A New Year's Surprise: Elementary Level

HEINEMANN ELT GUIDED READERS

ELEMENTARY LEVEL

CAROLYNE LARRINGTON

ANew Year's Surprise

HEINEMANN EL T

HEINEMANN ELT GUIDED READERS ELEMENTARY LEVEL

Series Editor: John Milne

The Heinemann ELT Guided Readers provide a choice of enjoyable reading material for learners of English. The series is published at five levels - Starter, Beginner, Elementary, Intermediate and Upper. At Elementary Level, the control of content and language has the following main features: Information Control Stories have straightforward plots and a restricted number of main characters. Information which is vital to the understanding of the story is clearly presented and repeated when necessary. Difficult allusion and metaphor are avoided and cultural backgrounds are made explicit. Structure Control Students will meet those grammatical features which they have already been taught in their elementary course of studies. Other grammatical features occasionally occur with which the students may not be so familiar, but their use is made clear through context and reinforcement. This ensures that the reading as well as being enjoyable provides a continualleaming situation for the students. Sentences are kept short - a maximum of two clauses in nearly all cases - and within sentences there is a balanced use of simple adverbial and adjectival phrases. Great care is taken with pronoun reference. Vocabulary Control At Elementary Level there is a limited use of a carefully controlled vocabulary of approximately 1,100 basic words. At the same time, students are given some opportunity to meet new or unfamiliar words in contexts where their meaning is obvious. The meaning of words introduced in this way is reinforced by repetition. Help is also given to the students in the form of vivid illustrations which are closely related to the text.

Contents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The Places in This Story The People in This Story The New Year's Eve Party Driving ro Phang Nga Lunch at Uncle Pran's 'Don't Panic, Lisa!' Sanan's Plan In the Boat James Rogers, the Hero Lisa and James Back Home Kaya, the Movie Star Another Surprise Points for Understanding List of Titles at Elementary Level

4 5 6

14 18

24 28 32 36 40

44 48 55

60 63

The Places in This Story

Andaman

Sea

4

The People in This Story

Kaya's father

Achin

Kaya's mother

Uncle Pran

Etienne

Sanan

Wayne

James Rogers

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1

The New Year's Eve Party My name is Kaya and I am 17 years old. I live on Phuket Island in the south of Thailand. Our family has a small hotel close to the beach. It is called 'The Silver Moon Hotel'. Every year on December 31st - New Year's Eve - we have a party for the people staying at the hotel and for our friends in the village. There is music, and lots of good food. On December 31 st, my mother prepared the food for the party. I helped her. I washed and cut up meat, fish and vegetables. I stirred sauces with a big wooden spoon. And I washed a lot of dishes! My father was working in the main room with my brother, Achin. Achin is five years younger than me. Achin and my father put white table-cloths and vases of flowers on the tables. My father also had the decorationscoloured balloons and paper streamers. Achin climbed up a ladder and fixed the balloons to the ceiling. My father had a hammer and some nails. He nailed some of the streamers to the wall. Occasionally he hit his finger with the hammer. 'Ouch!' he cried and then he smiled. Achin laughed. 'Poor Dad,' he said. Suddenly, the telephone rang. My father answered it. It was my Uncle Pran. Uncle Pran and my aunt live in the

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Achin fixed the balloons to the ceiling.

village of Phang Nga. Uncle Pran has a restaurant there. The restaurant is a popular place. The food is good - my uncle is a very good cook. My father spoke to Uncle Pran for a few minutes, then he came into the kitchen. 'Pran and Kao can't come to the party tonight,' he said. 'They're too busy.' 'What a pity!' said my mother. 'We haven't seen them for a long time. Why are they so busy?' 'There's a film crew in Phang Nga,' my father explained. 'They are making a movie in Phang Nga Bay. There are about thirty people - actors, the director and the film crew working on the film. They all eat at Pran's restaurant. They eat lunch and dinner there every day. Pran has to cook a lot of food for thirty people. They're mainly foreigners and they eat a lot, Pran says. And Pran and Kao have to wash a lot of dishes.' My father looked at me and smiled. 'What's the movie called? What's it about?' I asked excitedly. This was interesting news. 'Are there any famous stars in it?'

