Fiction

Fiction

24
24 Scholastic
SCHOLASTIC Scope
SCOPE •
• DECEMBER
DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012
 reali
sti c ict

The
e-up s fFicr10N
a mad
REALISTIC ion
a made-up
tory tthat
seems story hat
seems rreal
eal

The
Choice
BY Nan marino

Choice
M
ILLUSTRATION
ILLUSTRATION BY JEFF MANGIAT
BY JEFF MANGIAT

y mom whistled
y whistled
AS YOU READ,
AS YOU READ,
O THINK
THINK ABOUT:
ABOUT: as
as she
she rummaged
rummaged
This is a story about
This is a story about through
through the
the
choosing
choosing between
between right
right
and
and wrong.
wrong. As you read,
As you read, clothes
clothes at
at the
the
think about how the main
thrift
thrift store.
store. Like
think about how the main
character
character makes
makes his choice.
his choice.
Like
she
she didn’t
didn't have
have a a care
care in
in the
the
world.
world. Like Like we we had had always
always shopped
shopped there.
there. She
She held
held
aa pair
pair of jeans in
of jeans in front
front of
of me.
me. “What
"What about
about these,
these,
Zander?
Zander? Do Do youyou think
think they’ll
they'll fit?”
fit?"
What
Wkqt can you
you
The weird
The weird guy who worked
guy who worked behind
behind the
the counter
counter smirked.
smirked. infer
inFer about
about the
“Whatever narrator’s
narrator s attitude
"Whatever you
you pick
pick is fine,” II whispered. attitude
is fine," whispered.
toward thrift-
±kriFt_
The door
The door opened.
opened. Nicole,
Nicole, a
a girl
girl from
from school,
school, and her mom walked
and her walked in
in and
and made
made aa store
Store shopping? .

beeline
beeline toward
toward the
the picture
picture frames.
frames. They looked like
They looked like twins
twins instead
instead of
of mother
mother and
and daughter.
daughter.
Both
Both had
had dark
dark hair
hair and
and matching jackets. Expensive
matching jackets. jackets. Not
Expensive jackets. Not ones
ones they
they bought
bought here.
here.
www.istockphoto.com

“Can
"Can II go?”
go?" II begged.
begged. “X
"X and Y are
and Y waiting outside.”
are waiting outside."

“And
"And missing Z.” Mom grinned
grinned at
at the
the old joke and
and II cringed.
cringed. My
My two
two best

missing Z." old joke best
friends
friends are Xavier and
are Xavier Yuri. We've
and Yuri. We’ve been
been called X, Y,
called X, Y, and Z since
and Z since forever.
forever.

www.scholastic.com/scope •• DECEMBER
WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/SCOPE DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012 25
25
 II was
was almost
almost to
to the
the door when Weird
door when Weird Counter
Counter Guy
Guy called
called out,
out, “Hey, kid. What's
"Hey, kid. What’s the
the
hurry?”
hurry?"
Before
Before Nicole
Nicole could
could see
see me,
me, II ran
ran outside.
outside.

MOM
T he
he next

aa ring.
next morning

A real
ring. A
morning when
II reached
reached into
real ring!
when II was
into the
the back
At first
ring! At
was getting

first I
getting dressed
back pocket
pocket of
I thought
dressed for
of those
for school,
those jeans
thought it was cheap
it was
school,
jeans and
and felt
cheap and
felt something
something round.
and plastic,
plastic, but
round. II pulled
when II held
but when
pulled out
held it
it up
out
up to
to the
the
Aw,
Aw, nice
nice try,
try, window, it
window, it sparkled
sparkled in
in the
the light.
light. The
The ring was gold
ring was with aa diamond
gold with diamond in
in the
the middle. And not
middle. And not
Mom,
Mom, but
but that’s
just any
any diamond.
diamond. A monster-size
monster-size diamond
diamond surrounded
surrounded by
by emeralds
emeralds and
and rubies.
actually
actually not
not why
just rubies.
wky
Zander
Zander sounds
sounds My
My mom knocked
knocked on
on my
my bedroom
bedroom door
door and
and II closed
closed my
my fist.
fist. “Ready
"Ready for
for school?”
school?"
upset.
upset. (What
(Wkqt isiS
she
she asked.
asked.
Mom
Mom implying?)
implYiV\3?)
“Yes,”
"Yes," II squeaked.
squeaked.
“You
"You okay?”
okay?"
“I’m
"I'm fine.”
fine." My voice came
My voice came out higher than
out higher than normal.
normal.
“Pants
"Pants fit
fit okay?”
okay?"
“Great.” Again with
"Great." Again with this high and
this high and squeaky voice.
squeaky voice.
“You know, Zander,”
"You know, Zander," my
my mom
mom called
called through
through the
the door,
door, “no
"no one
one knows
knows where
where we
we
bought
bought them.”
them."
II closed
closed my
my fist
fist tighter.
tighter.

