Olesen'ka

This story happened to me about three years ago. I was at 11th form. We were undergoing practical training. My friend and I were printing some documents when I got one strange message. I opened my mobile phone to read it. Here I found: “U’ll soon die”. Well… very funny, still. But who could send me it? I decided to dial this number. A voice answered: “Yes”, and the line’s gone. I couldn’t even guess who I was calling to. Even the sex of a stranger. I wrote him a message: “U’ve got a childish voice”. He answered: “In case U don’t like my voice I’ll see would U like my axe”. The mystery frightened me. But due to my nature, deep in my soul, I don’t believe in any mystery. In the evening that day he wrote me that I would die in a week. I’ve told about this story to my boyfriend. He was shocked and suggested to find this stranger to punish him for this evil joke. I asked him to forget. It was just a joke, nothing serious. Some days later I got a message sitting in a classroom. We had a task to prepare a concert for teachers. The strange wrote: “U look nice today”. That made me very scared. I looked over. All my classmates were absorbed with work. People who were sitting around me were laughing at these strange massages. My friend whispered in my ear: “It’s Andrew”. I couldn’t believe it. He was near. Moreover, he forgot his mobile phone at home that day. It couldn’t be him. In a day I got another message: “U may save yourself if U dye your hair in red”. I was laughing all that day. Somebody was eager me to change the colour of my hair. Necessary to mention that I was blonde during that year. On the day of my “death” I was lying in a bed when I got his last message: “One, two…I will kill U….three, four…don’t U want something more?…” Strange way to impress me. I read it & went on to sleep.Two months later we were preparing one school competition. That day we were all together in our classroom. I was looking for something interesting in Andrew’s mobile phone. I sent it to me. When I looked at his number, something caught my attention. I remembered this number… But who it might be?... I found previous messages from my maniac & was quite shocked to find that this maniac was Andrew…. What made me angry was that everyone knew about it. Everyone except me!!!Poor Andrew… that day he asked me to forgive him a million times)))

Sofia

I must confess. I can read people’s thoughts. If you find it interesting I guess I can share with you some thoughts of one person. I noticed this young person with a rucksack on the back near the ticket-window on the Perm II when I was standing on the bus-stop.Quotation (lexic and punctuation are saved):“I’ve started to save my monthly scholarship since November. It’s my only earnings but I do not complain. This sum will be enough for a one-way ticket to the train “Perm – Anywhere-But-There”.I was right when I decided which things were necessary to take along. No diaries, no photoes, no telephone contacts, no addresses. Just face to face with my new life. Forgiving myself and others, forgetting old mistakes of mine, overcoming pressuring sensation of endless responsibility, I’m turning over a new leaf in my fate.I’ve made sure that nothing will prevent me from leaving, nobody will persuade me to stay. Because people are free in their decisions. Because nobody cares. The sum doesn’t change because of summand change. Add one person here, deduct another one there – and the result will be inchangeable. The life is not mathematics but the rules are the same. So I’m sure this place won’t suffer a lot from my absence. Perhaps, it even will feel itself better, who knows.I’ve promised myself that I won’t make no plans. It’s my new tactics. I’m fed up of desperation creeping over me everytime something goes out of my control. Certainly, it’s not a discovery – all people have their failed plans. But imagine, you believe you’re on the right way, you hope you’ll achieve the target, you put much effort into it, and it – alas and alack! – turns out to be the wrong direction from the very beginning. Okay, it’s possible starting once again. But is it sensible to try the second million time if it’s clear that people’s funny excuse about “zebra-life”, explaining their flops, doesn’t work in my case? My life is a huge dark space giving me a signal that it’s high time I stopped hating myself, because I’m unable to deal with it anymore, and dropped everything turning my meaningless existence upside down.Why am I inclined to believe that I will be more lucky somewhere else? Well, I’m starting from the very beginning and beginner’s luck!”At that moment I felt like asking him a question: “You seem to be angry of somebody…”Then I’m not sure whether he caught my idea or he just continued his thought.“Definitely. I’m angry. With myself. It’s the only feeling I can’t get rid of on the threshold of my new life.I did an effort to tell him: “I guess you’re about to make a great mistake. Are you aware of what a character of Audrey Hepburn in one old movie was told?You know, what’s wrong with you? You’re afraid to say “OK, life’s a fact”. It’s wherever you go because no matter where you run, you just stand up running into yourself.So, you cannot escape the problem if the problem is you. Does running away make sense?”I think that person was hesitating and my phrase would probably help to him to make up his mind. Whatever. He could hardly read my thoughts. But his thoughts…It seemed that all these words were imbued with familiar emotions, so they were not too difficult to me to read and understand. I wanted to tell him something else…Then the bus came.
29 April 2009 13:01

