Dream Vacations

By Christine C. Taing

Peter, Karen, Brad, Liza, Edward, and Alex have already learned many valuable lessons in their young lives. Through all their challenges, each has come to realize that life is like school, people are the tests, and it is up to them to apply lessons learned to their everyday experiences.

In this collection of short stories, each character faces challenges, makes new friends, and embraces differences. Peter is thrilled he is going to Disneyland on a field trip, but first, he must overcome his brother’s bullying. Karen is facing an uncertain relationship with her new stepmother. Brad is struggling with dyslexia. Liza is hoping a family announcement won’t put a wrench in her plans to go on a dream vacation. As each character attempts to overcome obstacles, their tribulations lead them to some of the happiest places on Earth where they will once again, learn valuable lessons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483429700

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Taing

Copyright © 2015 Christine C. Taing.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2971-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2970-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905958

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 4/15/2015

CONTENTS

Disclaimer

Acknowledgement

What Will You Find In This Book?

Book 1-Despair

Chapter 1:   The Big Brother

Chapter 2:   Stepmother Isn’t Evil After All

Chapter 3:   Putting Your Foot Down

Chapter 4:   Conquering Your Fears

Chapter 5:   Dude, Where Are My Parents?

Chapter 6:   Family Or Friends—The Dilemma

Chapter 7:   Cruise Ship: When Families Collide

DISCLAIMER

This e-book is the property of the author and any reproduction whether mechanical or digital needs to be properly authorized. This includes photocopying, scanning, and any other form of print or recording. The book is a work of fiction and any resemblance of a situation or a character with a real event or person is purely coincidental.

This e-book is solely for educational purposes and should be taken as such. The author cannot be held responsible for any damages incurred due to the misappropriation of any of the contents of this e-book.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

People come and go in your life, but there are only a few who remain in your memories forever, and for me, it’s my two grandmas, Ny Moy and Ngath Tuy, and my grandfather Chhin Moy. These three people always believed in me and motivated me to excel in everything I attempted. They may have found their peace, but they will always remain in my memory and heart. My grandparents were truly unbelievable and through this book, I would like to thank them for their undying support, and wish they could be here to celebrate the launch of this book with me, but I know their spirits would be smiling down on my success.

My parents, Mr. Alexander R. Chhin and Mrs. Julie S. Taing have always been my rock, pushing me daily to achieve the greatness they believed I could acquire. If it wasn’t for their love and support, I wouldn’t be writing this, right now. When I gave up, they didn’t, and for their continuous support, I will forever be thankful to them. Their teachings about kindness inspired me to write Little Flower and through that book, my aim was to show people a path to kindness and the evils of bullying, which I achieved.

Through this new book, a continuation of Little Flower, I want people to know how well their life can turn out to be, and also that they continue to learn valuable lessons throughout their lives. Life is like a school, people are the tests, and your actions are your score. It’s up to you how much you learn from life, how much you ignore, and in the end, your actions will be the result of the lessons you learnt and applied down the line.

Most importantly, I would like to give a shout out to my fans that’ve shown me so much love. You all have had a big hand in my development and growth as an author, and I hope you are able to take away something from each book I write.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

WHAT WILL YOU FIND IN THIS BOOK?

Do you wonder what happened to Peter, Brad, Karen, Liza, Edward, and Alex? Where did they all go after the Little Flower ended? These six received the surprise of their lives, but even with the surprise, came ups and downs. You will be traveling with them to the Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and La Jola beach, where they will be spending time to connect with their families, make new friends, and learn to have fun. Along the way, each one of them will run into an obstacle which they will take the necessary steps to overcome. In the end, all of them will run into each other on the Disney Cruise Line where some characters will meet with the others. In short, after a tumultuous year they all faced in Little Flower, they will have a vacation to round off the year on a good note.

BOOK 1

Despair

CHAPTER 1

The Big Brother

Peter, hurry up and get ready, his mom yelled, the bus will be here any minute now.

It was the last day of school and Peter was beyond excited. Today, his teacher, Ms. Clark was going to make an announcement. She promised the entire class that upon hearing the announcement, they won’t be able to contain their excitement. Peter got out of bed and hurried into the bathroom only for Liam, his elder and annoying brother, to shove him out of the way.

Mom, Liam cut in line, Peter screamed from upstairs.

Take a new toothbrush from the closet and use our bathroom.

But, I want to use mine, he whined, Tell him to use yours.

"Do you want to miss the bus?"

Peter stormed off to the closet muttering under his breath, They never say anything to him.

Nah, nah, boo, Liam stuck his head from the bathroom and closed it quickly as Peter lunged forward to deck him.

Peter, stomped his feet, and went off to brush his teeth and wash his face. Not wanting to run into his brother again, he tiptoed out of the room, eyeing the hallway for Liam. He felt as if he was a soldier in combat trying to escape from the enemy, which in this case was his evil older brother. After seeing that the coast was clear, he went into his room, only for Liam to jump out to scare him, making him jump back, and trip on a toy lying around.

"Get out of my way Liam or else!"

What will you do if I don’t, you squirt! he sneered, Complain to mom and dad?

"Shoot, that’s what I planned to do, now what," he thought.