I
and
kept
kept the
even
and Yuri,
the ring
even in
ring hidden
in the
hidden all
the hall
hall when

Yuri, II didn’t
didn't say
say a
all day.
day. Through
when Nicole
a word.
Through math.
Nicole said
said hello.

word. They’d want to

They'd want
And English.
math. And
hello. And
to see
see it
it right
And lunch.
English. And
And when
when II was
And
lunch. And
was walking
walking home
right away
away and,
home with
with Xavier
and, let’s
Xavier
let's face
face it,
it, I
I didn’t
didn't

exactly live in
exactly live in the
the best
best neighborhood.
neighborhood.
It wasn’t until
It wasn't we got
until we got back
back to
to my
my apartment
apartment and were munching
and were munching on
on potato
potato chips
chips
that
that II showed
showed them what I’d
them what I'd found.
found.
Xavier patted
Xavier patted me
me on
on the
the back.
back. “Now
"Now that you’re rich,
that you're rich, I
I hope you remember
hope you your
remember your
In a way,
Way, Xavier’s
XQ\Jier S friends.”
friends."
right.
risk*. This
IkiS idea Yuri gave
idea
Yuri gave a low whistle.
a low whistle. “Are you going
"Are you going to
to keep
keep it?”
it?"
has
kas existed for -For
centuries, “Of
"Of course
course he
he is.” Xavier grabbed
grabbed the
the ring
ring and waved it
it in face. “Finders,
Yuri’s face.
centuries, dating
is." Xavier and waved in Yuri's "Finders,
back to to an ancient
ancient keepers,
keepers, dude. That’s the
dude. That's way of
the way the world.”
of the world."
Roman
Roman law law that
Yuri threw
Yuri threw a
a pillow
pillow at him. “Someone
at him. "Someone might
might be looking for
be looking it.”
stated
Stated that any
for it."

lost
lost oror abandoned
abandoned That’s
That's how
how it
it is with these
is with these two.
two. One
One goes
goes one way, and
one way, and the
the other
other goes
goes the
the other.
other. “X”
"X"
item
item couldcould be
be claimed
claimed and
and “Y”? After all
"Y"? After all these years, it’s
these years, it's a wonder they’re
a wonder they're still
still friends.
friends.
by
by whoever
Wkoeuer found
Found
it.
it. The
Ike phrase
pkrqse we

F
We
know todaytoday debuted
debuted or
or the
the next
next few
few days,
days, the
the ring
ring was
was all
all we
we talked
talked about.
about.
in
in the 1800s.
l€oos. In
In the
Fotolia (HEART); Superstock (HAND)

The three
The three of
of us
us researched
researched the value of
the value of diamonds
diamonds and
and became
became experts
experts on
on carat
carat
1960s,
17605, Elvis
gl\JiS Presley
Presley
recorded weights and
and color
color and
and shape. We unanimously
shape. We unanimously decided
decided that
that my
my ring was real. And that
that it
recorded a song
weights ring was real. And it
Sons
called
called “Finders
e Finders was worth
was worth thousands.
thousands.
Keepers,
Veeper;, Losers After school, we’d sit
sit in
in my bedroom with
with the
the ring
ring on
on the
the floor
floor between
between us,
us, eating
Losers After school, we'd my bedroom eating
Weepers.”
Weepers. So, So, itit has
kas
a long spicy
spicy potato
potato chips
chips and
and dreaming
dreaming about
about all
all the
the things
things II could
could buy with that
that money.
Iona kistory-but is
history—but iS
buy with money.
it
it really
really a good
sood way Well, Xavier
Well, Xavier and
and II dreamed. Yuri did
dreamed. Yuri his best
did his best to
to squash
squash every
every last
last one
one of
of them.
them.
to
to live?
live?
“A
"A car?
car? Dude, you’re only
Dude, you're only 12,”
12," he
he said
said one
one afternoon.
afternoon. “And
"And a
a new
new skateboard? You
skateboard? You

26
26 Scholastic
SCHOLASTIC Scope
SCOPE •
• december
DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012
 hate skateboards.”
hate skateboards."