Irina

How strange we are…people. We take every problem for some burning issue. In fact, it is a normal reaction, because we try to prevent ourselves from extinction. It is our nature. It is in our blood. However, such tempting invention as money is far from our nature. It is a disease, and this disease is infectious, chronic and inherited. Actually, it is well curable, but still…If you are infected with it, at least, try don’t share it with someone else.Once, sitting in the café, my friend told me that he had lost his job. He was panic-stricken, because he hadn’t told about this fact to his wife. He is not a henpecked husband, but still…Wife is a wife and crisis is a crisis. I don’t know why. I don’t know where. I don’t know when. And I absolutely don’t know how I caught this idea, or, to be more specific, how the idea caught me, but I fond the only way out. At that moment the only thought in mind was “the crisis…the crisis would mow us all down…the crisis would mow down me”.So, we had to act quickly. What do you think was the idea? Of course, to find a treasure. There was only one problem – where. Nevertheless, the solution was simple to get for us, young and creative. I hope, you don’t believe it was an island with a cave, map with a cross and pirates with a parrot. Of course, no. You are not so hackneyed. It was a court with a sandpit, lively imagination, idée fixe and very curious dwellers, who were eager to know the reason why the couple didn’t let children play in the sandpit.You may ask “Why a sandpit??!” We may answer, but don’t judge us strictly, please. “The sand is taken to a sandpit every year therefore the upper layers of the soil must be soft, loose and they can be easily dug.” The second reason was a little bit more persuasive. “Some years ago there was a cemetery instead of children’s playground and a nunnery.” As far as we decided to act immediately, we didn’t have any equipment, so we had to borrow some sort of it from the children who were so excited to find out that adults would play with them. It appeared that little, plastic shovels were easy to use. They can dig, chop, stab, level and even… become broken. Remember!!! A shovel can’t cope with a pavement of brick! All the more, when it comes across a horse shoe.Fortunately, our weather forecasters had failed our nature exam once again. It would be interesting to know how many repeating of examination they had already flunked. So, we reached the nearest bus stop, shook out of our pockets eight rusty nails, three or four interesting pebbles and one horse shoe. “It seems that we need a new plan… and a new shovel for the boy whose was broken…”
29 April 2009 11:51

Artyom the Thirteenth

Nothing fascinating ever happen, not even something exciting or at least unusual.Just can't understand why everyone around tend to say that our world is so extraordinary and interesting.Every day is dully: I see everything that I've already saw, do everything that I've already done. Like in that song: the same faces and the same places.I don't know why the police wanted me to tell them about yesterday. Every day is a copy of another.And that day was by no means outstanding. Except for that I had been rather dissipated and awkward, and while crossing the street I was been carried away by the sight of flying iron (damn, they are so beautiful in the sunlight! I'm wishing someday i can fly it myself) and then I've been knocked down by a hipporider (I know that it's my bad, but couldn't he see me!?). It didn't hurt actually as hippo's fur softened the impact.After a small brawl with the rider I've looked at my watch and realized that I'm completely late for my appointment with a doctor (this stupid horn growing on my forehead really drive me crazy).Though I've been 15 minutes late doc Hill received me. She is a very beautiful woman. I can't even decide which of her heads is more beautiful (unfortunately she's already married).Doc Hill looked at me, at my horn. Made fun of it(something about horny or whatever... I wasn't listening).She said that this illness is common for people who suffers from a stress and gave me some pills.Then I immediately headded home to watch a game of quidditch and relax.You see, nothing special.What they have been wanting to hear from me? Aliens, espers and ghosts? Every schoolchild know that they had been all exterminated by humans a long time ago!
29 April 2009 10:56