If you guys don’t come down this minute, I’ll come upstairs, and if I go upstairs guys, it won’t look too good for you both, their mom screamed from the stairwell.

Liam glared at Peter and went down while Peter rushed into the room to change. He hated sharing a room with his brother. Living with Liam was a nightmare and Peter sometimes wished he had a caring older brother instead. As he heard the bus approach, Peter rushed downstairs and grabbed his strawberry and cream cheese strudel. He met up with his best friend and neighbor, Alan.

I wonder what the exciting news is, Alan said to Peter as they boarded the bus and took their seats.

"I was up all night thinking about it, Peter replied.

Any guesses?

Peter pondered the thought for a few minutes, Nah, nothing comes to mind.

Well, I think that they may give us a whole extra month off.

That’s never gonna happen in a million years, Liam said turning back.

No one asked you, Peter retorted and took a bite out his strudel, Yuck, this isn’t strawberry and cream cheese, it’s chocolate.

I ate the last one, laughed Liam, sitting down.

You have no idea how happy I am that he will be in middle school next year, Peter said offering it to Alan who liked chocolate in his strudel.

They arrived at their school and Peter got up to leave from his seat, but as usual, Liam pushed him back into his seat.

Come on, ignore him, let’s go, Alan said.

On top speed, they both ran to their class.

Come on, you two, Mr. Anthony, the Arts teacher yelled from behind, Slow down.

No slowing down today, Mr. Anthony. It’s the last day of school. Peter yelled back.

Finally, reaching their class, which was on the other end of the corridor, they pushed the door open. Everyone was trying to guess the news, but only Ms. Clark could reveal it, but where was Ms. Clark? She was definitely not in the room, then he looked at the door and there she was standing with her hands crossed and a grin on her face.

Shhh, Peter hushed the class.

Ms. Clark was beautiful, young, and kindhearted. He remembered how glad he was to be in her class. Today, Ms. Clark looked different. Unlike all the other days, she was wearing a bow in her hair, a bright red polka dot dress, and black heels. She never dressed like this, so something was really up today.

Class, I know you’re excited and have anxiously waited all week to hear this news.

What’s the news? a girl asked.

Everyone began to talk again, but Ms. Clark turned off the lights to hush them.

How many of you want to hear the news now.

All hands went up in the air instantly.

Ms. Clark laughed, Well, you’ll have to earn the right to hear it by answering these questions right, she picked up the black marker and walked over to the whiteboard.

Miss. Clark, that’s unfair.

It’s the last day of school and you’re giving us a quiz.

The whole class began to protest. Ms. Clark held up her hand to quiet them and signaled Peter to pass the plain white papers and pencils around. She moved away from the board to let the class see the questions.

Peter turned to Alan, What type of questions are these?

Ms. Clark had written only one question on the board, "Which Disney character do I resemble?"

After everyone was finished writing down their answers, Ms. Clark said, If you answered Minnie Mouse, remain seated.

She went over to the whiteboard again to write down another question, this time with several options.

"Why do you suppose I am dressed as Minnie Mouse?"

Option A: It’s the last day of school.

Option B: Teachers are holding a costume party after school.

Option C: I am going to the Disney World for summer vacations.

Everyone stand up because all of you answered wrong.

The entire class including Peter and Alan were confused. Ms. Clark smiled sheepishly and walked out. Peter and Alan, along with a few others hurried towards the door to peek out, other students from other classes were doing the same. All the teachers were dressed as Disney characters. Mr. Smith was dressed as Goofy while Mrs. McDonald was dressed as Donald Duck and they were all huddled together. When the teachers dispersed and headed for their respective classrooms, all the students took their seats. Ms. Clark stood at the center of the classroom and leaned on the table.

We have decided to put you guys out of your misery by telling you the answer, she stood at the doorway, form a line and follow me.

Every class was going outside to the playground. Peter spotted Liam coming out of his class and tried to duck behind Alan. However, Liam and his friends saw him and made faces at them.

I think they have something big in store for us, Peter said.

The teachers all stood in line, introduced themselves as the characters they were, and Principal Smithers introduced himself as Pete, the villain from Goofy.

Students of all ages, we have gathered here today to let you all in on a secret. We are going on a field trip to a magical place filled with wonder and excitement. We are taking you to…, he motioned all of the teachers to come forward, The Walt Disney World!

Did I hear what I think he said? Alan turned to Peter.

You sure did, Peter was in awe.

Suddenly, Peter realized that his annoying brother would be tagging along with him as well.

What are you thinking, Alan asked, seeing Peter lost in thought.

Aren’t you excited Peter?

Alan, how can I be excited when Liam will be there to pester me? Peter shuddered.

Bummer, that’s going to suck.

Throughout the day, Peter sulked around school as his friends participated in games. Alan tried to cheer him up, but it was no use. When the school bell rang, announcing the last day of school, everyone rushed out. Peter and Alan walked slowly to the school bus with Peter still reeling from the fact that his brother would spoil this fun trip for sure.

Will your parents give you the permission to go? Peter asked.

I think so. What about yours?

They’ll be okay with it.

They both got on the school bus to sit in their usual seats, but found Liam and his best friend, who was coming home with them today, sitting there.

Ignore them. Alan said, dragging Peter