Xavier gave
Xavier him aa sharp
gave him sharp elbow.
elbow. “Nicole
"Nicole skateboards.”
skateboards."
Yuri elbowed
Yuri elbowed him back. “What
him back. "What about
about the
the person who lost
person who lost it? What if
it? What if it
it belonged
belonged to
to

some
some grandmother,
grandmother, and
and it was the
it was the last
last thing her husband
thing her husband ever
ever bought
bought her?”
her?" He
He pointed
pointed
to Xavier. “What
to Xavier. "What if
if the
the owner was your
owner was your grandmother?”
grandmother?"
“Those jeans were
"Those jeans were bought
bought and
and paid
paid for,”
for," said Xavier, totally
said Xavier, totally avoiding
avoiding the
the grandma
grandma
question.
question. “The
"The ring
ring came with them.”
came with them."
They looked
They looked at
at me
me to
to break
break the
the tie,
tie, like
like I
I always
always did when they
did when they disagreed.
disagreed. But
But this
this

time,
time, it was different.
it was different. Even
Even if by some
if by some miracle Yuri and
miracle Yuri Xavier had
and Xavier had the
the same
same opinion,
opinion, this
this

decision was up
decision was up to
to me.
me. II thought
thought about
about a
a car
car and video games
and video games and
and skateboards.
skateboards.
“The
"The ring
ring is
is mine,”
mine," II said
said finally.
finally. “We
"We paid
paid for
for it.”
it."

We heard
We heard the
the sound
sound of keys rustling
of keys rustling in
in the
the door
door and
and the
the click
click of
of my
my mother’s
mother's heels
heels on
on
the
the floor.
floor. I pushed the
I pushed the empty
empty chip bag over
chip bag over the
the ring
ring before
before she walked into
she.wålked into the
the room.
room. Sounds
Sounds like
lite

Yuri leaned
Yuri leaned over
and whispered, “If
and whispered,
over you really
"If you really believe that ring
believe that ring is yours, then
is yours, then how
how Zander’s
Zander's trying toto
figure
Fisure out
out what’s
come you keep
keep hiding
hiding it
it from your mom?”
mom?" in
in it
it for
For him.
come you from your kim.
The pillow
The pillow II threw
threw landed
landed right
right in Yuri’s face.
in Yuri's face..

II hate
hate it when he's
it when he’s right.
right.

T
An
he
he next
next day,
watching
An old
old lady
day, II spent
watching people
people go
lady hobbled
hobbled to
spent a
go in
to the
a few
in and
few hours
and out,
the door.
hours staking
staking out
out, trying
trying to

door. A grandmother
out the
to find
find a

grandmother type.
the thrift
thrift store,
a person
type. It
store,
who looked
person who
wouldn’t be
It wouldn't be so
worried or
looked worried
so bad
or sad.
sad.

bad returning
returning
the
the ring
ring to
to someone
someone like
like that.
that. II

imagined
imagined standing
standing next
next to
to her while
MEET
MEET THE
THE AUTHOR
her while
the
the newspaper
newspaper took
took our
our picture.
picture..
AUTHOR
She’d
She'd tell
tell me
me about
about her
her grandkids,
grandkids, Nan
Nan Marino
Marino reads
reads a
a lot.
lot. Not
Not only is she
only is she a fantastic writer,
a fantastic writer,
and
and every
every single
single one
one of
of them would
them would she’s
she's also
also a
a librarian.
librarian. She
She says
says she
she chose
chose this
this double
double career
career
thank
thank me
me for
for finding
finding it.
it.
because
because she
she loves
loves stories,
stories, and
and always
always has.
has. So it’s no
So it's no surprise
surprise
A few
few minutes
minutes later,
later, the
the old
Old lady
lady
that she
that she got the idea
got the idea for
for “The
"The Choice” from something
Choice" from something she
she
left the
left the store with her
store with her arms
arms filled with
filled with

bags and
read:
read: a
a news
news article. Yes, it's
article. Yes, it’s true.
true. In June, aa Minnesota
In June, Minnesota woman
woman
bags and a
a smile
smile on
on her
her face.
face.