My father is not interested in the movies. 'I don't know what the movie is called,' he said. 'Pran said some names but I never remember movie stars' names.' My father laughed. 'I'm sorry, Kaya. You can ask your Uncle Pran.' I was very excited. I love movies and I often go to the cinema in Phuket Town with my mother. 'Who are the stars of the movieI'I asked myself. 'Pran says, "Come to Phang Nga tomorrow," , said my

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father. 'We can take some of our guests in the pick-up. It will be interesting if we see a film crew at work. Pran will make lunch at the restaurant. He has to make lunch for thirty people. He can make lunch for a few more people tomorrow!' 'That's a great idea!' I said. 'I'll make a notice and put it on the wall in the main room. Then the guests will see it tonight at the party.' I got a big piece of paper and made a large notice:

Then I went back to the kitchen. 'The party will begin soon,' I thought, 'and there's still a lot to do.'

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The party began at eight o'clock. The night was very warm. The stars were shining brightly and a gentle wind was blowing in the palm trees. There were about twenty guests at the party. Some of them were talking together, others were dancing to the music. A few people went down to the sea for a swim. My brother was already in the sea with his friends from the village. My father was busy. He served drinks to the guests. My mother and I served the food. We put it into big dishes and then put the dishes on a long table. There were tasty fish, spicy vegetables and colourful rice. 'Did we make enough food, Kaya?' asked my mother. 'Yes, mother, I think so,' I answered. I took some drinks to two guests, a man and a woman. They were looking at my notice on the wall. It was the notice about the visit to Phang Nga the next day. 'Hi,' I said. 'Would you like some food?' 'Oh, yes, thank you,' they answered. 'Have you read the notice about the trip tomorrow?' I asked. 'Yes,' they both answered. 'We'd like to go. Tell us more,' the woman said. Her name was Lisa. She was from California. She was a student at a college in Los Angeles. Lisa was very interested in the movies and in movie stars. She knew the names of hundreds of stars and directors. She went to see every new movie. She was studying the history of movies at college. The other person was Etienne. He was from France.

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Etienne was a travel photographer. He worked for a French travel magazine. He travelled around the world. He took photographs for the magazine. He had shown me one of the magazines. His photos were in the magazine and they were really beautiful. Etienne had been to many places in the world - from South America to Australia. 'Yes, tell us more about Phang Nga,' said Etienne. 'Well, Phang Nga is not far from here - about an hour in a pick-up,' I answered. 'Phang Nga is beautiful and it's also strange. There are small islands in the sea. They're tall - like towers. The islands have grey, rocky sides.' 'That sounds interesting,' said Etienne. He was always looking for interesting places to photograph. 'We'll have lunch at my uncle Pran's restaurant, near Phang Nga,' I said to Etienne and Lisa. 'Uncle Pran's restaurant is well-known for its good food and he cooks delicious fish. Then we'll get into my uncle's boat and go close to the islands.' 'That's a great idea,' said Etienne. 'I'll take my camera and my video camera as well.' 'And a film crew is making a movie in Phang Nga,' I said. 'My uncle knows all about it. But my father can't remember the name of the movie or the names of the stars,'

'How exciting!' said Lisa. 'A film crew making a movie here in Thailand!' I was pleased. I liked Lisa and Etienne. They were always friendly and they liked to talk to me. I practised my English with them every day. Etienne was French but his

11

2

Driving to Phang Nga The next day, the sun was shining brightly and the wind was cool. It was a good day to go on a boat-trip. Many guests did not come to breakfast. They were tired after the party. Some of them were going back to Bangkok. It was the end of their holiday. Only Lisa and Etienne wanted to come with my father and me to Phang Nga. After breakfast, we waited for my father outside the hotel. Lisa was talking about her favourite subject, the movies and movie stars. She had remembered something about Phang Nga and movies. 'Kaya, did you see a movie called The Secret of the Islands? It was shown in cinemas about five years ago. I think that The Secret of the Islands was made in Phang Nga,' she said to me. 'That was a great movie! It was so exciting! And the star was James Rogers. I love James Rogers! He's my favourite movie star' He's very handsome!' 'Yes, I remember now,' I said. 'The Secret of the Islands! My mother and [ saw that film in the cinema in Phuket Town. I was quite young then.' 'Maybe James Rogers is the star of this new movie,' Lisa said. 'Maybe we'll see James Rogers. How exciting" 'We'll soon know,' [ answered. 'My uncle knows the stars and the director,' [ said. 'They all eat at my uncle's restaurant. '