Kate

Believe yourselvesOur dreams sometimes make us stare. I often think what the dream is. The majority of people is sure that dreams are just parts of our imagination and our thoughts which we have during the day. I always agreed with them but some days ago I understood that dreams are something more than just odds and ends of thoughts. That day I was very tired and exhausted. I had a very long and difficult day consisting of a great amount of problems which I had solve. That’s why when I came home and lied to bed I fell asleep at once. That night I saw many various dreams, but one I remembered the most had quite simple and tenuous plot: I move to a new flat (I don’t remember the reason of that move) and get acquainted with the woman who lives one floor up. We find out that we have a lot in common and that’s why we spend much time together discussing different philosophic problems. A very strange fact is that this woman is many years older than me but we don’t feel anything like the generation gap at all…I don’t remember the end of that dream. To be more precise, I didn’t pay much attention to this dream and forgot about it…for some time.Approximately two days later I went by bus to my University. I was reading a book trying to repeat some information that I studied at home for a test. Suddenly I looked up and met eye of the woman…from my dream! I bet it was she! I recognized her at once: the same copper hair and hazel eyes, the same striped pullover and lilac trousers. Yes, wearing a warm pullover in May is at least strange, but her pullover wasn’t the object of my thoughts at that very moment. I was thinking about…No, I wasn’t thinking at all! I was extremely surprised, all my thoughts flew away and I was looking at the woman with my mouth opened. The only thought wouldn’t leave me: «It’s she! I recognized her…» I should also mention a very interesting and surprising fact. On her wrist the woman was wearing a turquoise bracelet…my bracelet. It may sound very funny but the bracelet was really mine. I remembered at once that I lost it some months ago. I’d done my best to find it but all the attempts were fruitless. And now I saw the woman from my dream wearing it. In a while the woman noticed that I watched her very attentively. She came to me and whispered: -You’d better believe yourself but not other people’s false guesses.And she went out the buss. I think I’ll never forget that meeting. What is more, I hope to see the dream with that woman once again and I want she to explain me what she meant with her phrase in the bus. It’s already a year passed but I still hope.
29 April 2009 10:33

Mark

Personal Journal - Entry 1The fact that now you are listening this recording means I'm no longer alive at this moment. It all started in 2277... No wait... Let me begin my story another way.."War. War never change. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage. In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation. But it were not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeed in destroying the world - but war, war never change. In the early days, thousands were spared the horrors of the holocaust by taking refuge in enormous underground shelters, known as vaults. But when they emerged, they had only the hell of the wastes to greet them - all except those in Vault 101. For on the fateful day, when fire rained from the sky, the giant steel door of Vault 101 slid closed... and never reopened. It was here you were born. It is here you will die. Because, in Vault 101: no one ever enters and no one ever leaves." - These are my father's words. For 19 years I've been living in the Vault 101, the underground nuclear asylum without seeing a single sun beam. I never thought about exiting the Vault - it was my home. I thought that there is nothing on the outside. No live formes or anything... Well I just didn't know what should have been there centuries ago... Who would have tought that one day I'll be forced to leave the Vault for ever. One day my father left the Vault without saying a word. After that everybody regarded me as the son of the betrayer... I decided to find my dad and get the answers...
"...no one ever leaves...no one ever enters..." God damn it! This world is bogged down in lies...
________________________
End of recording.
29 April 2009 10:15

Eugennia Agafonova

My grandmother lives in a very small city naming Gornozawodsk. I should say that I really enjoy visit her. E very time she is glad to see us: she bakes tasty cakes and listens to our news very attentively. So, she is always ready to give us a warm welcome. The only defect is that she always wants us visit one of her friends. I don’t mind come round and see her friends although sometimes it may be boring.This autumn we also decided to visit her. So, we have packed our bags, put them into the car and set off. The weekend was amazing. We eat a lot of delicious cakes, watched TV and looked through great number of old photo albums. Finally, as usual, we went to see one of my grandmother’s friends. She was a nice of woman of middle age. Firstly, I thought it will be quite a bored visit, but, in fact, it wasn’t. Since the first moment I noticed that the woman was a bit confused and even surprised, but I couldn’t understand the reason. Anyway, she was very good hostess. A bit later sitting at the table, I had felt that she was curiously looking at me. Besides, during the evening she called me the wrong name twice. I was really surprised by her behavior.Some time later she apologized and explained her odd behavior. The thing is that the previous summer she visited her son who lived in Krasnodar and the daughter of his neighbors bore a strong resemblance to me. So, if she didn’t know that I spent that summer in Perm with my parents, she will never believe her eyes.I wouldn’t say I was surprised a lot. I suppose that somewhere may be a person who looks like my twin. If such a person exists, I would like see her.
29 April 2009 09:16

Artyom Khlopin

Today’s morning was as usual as it always was, except one thing I forgot where my lead pipe was. It wasn’t much of a problem but I have to throw it in A Great Trash-bin to proclaim the end of the process of my pubescence. All my friends had already threw it and now it’s my turn to do it. While getting through the amniotic fluid of my Mother House I recalled some moments of my previous life, I remembered that I had fallen over the staircase and got my skull crashed open. I didn’t want myself to end up this way again so I put on my anti-slippers. I exited my apartment and headed towards my workplace. I was crossing the road and right at that very moment I was ran over by a drought tongue. It was slippery and reeked a lot. “What the hell is that?” – asked when I get out of under the tongue. The taste bulbs of the tongue were shaking may be it was scared or something else, anyway it approached me and licked. “Sheesh cut it out already! What’s the meaning of all this? What do you want of me?” – I asked with annoyance. The tongue went spinning and eventually fell into sparkling pieces. The only thing that left from it was crumpled sheet of paper. I picked it up and unrolled it. The writing read “By the time you read it the Master is already had passed away, your service is no longer needed.” I rolled it and put it in my pocket. I looked up and saw The Eternity making its last breath.
29 April 2009 09:07

