{"id":7589,"date":"2020-08-10T03:49:17","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T03:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/?p=7589"},"modified":"2020-08-10T03:52:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T03:52:57","slug":"healing-ones-heart-in-the-new-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/archives\/7589","title":{"rendered":"Healing one&#8217;s heart in the new decade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cThe time now is eleven forty.\nTwenty minutes later we will enter the New Year!\u201d Said the news reporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; This was the brightest New Year\u2019s Eve ever in\nthe recent years in New York City. All the lights were on, all the shops were\nopen, all the people were awake\u2026The city was filled with joy and excitement, as\nthey were celebrating the coming New Year and decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cFifteen minutes left! Fifteen minutes later\nwe will say goodbye to 2019 and welcome our New Year and decade\u20142020! I repeat,\nfifteen minutes left!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; There in a bar near Times Square, sat a\nlonely young lady. She was about eighteen, and she had a pretty face. There she\nsat in the corner, all alone, having her milk shake. Unlike the crowd, she didn\u2019t\nlook thrilled. She kept stirring and staring at her milk shake. It seems that\nthere deep inside her heart, hid a lot of secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cTen minutes left, I repeat, ten minutes\nleft!\u201d The crowd cheered as the news reporter announced. They were very\ndelighted. All the New York citizens were excited about the coming New Year and\ndecade. A lot of people had already gathered in Times Square, waiting with their\nfamily and friends. Inside the bar, people chatted loudly, sang songs, danced\nand drank. You could find happiness everywhere in the city, and the happiness\ndoubled as time passed. However, the young lady in the corner remains silent\nand calm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cAs there are ten more minutes, I suggest\nyou, my friend, to recall the moments that had happened in this year of 2019.\u201d\nThe news continued. \u201cNo matter whether they are happy or not, we like them or\nnot. You may also think of the goals you\u2019ve set in the beginning of this year.\nHave you reached them? Have anything special in your life happened this year? Have\nyou learnt anything new this year? Have you got to know yourself more? Have you\nchanged some of your bad habits?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cUmm\u2026 Nothing special happened\u2026Yeah, I am still\nmyself. Nothing changed\u2026 Everything\u2019s the same\u2026Yeah\u2026\u201d The young lady thought as\nshe heard the news reporter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Suddenly, the bar\u2019s door yanked opened. Five\nyoung men walked in. The five young men\u2019s age was about the same as the young\nlady\u2019s. All five of them were handsome and well-built. However, you could see\none of them was more attractive and charming than others. If you happened to\nsee him, I bet you would look fixedly on him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The appearance of the five young men caught\nthe young lady\u2019s attention. As she saw them, she quickly realized that she was\nwrong about nothing special had happened this year\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The young lady was called Janet. She was a\nuniversity student. She was shy, so she seldom talked to others and never\nshared her own thoughts with others. She wasn\u2019t outgoing, so she always sat\nalone in the corner. She was a calm person, and sometimes she was indifferent\nto everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Like the past school years, this year when\nJanet was having her first lesson in the university, she was still avoiding\ntalking to others, and went straight to the back of the classroom and sat in\nthe corner. After she sat down, she immediately took out her own notebook,\nlower her hand and pretend that she was reading her notes, hoping no one would\nnotice and talk to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;Ten\nminutes before the class started, five young men rushed into the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cPhew, that was close,\u201d one of the young men\nsaid under his breath. \u201cWe\u2019re almost late for class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cActually, we have ten more minutes,\u201d said\nanother young men as he glanced at the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cLet\u2019s get to seat, boys,\u201d another young man\nsaid as he looked around the classroom. \u201cUmm, it seems that one of us needs to\nsit alone in the corner while the rest of us sit in the front role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The classroom was almost full. The only seats\nleft were the seat beside Janet and four other seats in the front role. The\nfive young men looked at each other. None of them wanted to sit alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cLet\u2019s have paper-scissors-stone then!\u201d one\nof them said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cPaper-scissors-stone? Come on! How old are\nyou!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201c18, and if you have a better idea, then say\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cOh please, at least don\u2019t do it in the\nmiddle of the classroom. I don\u2019t want others to see us doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cTime is running short, be quick!