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'Hey! Maybe we'll see James Rogers!' Lisa said again excitedly. 'Will the crew eat lunch at your uncle's restaurant today? Will 1 meet James Rogers?' 'If James Rogers is the star of this movie, then he'll be there,' 1 answered. 1 laughed. 'My uncle's restaurant is the best restaurant in Phang Nga.' My father came out of the hotel. He had the keys of our family's pick-up in his hand. 'Let's go!' said my father. He and Lisa sat in the front of the pick-up. Etienne and 1 sat in the back. Etienne had two big bags with his cameras in them. They were both really big and expensive cameras. 'You will have to hold on to the side of the pick-up,' 1 said to him. 'There are lots of holes in the road.' Etienne laughed. 'I often go on roads with big holes,' he said. But he held his camera bags with one hand and the side of the pick-up with the other. My father started the engine and we set off. We drove slowly through our village. We went past our village temple. It has a curved orange and green toof. There are lots of palm-trees by the temple. Some dogs were sleeping under the trees. A short distance past the temple, a man was walking behind a water buffalo in the middle of the road. The man had a big stick in his hand. The buffalo was walking very slowly. My father sounded his hom. The man hit the buffalo with his stick. My father dtove the pick-up carefully past the man and the animal. Soon we were on the road to Phang Nga. After an hour, we arrived at Phang Nga. Etienne and 1

15

were thirsty and dusty. We were wearing hats but the sun was hot in the back of the pick-up. Lisa and my father were inside the pick-up. They were more comfortable and cooler than us. My father lived in Phang Nga when he was a boy and he has many friends there. Some of them were sitting on the steps of their houses. They waved to us. Then a red pick-up suddenly came out of a side street. It came straight out in front of our pick-up. It was going very fast. The driver did not look to the right or to the left. My father stopped very suddenly. Etienne dropped his camera bags and I fell on the floor of the pick-up. My father sounded the horn and shouted. The wheels of the red pick-up made clouds of dust. I saw the driver for a moment. He was rather ugly and he had thick eyehrows. Four men were sitting in the hack of the red pick-up. They shouted at us and they waved their arms angrily. Then the pick-up disappeared. My father stopped the pick-up and got out. He came to help Etienne and me. 'Are you all right?' my father asked. 'I'm OK,' I answered. 'How about you, Etienne?' 'I hurt my arm a little,' he answered. 'But it's nothing.' My father got hack into the driver's seat. He drove on slowly and carefully to Uncle Pran's restaurant.

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3

Lunch at Uncle Pran's Uncle Pran's restaurant is close to the beach. There were a few small fishing boats on the beach. Uncle Pran's restaurant is made of wood and it has a roof made of banana leaves. The restaurant has no walls. Guests sit at tables under the roof of banana leaves and they look at the sea and the islands. The restaurant is well-known for fish and other seafood. The fish is very fresh. Uncle Pran buys the fish from the fishermen on the beach every morning. Uncle Pran and my aunt came outside to meet us. My father was still angry about the red pick-up. 'Hello Pran. Hello Kao,' he said. 'We nearly had an accident. A red pick-up nearly hit us in the village. The driver was driving too fast.' 'Several people in the village have red pick-ups,' said my uncle, 'but no one from the village drives dangerously.' 'I didn't recognise the driver,' said my father. 'He must be a stranger here,' said my uncle. 'Perhaps he has come from Bangkok. That's why he drives too fast. People from cities always drive too fast in the villages.' 'Anyway, no one is hurt,' said my aunt. 'That's the most important thing. Now come and have some lunch.' Uncle Pran had made a delicious meal for us. We sat at a table under the banana leaves and Uncle Pran brought us dishes of seafood and rice. They tasted really good.

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Lisa and Etienne were looking at the sea. 'It is so beautiful,' said Lisa again and again. 'It's so beautiful.' Lisa turned to my uncle. 'Kaya told us about the new movie. Is James Rogers in it?' she asked. 'Kaya says that the director, the stars and the film crew all come here to your restaurant. ' 'Yes,' answered my uncle, 'James Rogers is the star.'

'Hey!' Lisa cried. That's great!' 'And some of the actors and the film crew were here earlier,' Uncle Pran went on. 'They wanted lunch early today. They are shooting a difficult scene this afternoon. They'll be out in boats on the sea all day until it gets dark. Perhaps they'll come back here for dinner.' Lisa was very disappointed. 'Was James Rogers here in this restaurant today?' she asked. 'Did I miss him l' 'I'm sorry,' said my uncle, lyou must COIne here another time.'