Julia Tretyakova

This story happened to one of my mother’s friends. I’m sure you don’t know him, but nevertheless I won’t call him by his real name…Let him be..hm..Mister N. So, here’s his story…“..- Honey, do you remember about my boss’s Birthday party? Do you promise being there?- But…- Darling! You know how it’s important for me!- Okay! I’ll be there..”This talk Mister N had with his wife in the morning of that remarkable day. Actually, they had been arguing about that dinner for a week. Mister N didn’t want to go. To tell the truth, he couldn’t to stand such boring, from his point of view, parties. His wife, on the contrary, was fond of them, because during such parties she usually managed to do her businesss and to meet very important people. This dinner was going to be the same. But Mister N decided at least once to help his wife and to please her.At 18.00 he took his car and went to the restaurant. He was a bit at a hurry, because he had only half an hour to get there. He was crossing the road when suddenly he noticed a strange man in a very odd costume. The costume looked as if it had been created in XIV century (the fashion, the colour..). though it was usual for Mister n to meet people, especially young people, in different and strange costumes that man attract his attention, because his manners were unusual either. So, Mister n stopped the car and asked if he could help him. The man answered that was in need to get to the M Square. The manner of his speech was also quite strange and too pompous. At first Mister N supposed the man to be a very good actor and wanted to go away, but then he decided giving him a lift. As he pronounced his offer expression of horror appeared on the man’s face. He refused getting into “this evil machine”! no doubt, Mister N was really astonished with these words, but at that moment already he was too interesting in the man to go away. Eventually, Mister N managed to persuaded the man to accept the offer. When they got to the Square a storm began. The man got out of the car and…disappear! Mister N couldn’t believe his eyes…Then he glanced at his watch ..OOPS!..it was 21.00. He was late, but nevertheless he decided going to the restaurant.When he arrived, the party was over and his wife had already gone home. He knew that she won’t talk with him. Then he remembered to search the man on the square in the pouring rain. And he decided his story to be his excuse for not to turn up, but would anybody believe him?And do you believe?
29 April 2009 08:48

Jenny Systerova

The ginger shadow

That night I took a long walk along the motorway, gliding away towards the city, I was going to. It was already eight o’clock, though the yellow hot scrap, suspended in the milky sky, was shining like a hundred-watt lamp that has cut a darkness in the room. It was the heart of the summer and the stuffy air was saturated with tunes of the birds and naughty sunbeams. I was languid with the heat and took out a bottle of mineral water from my travelling bag when I saw a ginger shadow, sliding on the opposite side of the road. I put my sweaty palm on my forehead. “A sunstroke?” – I thought and took some sips of the chilling water. The suspicious foxy shadow continue mowing along the road, leaving a slight path of the dust. “I bet I’m not insane.” – I assured myself. A strong wave of agitation run over me. I looked narrowly to this creature, my eyes squinted. I can’t believe my eyes! It was a tiger! But what he was doing in Russia nearby the city? I didn’t know. I was shocked. But indeed, it was the tiger. The strange striped creature with disheveled hair was strolling slowly in my direction. My placid heart made of glass sank in the fear. I was nearly to become panic-stricken and utter a shrill scream. But I found myself disable to produce any sound and stepped back. The tiger leaped into the forest line. Suddenly the huge van with coal cage reached me and blocked my way. I was perplexed. What the hell is going out? I pondered. A man, a cigarette in his mouth, leaned out of the car and with his reddish face. In the moment I thought I was really insane. With a smiling face he asked: “My dear, have you seen a tiger somewhere here?” I nodded and showed the direction, the tiger had gone to. He thanked me and disappeared in the haze of the burning summer. I breathed. It turned out, that it was the circus van and the odd man with a cigarette was looking for a tiger, who had ran away somehow from the cage in the circus these morning.“Rubbish!” - I laughed to myself and vanished in the deep silent kiss of the evening.
29 April 2009 07:29