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cFine I will go.\u201d One of them said.\u201d I am\nsick of this. See you guys after the lesson!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The young man who volunteered to sit in the\ncorner walked towards the seat beside Janet in the corner. However, before he\nsat down, he had to make sure that the seat was really empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cExcuse me, is this seat empty?\u201d he asked\nJanet gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet jumped as she heard the\nquestion. Looking up from her notebook, she saw a handsome young man standing\nnext to her. She stared at him with her mind all blank. She wasn\u2019t expecting\nsomeone talking to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\n\u201cUmm\u2026Excuse me? Is this seat empty?\u201d the young man asked again politely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\n\u201cOh! Umm\u2026No. Oh! No! I\u2026I mean yes, this seat is empty\u2026\u201d Janet mumbled\nwith a reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\nThe young man smiled, then took his seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\nJanet was so embarrassed. Her face turned red. This was the first time\nshe spoke to a male stranger. She tried to stay calm and act normal, but that\nonly made her worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\nLuckily, the professor walked inside the classroom and distracted her\nthoughts. As the lesson started, the young man took out his notebook, and got\nhis pen ready. Janet took a peep at the book and saw the young man\u2019s name.\nBenjamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cBenjamin, what a cute name\u2026\u201dJanet thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The professor started to talk, Janet tried to\nfocus, but she had a hard time following his talk. The professor was talking as\nfast as a jet. Other students in the classroom had a difficult time to follow\ntoo. They had asked the professor to repeat for a dozen times. However,\nBenjamin could follow almost everything the professor talked. It seemed it was\na piece of cake for him to follow what the professor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; When it came to a short break, the students\nwere still busy making their notes. Benjamin was the only student who had\nfinished making his notes. Janet was trying her best to remember what the\nprofessor had talked about and put them down in her notes, but no matter how\nhard she tried, she could only remember a few of them. Seeing Janet in trouble,\nBenjamin helpfully gave Janet his notebook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cYou need some help? You can copy my notes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Janet was astonished as Benjamin talked to\nher again. \u201cUmm\u2026 No\u2026 I could do it myself\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cReally? No offence, but you look like a\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Janet stopped Benjamin to continue on his\nsentence by scowling at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Benjamin immediately got his note book back. \u201cSuit\nyourself,\u201d He said with a shrug and a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; After a while, Janet finally gave up.\nHowever, she really wanted to complete her notes. She didn\u2019t want to ask\nBenjamin, afraid that he would laugh at her. Therefore, she peeped at his note\ninstead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The young man had really sharp eyes, he\nnoticed that Janet was pepping his notes. He made her a funny look, and asked\nJanet, \u201cHey, didn\u2019t you say you could do it yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Janet shot him a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Benjamin smile again. \u201cHere, take it.\u201d He\nwhispered, acting the way how Janet talked as he handed his notebook to Janet. \u201cIt\u2019s\na bit messy, but I think you can read them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Janet shot him a dirty look, and whispered\nback, \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The lesson continued as the break ended. This\ntime, the professor finally slowed down a bit. However, Janet still couldn\u2019t\nfollow him. Not because she could not catch up, but her mind flew to other\nplaces. She was still thinking about what had happened at the break time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat a strange guy,\u201d she thought. \u201cWhy\ndoes he always smile? Why would he help me? I don\u2019t know him, but why is he\ntreating me like a friend?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\nThe most astonishing thing is, every time when she thought of what had\nhappened in the break time, Janet could feel that her heart was beating so\nfast, and there was warmth inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\nThe young lady could not help herself anymore and she stared at the\nyoung man who sat next to her. Benjamin noticed the stares again, and he felt a\nbit uncomfortable. Still he asked politely, \u201cMay I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\n\u201cOh! Nothing! I am fine, thank you.