'Don't worry, Lisa,' I said. 'We'll go out in Uncle Pran's boat after lunch. Maybe we'll see James Rogers then.' Lisa was not happy. They will be shooting the movie. J ames Rogers will be busy,' she said. 'How can I talk to him? He won't notice me!'

Lisa was wearing a bright pink T-shirt and a pair of green cotton trousers. She had big pink earrings and pink sunglasses. Etienne laughed. 'I think that James Rogers will notice

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you, Lisa,' he said. 'People can see you from the other side of the bay in that pink T-shirt!' Lisa did not laugh. She did not say anything. She ate her fish and rice. My father went to speak to Uncle Pran. Soon he came back again. 'We are going to borrow Pran's boat,' he said. 'The boat is on the beach near the restaurant. Have you all finished your lunch?' 'Yes, we have,' I said. Lisa and Etienne both thanked Uncle Pran for the delicious meal. 'Come back again soon!' Uncle Pran said. 'There's always good food here and sometimes there are interesting guests! '

'James Rogers!' Lisa said sadly. 'He was here and I missed him.' We all walked to the beach and climbed carefully into Uncle Pran's boat. It was painted bright red and white and it had an outboard motor. My father sat at the back of the boat and started the outboard. I sat in the middle of the boat with Lisa. Etienne sat at the front. The little boat moved quickly away from the beach. The water was calm and clear and a lovely blue-green colour. Almost everyone in the boat was happy. Only Lisa was not happy. She looked around, but she was not looking at the village or the tall towers of the rocky islands. She was looking for J ames Rogers and the film crew. Etienne sat in the front of the boat. He took out one of his cameras. He looked at the tall tower rocks

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through the camera lens. 'That must be a very good camera, Etienne,' I said. 'You have lots of different lenses for it.' 'That's right,' said Etienne. 'This lens is a wide-angle lens. With this I can take a picture of the whole bay.' Then he took another long lens out of his bag. 'And this lens is a telephoto lens. With a telephoto lens I can see things which are very far away.' 'Maybe you'll see James Rogers and the film crew through it,' I said. Etienne laughed. Then he turned round suddenly to take another picture. The boat rocked and a little water came in over the side. 'Be careful!' my father shouted to Etienne. We went on between two very tall islands. My father told me the names of the islands and some stories about them in Thai. Then I translated the stories into English for Lisa and Etienne. Etienne was asking questions and he was taking photos. But Lisa was not listening at all. She was thinking about something else! Suddenly Lisa stood up and pointed at something. 'There's the film crew!' she shouted excitedly. 'And isn't that James Rogers?' She waved and jumped up and down. The boat rocked from side to side. Some sea water came over the side of the boat. 'Be careful!' cried my father. But it was too late. Lisa had fallen into the sea.

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•Be careful!' cried my father.

4

'Don't Panic, Lisa!' My father stopped the outboard motor at once, but we were already fifty metres from where Lisa had fallen in. At first we could not see her anywhere. I stood up carefully and looked all around. 'There she is!' Etienne shouted. 'I can see her.' Now I could see Lisa in her bright pink T-shirt. 'Don't worry, Lisa! We'll help you!' shouted Etienne. Lisa began to splash the water with her arms. She was shouting something. My father started the outboard motor and we went slowly back towards her. My father stopped the motor again. Now I could hear Lisa's words. 'Sharks! Sharks!' she shouted. 'Are there any sharks here? Quickly, help me!' 'Don't panic, Lisa!' I said. 'It isn't dangerous here. There aren't any sharks. Swim to us.' Lisa swam to the boat and held onto the side. My father and I pulled her into the boat. Etienne stayed in the front. He did not want his cameras to get wet. It was difficult to pull Lisa into the boat. More sea water came over the side and my father and I got wet too. Lisa was safe, but she had lost her pink earrings and her pink sunglasses. 'Thank you,' said Lisa. 'I was frightened for a moment. I thought that there were sharks here.'