Julia Tyukalova

Breath of Life

July, heat, dust… asphalt jungle, and I’m in the centre of it.
I don’t know who am I. I don’t remember how I got there. Actually, I’m ignorant at all of everything that happened to me before the heat…I think I’m going a crazy…No, I’m definitely lunatic.I feel hot asphalt burning my foot…I’m going barefoot, but I don’t know where…just straight on. No aim, no point, no wish…I hear bells ringing in my ears and people laughing and crying, boasting and complaining. I bet my head is going to burst because of these noise. My feeble and exhausted body is snatched of my control and I’m carried away by the savage stream of pedestrians. The hell noise is increasing…People, what you are talking about? Please, shut up…Snatches of meaningless talks penetrates into my mind…Economic crisis, naughty children, unfaithful wife, severe chief…dinner…dinner…What a nice idea to have a dinner! I believe the last time when I had it to be many centuries ago…Magically, by sudden impulse my body is thrown out of stream of running people and I finding myself in a Chinese restaurant. Now I’m sitting at the table and looking at the menu. Sushi, rice, vegetables, shrimps – all these things has been tasted by me in my past life. Than my look settles on fugu…and I make an order. The waiter looks at me anxiously and asks “Are you sure? Do you know what kind of fish it is?” Such a strange guy! Certainly, I do...I hope so…Now I’m eating it. No taste, no smell, no pleasure…I don’t remember whether I eated it completely or not, whether I paid for it or not. It doesn’t matter, because now I’m outside, I’ m looking at a Bentley, parked at the restaurant…Now I’m driving it…The idea of running a car that I has stolen arouses feelings unfamiliar to my. I feel blood running in my veins; I feel my heart beating rapidly. Yes, it breathed life into me. But I’m just half-alive, half-happy. What else can I do?I don’t know how I got inside an airplane. There are 5 more guys with parachutes at their backs, and a trainer loudly giving us regulations how to exercise a parachute jump. But I turn a deaf ear to his idle talk… Now it’s my turn.I’m taking off my parachute and I hear the trainer shouting at me…and with the words “Don’t worry, I do not need a parachute” I take the step towards my freedom…Now I’m in free fall. I feel that my body gravitate to earth, but my soul and mind are frees… I see birds greeting me and approving my flight…Now I feel wind touching my body, I see blue sky and I remember my short life in details… Now I’m absolutely alive, absolutely happy... but earth is too close to me…Crash!I open my eyes and jump out of bed. It’s so dark! “Of course, because it’s a night” my inner voice says. One more nightmare. I go to bed, close my eyes thinking that it’s great that it’s January, it’s cold and hot July must come only in 6 months.
28 April 2009 20:28

FINDING OUT THE TRUTH ISN'T ALWAYS PLEASANT

DEAR ALL!

HERE I'D LIKE YOU TO PERVERT YOUR MIND AND MAKE UP A STORY ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO YOU ONE DAY FOLLOWING SEVERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1) BY NO MEANS ANYONE SHOULD BELIEVE IN YOUR STORY;
2) BY NO MEANS ANYONE SHOULD BELIEVE YOU ARE NUTS/FRUITCAKE/MINUS SOME BUTTONS/CRAZIER THAN A BEDBUG/GONE BANANAS;
3) BY ALL MEANS EVERYONE SHOULD BELIEVE YOU'RE TALENTED LIER/WRITER/ETC;
4) LAST, BUT NOT LEAST: MAKE 15 GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES IN YOUR STORIES, MAKE THEM SO HARD TO FIND, LET YOUR COLLEAGUES SWEAT!

GOOD LUCK!

Some work well done. Unfortunately, not much :-(

There are only five people who did the work by time. That's not much, but it's up to you, you deprive yourself of the benefits.

The task for the next Thursday will be to critisize your colleagues' works (critisizm does not necessarily mean you have to find faults in your colleagues' projects, you may appraise some of the positive sides of the work, say what you liked, disliked, what you would change, agree or disagree with the point of view of the author, etc.)

I'd like you as well to correct grammatical mistakes and mistakes in spelling, logic, syntax, coherence, etc.

Thus, you are to read thoroughly and analyse ALL your colleagues' works, and give your comment to each of them.

This Week Hometask

Dear All!
Nice to see you again here! If you read it, it means you you are here anyway!

This week the task will be the following:

Think of the meaning of the expression "Acute issues of the world". What issues do you think it might presuppose? Think of any issue of the world which you think to be acute and in CHATTER-PIE II state what the issue is, give your reasons why you think it is acute, and give the information about this issue. Your work should include the introduction, explaining your choice of the issue, the main body and the conclusion, containing your suggestions on the problem solution, possible ways of the development of the problem, your attitude to different points of view on the issue, etc.

The task should be done by Thursday, 19th.