\u201d Janet quickly lowered her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\n\u201cIt\u2019s okay if the answer is no, you can have them continued in the New\nYear! You can also set a new goal, and put away the past, the sad things, and\nlook forward! Yes, in the New Year, we will be happy and smile again. It\u2019s\nreally important to heal your heart if your heart was hurt this year. Anyway,\nthe time now is eleven fifty-five! Five more minutes to go! I repeat, five more\nminutes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; The news reporter\u2019s report and the crowd\u2019s\ncheer pulled Janet back to reality. Janet glanced at the five young men. She\nsaw Benjamin there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; She leaned forward to the table, tried to\nlisten to what the young men were chatting. She could hear that they\u2019ve ordered\n5 take-away drinks, including 1 milk shake, 2 coffee and 1 chocolate latte. She\ncould also hear their conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cYou hear the news guy? He said that we\nshould heal our hearts if they are hurt.\u201d One of the young men said. Janet\nlooked closer, and recognized that he was Benjamin\u2019s brother, Lawrence.\nLawrence looked very similar to Benjamin, both were blond, and had shiny eyes.\nLawrence was two weeks older than Benjamin, and they had the same height. The\nbrothers were close to each other and always stuck together, this made people always\nmix up the two of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cYes, I wish I can do it too.\u201d The young man\nwho sat beside Benjamin said. Janet recognized him as well, he was Benjamin\u2019s\nbest friend, Edison. \u201cAs you know, I am in love with\na girl. This is okay to me, as I have experienced the feeling of love. However,\nthe problem is, I haven\u2019t experienced the love of first sight. This is the\nfirst time that I have fallen in love with someone by first sight. I usually\nlove them after we get along with each other. I am really nervous, what should\nI do if I really love her? I don\u2019t know her very well yet, and I am too shy to\ntalk to her. What if she already has a boyfriend? What if she actually hates\nme? I don\u2019t know whether she wants to know me or not. This really annoys and\nhurts me. I know this sounds\nstrange, but\u2026 my heart really hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUmm I would say if I were you, I won\u2019t hope\nto know whether she likes me or not.\u201d The young man who sat next to Edison\nsaid. Janet took a minute to recognize him. His name was Tony. \u201cI mean, as you\nguys know, I love a girl too. I tried to talk to her, but every time I walk\ntowards her she will walk away as well. One time I succeed to talk to her, but\nshe immediately tell me to go away. She hates me. I tried to forget her, but I\ncan\u2019t! I mean, I am still in love with her, although I know she hates me a lot.\nI know it\u2019s meaningless to continue this love, but\u2026but it\u2019s really hard to give\nup this love too. This really hurts me. What can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Oh yours are kid stuff, mine is more\nhurtful.&#8221; The young man who sat next to Edison said. Janet knew him too.\nHe was Matthew. &#8220;As you know, I have a brother. However, he ran away from\nhome two months ago. Nobody knows why he had run away&#8211;he didn&#8217;t leave any\nclues or notes to us. We are living happily, and we seldom argued. There&#8217;s no reason\nthat he has to run away from home! We are all worried about him. We haven&#8217;t\nheard any words from him. We don&#8217;t know where he is, how is he\u2026 We tried to call him, but he\ndidn&#8217;t answer the call. I miss him very much. My younger sister and I haven&#8217;t\nslept for weeks! How can I heal my heart with this?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hearing the young men\u2019s own business made\nJanet felt a bit embarrassed. Then she thought of her own problem. Her heart\nwas hurt as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d Janet handed the notebook back\nto Benjamin.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d Benjamin said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lesson ended. The students started to\nleave the classroom. Soon, the only people left in the classroom were Benjamin,\nJanet, Lawrence, Edison, Tony and Matthew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Benjamin finished packing his things,\nhe turned to Janet. \u201cWell, I figured out that we haven\u2019t been introduced. My\nname is Benjamin Robinson. You can call me Benjamin or Ben for short. What\u2019s\nyour name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet was about to answer, but then Lawrence,\nEdison, Tony and Matthew hurried to Benjamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHey! Benny, can you hear what the Old Rapper\nis talking about?\u201d Tony asked without noticing Janet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cOld what?\u201d Benjamin asked,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cOld Rapper. That professor. He is like,\nrapping instead of speaking. Anyway, can you hear what is he talking about?\u201d\nEdison said. \u201cI can only hear a few.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cYes. I can hear.\u201d Benjamin replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCan\nyou lend your notes to us?\u201d Matthew asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSure,\nbut not now. Let\u2019s leave the classroom first. I will give it to you once we are\nback to the dormitory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThanks,\nBen, you are the best brother in the whole world!