A fast-walking
A fast-walking guy with aa leather
guy with leather
found aa diamond
found diamond ring
ring estimated to
estimated to

jacket hurried
jacket hurried through
through the door. It
the door. It be
be worth
worth $6,000 in the
$6,000 in the
could
could have
have been
been his.
his. Maybe
Maybe he’d
he'd pocket
pocket of
ofaa pair
pair of
of pants
pants
spent weeks working
spent weeks working overtime
overtime to buy
to buy she
she bought for $3.99
bought for $3.99 at
at a
a
an
an engagement
engagement ring
ring for
for his girlfriend.
hisyirlfriend. thrift store. Moral
thrift store. Moral of
of the
the
Fotolia (COUPLE); courtesy of Nan Marino

They’d both
They'd be so
both be happy, they’d
so happy, they'd
story?
story? A
A writer’s inspiration
writer's inspiration
invite me
invite me to their wedding.
to their wedding. It would
It would
can
can come from anything.
come from anything.
be aa different
be different type
type of
of thank-you,
thank-you, but
but
that would be
that would be okay
okay too.
too.
Oh—and always
Oh—and always check the
check the

There was
There was aa woman
woman holding
holding the
the pockets
pockets of your pants.
of your pants.

hand of
hand of a
a little
little girl.
girl. The
The ring
ring could be
could be
• Say
Say hi
ki to
-to Nan and
and
hers.
Maybe
Maybe she was aa single
she was her
ker adorable
adorable dog,
803, Chi!

hers. single Ckil

mom,
mom, and
and money was tight.
money was tight.

WWW.Scholastic.com/scope •• december
WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/SCOPE DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012 27
27
 That’s when II got
That's when got the
the idea.
idea. Instead
Instead of
of giving
giving the
the ring back to
ring back to some
some stranger,
stranger, II could
could
give
give it
it to
to my
my mom.
mom. That wasn’t keeping
That wasn't keeping it
it exactly, but it
exactly, but wasn’t giving
it wasn't giving it back either.
it back either. A

perfect
perfect compromise.
compromise. But
But there was no
there was way my
no way my mother would keep
mother would keep it. After 12
it. After years, II
12 years,
pretty
pretty much
much had
had her
her figured
figured out.
out. She’d
She'd search
search for
for the
the person who lost
person who lost it.
it. For
For my
my mom,
mom,
this would be
this would be an
an easy
easy decision.
decision. A no-brainer.
no-brainer.
II wished
wished it were easy
it were easy for
for me.
me.

RULE
BOOK T
it
he
he more
more II watched
toward
toward the
had been
it had
watched people
the door.
people go
door. That's

been there
there for
for a
go in
That’s when
in and

while. Right
a while.
and out,
when II saw
saw the
Right in
in the
the closer
out, the
the sign

the middle
closer II moved
sign on
on the
moved
window. It
the window.
was aa picture
middle was
was old
It was

picture of
of a
old and
and faded,
a diamond
faded, like

diamond ring
like

with
ring with
large
large black
black letters
letters that
that said
said “Lost.”
"Lost." In
In even larger print,
even larger print, it
it said
said “Heartbroken.”
"Heartbroken." Below,
Below, the
the
phone number was
phonenumber was crossed
crossed out.
out. Someone
Someone had written the
had written words “Inquire
the words within.”
"Inquire within."
Hey,
key, those
tkose aren’t
aren't
sentences!
sentences! This
IkiS is
iS
II waited
waited for
for the
the store
store to
to empty
empty out
out before
before II stepped
stepped inside.
inside.
an awesome
qWeSome example
example Weird Counter
Weird Counter Guy was wiping
Guy was wiping down
down aa display
display case with aa dirty
case with dirty rag.
rag. II stood
stood there,
there,
of
OF how
kow authors
waiting for him
waitingfo' him to
to notice
notice me.
me.
can sometimes
Sometimes
break
breat the rules
rules of
OF Yep. This
Yep. This was
was going
going to
to be
be hard.
hard. Every.
Every. Single.
Single. Part.
Part.
grammar
arammar to
to help
kelp He
He didn’t look up
didn't look up until
until II coughed.
coughed.
convey
convey a feeling
Feelina or
or
II decided to do
do it
it fast,
fast, all in one
one breath.
breath. “I
"I need
need to
to speak
speak to
to the
the person who posted
person who
an idea.
idea.
decided to all in posted
that
that sign
sign about
a out the
the ring.
ring. II think
think II found
found it.”
it."

Weird Counter
Weird Counter Guy
Guy didn’t
didn't answer.
answer. Instead, he glanced
Instead, he glanced around
around the
the store,
store, reached
reached
under
under a
a counter,
counter, and
and pulled
pulled out
out a
a glass jar filled
glass jar filled to
to the
the brim with diamond
brim with diamond rings. They all
rings. They all

sparkled.
sparkled;
He tossed one
Hetossed one in
in my direction.
direction. “Did
"Did it look like
it look like this?”
this?"

