2) What color were Kate's eyes?

a) Brown

b) Blue

c) Greens

d) Blacks

    3) Where did Kate want to take a selfie?

a) At the Empire State

b) On the site where the Twin Towers were

c) Central Park

d) Times Square

    4) What happened to Kate's boyfriend?

a) He did not want to travel with her

b) she was working

c) he cheated on her

d) None of the above

    5) Where was Frank and Kate's apartment?

a) Facing the sea

b) In front of the Statue of Liberty

c) Near Central Park

d) At the Empire State