\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin\nmust have forgotten the conversation between Janet and himself. The five young\nmen walked out of the classroom. Leaving Janet all alone. Janet hurriedly\npacked her stuff and walked out of the classroom. However on her way out of the\nclassroom, she was tripped by something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet\npicked the thing up. A blue pen was lying in her palm. She recognized it was\nBenjamin\u2019s pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet\nhurried out of the classroom. She ran through the corridor and searched for\nBenjamin. Far away, she saw Benjamin\u2019s head. She ran towards him, but there was\nso many people. Janet pushed her way through the crowd,&nbsp; but when she got\nout of the crowd, Benjamin had already gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cYour drinks are ready.\u201d The coffee shop\nowner said to the five young men as he served the drink to them. \u201cBy the way,\nwish you guys have a happy New Year and decade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cThanks.\u201d Benjamin said. \u201c Let\u2019s go out to\nthe Times Square and have some fun there, boys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; \u201cSure, a walk will be fine to me.\u201d Matthew\nsaid.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAgree.\u201d said Edison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat are we waiting for? Let\u2019s go!\u201d Lawrence\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The five young men stood up and left the\ncoffee shop. Janet looked up from her mind, and found out the young men had\nalready left. Janet quickly rushed out of the coffee shop, and tried to follow\nthe young men. However, as she stepped out of the coffee shop, she only found\nherself in a crowd.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOh no, not again.\u201d Janet murmured to\nherself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet remembered before the five young men\nleft the coffee shop, they said that they were going to Times Square.\nTherefore, Janet handed to the Times Square to look for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When she arrived at the Times Square, she saw\nthousands of people. She looked up and saw the New Year\u2019s Eve ball. She also\nsaw the big screen that showed the countdown. It showed how much time left for\nthe new year. Janet glanced at it and saw there were only\ntwo minutes left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strangely, Janet wanted to find Benjamin very\nmuch. \u201cIf the last thing that I want to do in the year of 2019, I would say is\nto find Benjamin.\u201d Janet thought out loud. \u201cI hope I could find him in these\ntwo minutes.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet\nlooked around and pushed her way through the crowd. This reminds her the time\nshe wanted to return the pen back to Benjamin. \u201cBenjamin? Benjamin? Where are\nyou?\u201d To her surprise, she yelled. She had never yelled in public before.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ncrowd was too noisy. It covered Janet\u2019s voice. Janet was very anxious. \u201cTime\nwas running out,\u201d she thought. She looked up and saw there was one minute left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOh\nno. I am not going to do it. Oh no.\u201d Janet was very sad. Her strength all went\naway.She wanted to give up. She wanted to go back home. However, Benjamin\u2019s\nsmile appeared in her mind. Janet\u2019s strength went back to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOh\nyes, I am going to make it! I can do it!\u201d Janet thought. \u201c I still get forty\nmore seconds.\u201d She continued to look for Benjamin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin\nand his gang were in the front of the crowd. They were drinking their drinks,\nas they watch the countdown. When it came to the last thirty seconds, Matthew\nsaw a familiar figure next to him. When he\nlooked at the familiar stranger more closely, he led out a loud gasp, causing\nall his friends jumped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMarko,\nis that you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMatt?\u201d\nthe man who stood next to Matthew said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew\njumped into his brother\u2019s arm and they hugged each other. The four young men\nwere stunned at first, it took a moment for them to realize what had just\nhappened. They cheered for the reunion of the brothers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suddenly,\nthe crowd cheered. Benjamin,&nbsp; Lawrence, Edison and Tony looked up and\nfound out there was only fifteen seconds left. They looked back at the brothers.\nThey were still hugging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFIFTEEN!\nFOURTEEN! THIRTEEN! TWELVE! ELEVEN! TEN!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201c Promise me,\nMarko. Don\u2019t leave us\nanymore. Stay with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cNINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marko!\nPromise me please!\u201d Matthew was crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cFIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cONE!!!\nHAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BOOM!