“They’re
"They're fake,”
fake," he
he explained.
explained. “Got
"Got them
them from
from a
a friend
friend a
a few years ago.
few years ago. Don’t
Don't feel bad,
feel bad,

kid.
kid. They
They fool
fool everyone.”
everyone." He
He grinned.
grinned. “I
"I guess you could
guess you could say
say I’m
I'm a
a student
student of
of human
human
behavior.
behavior. Every
Every once
once in
in a while, II hide
a while, hide them
them in
in some
some clothing
clothing here
here to
to see what people
see what will
people will
do.
do. It’s
It's been
been a while since
a while since someone
someone turned
turned one
one in.
in. Most
Most people
people don’t.”
don't."

II reached
reached into
into my
my pocket
pocket and
and pulled
pulled out
out the
the other
other ring.
ring. My
My ring.
ring. They were exactly
They were exactly
alike.
alike.

II threw
threw them both on
them both on the
the counter.
counter. They
They rattled
rattled on
on the
the glass.
glass. “Do you know
"Do you what you
know what you
put
put me
me through?
through? For
For nothing?”
nothing?"
Great
Great description!
description!
This
Weird Counter
Counter Guy
Guy shook
shook his head. “Not
"Not for
for nothing, kid. You
You learned
learned something.
-r kis really
really helps
kelps us
Weird his head. nothing, kid. something.
us
imagine the sound
Sound ofOF There
There are
are two
two types
types of
of people
people in
in the world. The
the world. The Keepers
Keepers and
and the
the Returners. You never
Returners. You never
Zander’s
2mder)S speech,
Speeck, and know which type
know which you are
type you are until you’re put
until you're put to
to the
the test.”
test." He
He pointed
pointed the
the rag
rag at
at me.
me. “And you,
"And you,
it
it gives
3iVeS us
us an idea
idea ofOF
how
kow he’s
ke)S feeling.
•Feelift3.
kid,
kid, are
are a
a Returner.”
Returner." He
He handed
handed meme aa ring.
ring. “It’s yours. You've
"It's yours. You’ve earned
earned it.”
it."

“It’s worthless,” II said.

"It's worthless," said. “What
"What am
am II going
going to
to do with it?”
do with it?"

Weird Counter
Weird Counter Guy
Guy shrugged,
shrugged, and
and II bolted
bolted out
out of
of there.
there.

II only
only stopped
stopped running when my
running when lungs ached
my lungs ached and
and my
my muscles hurt. II leaned
muscles hurt. leaned up
up
www.istockphoto.com (2)

against
against a
a garbage
garbage can,
can, gasping
gasping for
for breath. The ring.
breath. The ring. The
The stupid
stupid ring.
ring. But
But instead
instead of
of
throwing
throwing it
it away,
away, II put
put it
it back
back into
into the
the pocket
pocket of
of my jeans.
my jeans.
Maybe
Maybe I’d
I'd keep
keep it.
it. Maybe
Maybe I’d
I'd give
give it
it to
to my mom.
mom. There was no
There was no need
need to
to hide
hide it
it now.
now. It
It

might have been

might have been aa fake
fake ring,
ring, but
but it
it had
had a
a real
real story
story to
to go with it.
go with it.
•

28
28 Scholastic
SCHOLASTIC Scope
SCOPE •
• DECEMBER
DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012
 Advice
ADVICE Column
COLUMN
The story
The you just
story you just read
read reminds
reminds us
us of
of our
our favorite
favorite advice
advice column,
column, called
called “The
"The Ethicist.”
Ethicist."
The Ethicist
The Ethicist specializes
specializes in
in sorting
sorting out
out difficult
difficult situations
situations like
like the
the one
one Zander faces in
Zander faces in “The
"The Choice.”
Choice."
Read
Read the
the column
column below.
below. What
What does Josh have
does Josh in common
have in with Zander?
common with Zander?

