Friends Over Fears - K5 Learning

1 Level Y-Z Reader K5 Learning 2020 72 Friends Over Fears F o r as lo n g as Mi a co uld reme mbe r, she h ad b een t er ri fied o f sna kes. S he h ad s kip ped t he cl ass f ield t rip to the z o o , and o n th e d ay J ames had br o ught h is pet s na ke i nto th eir s ev e nth-gr ad e m at h class, Mi a h ad run into th e h all way, tea rs po o l in g in h er eye s. Wit h every passing year , Mia s fear of snakes seemed to be getting worse. R ecent ly, s he h ad st art ed to av o id pl ayin g i n the lo c al pa rk bec ause so metime s th ere wer e sma ll ga rd en s na kes in the gr ass.

2 Jess had been Mia s best friend since kindergarten. Jess wasn t afraid of snakes or anything else that cra wled o r slit he r ed . In g rad e 5, s h e had hun g a hug e po ste r o f a bo a co ns tric to r o n her bed ro o m w all, but s he to o k it d o wn bec aus e it bothered Mia so much. Jess knew all about Mia s snake phobia, and sh e used to fi nd it funny, but n o w it h ad g ro wn wo rri so me. I f Mia s i rr atio n al f e ars ke pt gett in g w o rse, ho w lo ng w o uld it b e be fo re s he w as a f raid to ev en l eav e her o wn ho us e? One d ay, Mi a we nt to v isit Je ss.

3 Th e new v id eo g am e, Gr een Gho st s Go ne W ild, h ad j u st be en r ele as ed , and J ess h ad bo u ght it. Mi a was sto ked . P lay ing a new ga me, es pec ial ly o ne as e pic as G ree n G ho sts Go ne W ild, w as a majo r ev en t. aquarium anticipation contemplating phobia worrisome apprehension Level Y-Z Reader K5 Learning 2020 73 As Mia stepped into Jess room, she froze. What s that? Over Jess s sho uld er, she co u l d see a mass iv e g lass ta nk. Jud g in g by its s iz e, i t probably wasn t built for a small cr eatu re, and t her e was no w ate r in the tank, so it wouldn t contain fish.

4 Logs, leaves, and stones were scatt ered alo n g t he bo tto m o f t he aqu ar ium. Sud d e nly, a sca ly ta il fl ash ed o ut f ro m ben eat h so me le av es; M ia jum ped and l et o ut a shri ek, inst ant ly b ound ing b ack int o the h all w ay. What s wrong? Jess asked, looking both concerned and a little guilty. Does the snake really bother you that much? Mia no d d ed , her eyes d a rti ng bac k and fo rth be twe en J ess and th e d ista nt g la ss t ank . She felt be tr ayed . How co uld Jess bri ng a sn a ke into he r ho us e, kn o win g ho w M ia f e lt? Tiger is totally contained in the tank, Mia.

5 She can t escape, Jess offered weakly. Come on I kno w ho w b ad ly yo u w ant to pl ay Gre en Gho sts Go ne Wi ld. It s just a few steps around Tiger s ho me to get to my computer. You don t understand how scary that is for me, Mia snapped. She felt a hot tear roll d o wn he r che ek, and , tu rni ng her b ack o n Jess, s he sto m ped o ut o f th e ho use, plo p pi ng herself down on the steps outside of Jess fro n t d oor. When she felt Jess hand on her sho uld er, she s hru gg ed it o ff, stil l a ngry at her fr iend and co nt e mpl ati ng go in g h o me whe re it w as s af e.

6 Level Y-Z Reader K5 Learning 2020 74 Jess sat down silently beside her friend. A few minutes passed. I m sorry for scaring you, Mia, Jess said, attempt in g to co nso le h er fr iend . As Mi a b re ath ed i n the fr esh o ut sid e ai r, he r p an ic sl o wly tur ned i nto emb ar rass ment . S he g av e Jess a w ea k smi le. Sh e w a nted to b e pl ayin g th e g ame , no t f igh tin g w ith her best f rie nd. S he k new the snake couldn t escape the tank; m aybe i f she av o id ed lo o kin g at the t an k, she co ul d co ntro l h er emo tio ns w hil e in the r o o m. Mia decided to be brave.

7 I m going to try, but don t let me go anywhere near Tiger. Jess no d d ed so le mnly a nd th e g irls re-ent ered t he h o use. Mia s tay ed clo se to Jess as t hey c a utio usly crept into Jess s room. Mia purposely star ed a t the w all o ppo sit e th e t an k as she found her way to Jess s monitor. See, that wasn t so bad, was it? Jess gri nned . Mia scowled; she didn t agree, but she kept quiet. One look at t he slith ery rep til e w a s eno ug h to se nd chill s d o wn h er s p ine. The next day, Mia took her bike over to Jess house for another bout o f G ree n Gho s ts Go ne W ild; ho we v er, he r en thusi as m to pl ay th e gam e w as m ixed i n wit h a pp re hens i o n abo u t be in g in the s ame ro o m as t he sn a k e.

8 Level Y-Z Reader K5 Learning 2020 75 The closer she got to Jess house, the more Mia obsessed about the snake. She was just getting off her bike when Jess fro n t d o o r f lew o p en, fo llo w ed by a smal l h and wav i ng ra pid ly in her fa ce. Hey Mia! Come on in - let s get started, Jess shouted excitedly. Mia scowled slightly as she wearily stepped into Jess house. Jess could be so insensitive. It was as if she had forgotten about Mia s fear, or didn t care at all for her feelings. Thro wi ng M ia an anim at ed g rin, Je ss led h er fri end i n to the bed ro o m. Mia glanced uneasily at Tiger s cage.

9 It took all of her courage, but she managed to make it to Jess s computer in a few quick leaps. Mia glared at Jess as she caught her breath. Can we pl ay th e game now? I don t want to spend any more time thinking about that oversized worm. Jess lau gh ed , an d star ted th e g am e. The g irls pl ayed u ntil it w as t ime fo r Mia to retu rn ho me. Mi a w as exh austed , and s he ya wned s lee pi l y as sh e go t u p. Goodnight, Jess, she said, before turning her attention for the first time towards the sn a ke o n t he o ther s id e o f the r o o m. Tiger mad e her way fro m o ne sid e o f th e a qua rium to the o t her, o cc asio n al ly lif tin g h er h ead to let her tongue dart out.

10 Mia didn t en jo y th e si ght, but sh e w as mesme riz ed by ho w ea sily s he wri th ed o v er le av es an d aro und br anch es. F in al ly sna pp in g b ack to rea lity, Mi a d eci d ed she h ad been in Tiger s presence for far too long. Level Y-Z Reader K5 Learning 2020 76 Goodnight to you too, I guess, she mumbled, making her way to the fro nt d o o r an d clo sin g it fi rmly beh ind he r. The g irls pl ayed t he v id eo g am e e v ery d ay af ter s ch o o l that we ek. Mia was still bothered by the snake, but at least her stomach wasn t churn in g a nymo r e whe n sh e tho u g ht a bo ut i t.