\nA colorful firework bloomed in the sky, it\u2019s like it was for the brother\u2019s\npromise. The crowd cheered. Matthew burst into happy tears. He hugged Marko,\nsqueezing him so tight that he could barely breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u201cThis is the best new year ever!\u201d Matthew cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin,\nLawrence, Edison and Tony were so glad that Matthew had finally met his\nbrother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp; Looks like Matt that guy has already healed\nhis heart,\u201d Lawrence whispered to his brother and his friends. \u201cHow about you\ntwo?\u201d He looked at Edison and Tony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\nthink I know how to heal my heart. You see, my heart was hurt because I was too\nshy to speak up. So&#8230;If you guys don\u2019t mind, excuse me\u2026\u201d Edison turned away\nand walked to the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin,\nLawrence and Tony looked at him in astonishment&#8211;They didn\u2019t know what he was\ntalking about and where he was heading to. Then they saw Edison walking towards\na lonely young lady. Then Edison started to talked with her, and after a while\nthey chatted happily, like they were close friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\nEddie!\u201d Lawrence laughed when he saw them chatting. \u201cOh my, so he has healed\nhis heart by talking to the girl he loves and gets to know her. How about you,\nTon?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\nam going to do like what Eddie is doing. You see the girls over there? They are\nall beautiful. More beautiful than the girl that I loved at school. By seeing\nthem, I can finally put that girl down. My heart isn\u2019t in pain anymore! Hey! I\nhope I can do it nicely, like Eddie over there. So wish me luck!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin\nand Lawrence giggled so hard, and they watched Tony walk towards the girls. The\nbrothers smiled at each other. Lawrence put his arms on Benjamin\u2019s shoulder and\nthey looked at Times Square with great joy. The brothers hoped that this new\nyear and new decade would be a good one, and wished for a happily ever after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet\nslowly walked back to her home. She was in the worst mood ever. She was very\nupset, and she felt that she was a failure. Tears were rolling in her eyes. She\nlowered her head on her way home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As\nshe walked passed a convenient store, she remembered her mom had asked her to\nhelp her to buy a pack of&nbsp; wet wipes. Janet reached her hands into her\npockets, trying to find her money. But instead, she found a pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tears\nrolled down to her cheeks. She didn\u2019t have time to return the pen to him. No,\nshe didn\u2019t have CHANCE. She never able to sit with&nbsp; Benjamin, talk to him\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her\nheart was hurt. She was so sad. She sat down at a bench and cried. \u201cWhy am I so\nintroverted! Why can\u2019t I be more outgoing! If I am an outgoing person, I will\nbe his friend, and I won\u2019t be missing him so much, I won\u2019t become heartbroken,\nI won\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After\na while, Janet calmed down. She dried her tears. She understood that it was\nuseless to continue crying. She should cheer up. It wasn\u2019t too late to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom\nnow on, I need to be an outgoing person. I have to jump out of my comfort zone.\nI have to get to know others. I have to be a caring person. I have to get into\nthe crowd. I need to speak up. I need to be brave. And after all, I have to\nfind Benjamin and tell him my thoughts!\u201d She held the pen tightly and promised\nto herself. \u201cI have to say goodbye to the old me. After all, this is a new\nyear, and a NEW DECADE. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Janet\nstood up from the bench. When she walked past another bench, she saw a lonely\nlittle girl sitting there, watching a couple of girls playing in the park. It\nseemed she wanted to play with them, but she was too shy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy\nheart has been healed,\u201d Janet thought. \u201cAnd now I have to help others to heal\ntheir hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Janet took a deep breath, and walked towards\nthe little girl. She sat next to her, and said, \u201cHappy New Year and Decade! My\nname\u2019s Janet. What\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>\u201cThe time now is eleven forty.Twenty minutes later we will enter the New Year!\u201d Said the news reporter.<\/p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>This was the brightest New Year\u2019s Eve ever ithe recent years in New York City. All the lights were on, all the shops weropen, all the people were awake\u2026The city was filled with joy and excitement.........<\/p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/archives\/7589\" class=\"read-more\">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":8474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","language-en","classlevel-s2","schoolyear-80"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7589"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7591,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7589\/revisions\/7591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carmelss.edu.hk\/buddingwriters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}