Dear
Dear Josh,
Josh,

To
To Tell or Not to
to Tell
S
ince you've
ince you’ve already
already decided
decided
Tell not
not to
to report your friend's
report your friend’s
By
BY Chuck
CHUCK Klosterman
KLOSTERMAN cheating,
cheating, I’m
I'm going
going to
to respond
respond

within
within the
the parameters you’ve created
parameters you've created

for yourself:
for yourself: II have
have no idea how
no idea how old
old

your friend
your friend is,
is, but
but it’s
it's possible
possible he
he has
has

never
never considered
considered the
the larger
larger meaning
meaning
of
of his
his actions
actions (and
(and how they affect
how they affect

his
his peers) in an
peers) in an adult
adult way. Your first
way. Your first

move
move should
should be
be to tell him
to tell him what’s
what's

really
really happening
happening here, in the
here, in the same
same
way you’ve just
way you've just explained it to
explained it me. If
to me. If

this doesn’t affect him, try something

this doesn't affect him, try something
along the lines
along the lines of,
of, “If you continue
"If you continue to
to

do this, my
do this, my opinion
opinion of you will
of you will never
never

be the same.”
be the same." If this still
If this still doesn’t
doesn't

My good
good friend
friend cheats
cheats on
on every test he
every test takes
he takes work,
work, force yourself to
force yourself to accept
accept that
that

and
and has
has never been caught.
never been caught. This year, we
This year, we were
were your good
your friend is
good friend is kind
kind of
ofaa bad
bad

put
put in
in a very tough
a very tough class. Half the
class. I--lalf the students
students are
are person
person (as
(as good friends sometimes
good friends sometimes
are). All you
you can
can do is live
live with
with his
failing, yet he
failing, yet he keeps
keeps getting
getting perfect
perfect scores.
scores.
are). All do is his

fraud and
fraud and perceive
perceive him
him as
as a
a difficult
Our
Our teacher grades on a curve, and now my
teacher grades on a curve, and now
difficult

personality.
personality. For the rest
For the rest of your life,
of your life,
friend
friend is
is ruining
ruining everyone’s
everyone's chances
chances of benefiting
of benefiting you will
you will meet
meet people
people who
who commit
commit
because of
because of his very high
his very high grades.
grades. II would
would never tell
never tell various versions
various versions of the act
of the you have
act you have
on him, and
on him, and he’s
he's aa very
very stubborn
stubborn kid who’s hard
kid who's hard just described.
just described. Some
Some will
will get
get caught,
caught,

to approach.
to What should
approach. What should II do?
do? and
and some
some will
will not. You can’t
not. You can't change
change

—JOSH, NEW JERSEY

—JOSH, JERSEY the selfishness
the selfishness of
of others;
others; all you can
all you can

do is attempt
do is to live
attempt to live within your own
within your own
Adapted
ADAPTED from
FROM The
THE New
NEW York
YORK Times,
TIMES, June
JUNE 22,
22, 2012,
2012, issue.
ISSUE. Copyright
COPYRIGHT ©2012
02012 by
BY The
THE New
NEW York
YORK Times
TIMES Company.
COMPANY. All
ALL
rights
RIGHTS reserved.
RESERVED. Used
copying,
USED by
BY permission
COPYING, redistribution,
PERMISSION and
AND protected
REDISTRIBUTION, retransmission
RETRANSMISSION of
PROTECTED by
OF this
BY the
THIS Content
THE Copyright
COPYRIGHT Laws
CONTENT without
LAWS of
WITHOUT express
the United
OF THE
EXPRESS written
UNITED States.
STATES. The
WRITTEN permission
PERMISSION is
THE printing,
PRINTING,
IS prohibited.
PROHIBITED.
principles
principles of
of right
right and
and wrong.
wrong.

contest
CONTEST

Make
Make Connections
Connections What
What do the story
story “The
"The Choice”
Choice" and the advice
advice column
column “To Tell
www.istockphoto.com

do the and the "To Tell

or
or Not to Tell"
Not to Tell” show
show us
us about
about how
how we
we decide
decide what
what is
is right
right and
and what is wrong?
what is wrong? What
What can
can stop
stop us
us
from doing
from doing what
what we
we know is right?
know is right? Use
Use details
details from
from both texts in
both texts in your
your answer.
answer. Send
Send
it to The
it to THE choice
CHOICE Contest.
CONTEST. Five
Five winners
winners will
will each
each get
get Nan
Nan Marino’s wonderful new
Marino's wonderful new
book,
book, Hiding
Hiding Out
Out at
at the
the Pancake Palace. See
Pancake Palace. See page
page 22 for
for details.
details. Get this
GET THIS
activity
ACTIVITY
Online
ONLINE

WWW.Scholastic.com/Scope •• DECEMBER
WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/SCOPE DECEMBER 10,
10, 2012
2012 29
29