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•

'Of course there aren't any sharks here,' said Etienne. 'You went swimming in the sea at the hotel. You went swimming every day. Did you see any sharks in the sea there?' 'No, I didn't,' said Lisa. 'I was stupid. I panicked.' 'We must go back,' my father said. 'Everyone is wet now and we'll soon become cold. And we have already seen the most beautiful parts of the bay.' Etienne was disappointed. He sighed. 'It is amazing here,' he said to me. 'I would like to take more pictures. But your father is right. We must go back.' 'We will go to Pran's restaurant,' said my father. 'He will give us some hot tea. And Kao will give us towels so that we can get dry.' Lisa was very quiet. At last she said sadly, 'I am very sorry. It was stupid and dangerous to stand up in a small boat. Now the trip is over and it's my fault.' 'Don't WOtry, Lisa,' I said. 'It was nearly time to go back anyway. And perhaps we will see James Rogers.' Lisa did not smile or laugh. There was a cool wind and she was becoming cold. She began to sh iver. Etienne gave her his jacket. My father started the outboard motor and steered the boat towards the beach. Suddenly we heard the sound of another boat. I looked round. There was a blue motor boat behind us. It was moving very fast. There was a Thai man in the front of the boat. He was not very tall and he had thick eyebrows. 'It's the man who was driving the red pick-up this

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morning,' I thought . 'He nearly killed us.' I was afraid . What did he want? The man was shout ing and waving his arms. There were four other men in the boat. They were shouting too. 'What do they want?' asked my father. 'We will have to stop. Perhaps someone has fallen into the sea.' 'Don't stop!' I cri ed. 'It's the man who was driving the red pick-up this morning . It's the man who nearly killed us. I think that he's dangerous.'

The man was shouting and waving his arms.

'We must stop,' said my father. 'When you are in a boat you must stop if someone asks for help.' He turned off the motor and our boat stopped.

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5 Sanan's Plan The blue boat slowed down and came next to ours. The man with the thick eyebrows was certainly the man that we had seen that morning. He jumped into our boat. Our boat rocked a little. The man looked at us all. He looked back at the men in his boat. Then he pointed at me. 'You!' he shouted loudly in Thai. 'You speak English, don't you?' 'Yes, I speak English,' I answered, surprised. The man spoke in a rude and angry voice. 'OK,' he said. 'Now listen. Tell the foreigners to do what I say and no one will be hurt.' 'Hurt?' I repeated. I didn't understand. The man took a piece of paper out of his pocket. The paper was not very clean. 'Give him this note,' said the man, and he pointed at Etienne. 'Tell him that we are serious.' 'What do you mean? He's just a - ' 1 began. 'Be quiet!' the man shouted. 'Do what 1 say Ot you will get hurt.' I gave Etienne the note. 'I don't know what is happening,' I said. 'Perhaps this is some kind of joke. I hope so.' Etienne read the note.

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Then Etienne began to laugh. 'It is a kind of joke,' he sa id , still la ughing. 'This man says that we must give him money. If we don't give him a hundred tho usa nd baht, he will stop us from making o ur film.' 'That 's right! ' sa id Sanan in Engli sh. 'O ne hundred thousand baht . The n no o ne hurt. We go away and you make your film .' I began ro understand Sa nan's plan. 'H e thinks that we are the film crew and that Et ienne is th e director,' I thought. 'H e wants the d irector to pay protection money. If we don't pay, he will make filmin g impossible. San an thinks that this will be an easy way to get some money. But he has come to the wro ng boat! ' 'I am the onl y person in o ur boat who can speak bo th Thai and English well,' I thought. 'How can I make Sanan

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believe that we are not the film crew? He's a dangerous and violent man.' I took a deep breath and spoke calmly. 'You've made a mistake,' I said to Sanan. 'We aren't the film crew. We are just ordinary people. My father and I are from The Silver Moon Hotel in Phuket. And these two people are tourists. She is American and he is French.' 'I don't believe you!' shouted Sanan. 'Of course this man is the director!' He pointed at Etienne. 'Look at his cameras. They're very big and expensive. Film directors always have very big cameras. And I know this woman!' He pointed at Lisa. 'She is an American actress. Her name is Shannon Gold. I've seen her in films before.' 'That's not true,' my father said bravely. 'Now stop this, and go away please. We don't have any money and we want to go home. The American girl fell in the water. She is cold and she's shivering.' 'Don't tell me to go away!' shouted Sanan. 'This man is a film director and film directors always have lots of money. He can give me the money in dollars or he can give me Thai baht. But I want one hundred thousand , now. 'Listen,' I said, 'we don't have any money and this man isn't the director. The film crew are on the other side of the hay. You've come to the wrong boat.' My father spoke quietly behind me. 'Be careful, Kaya,' my father said. 'He has a gun. The other men in his boat have guns too.' My father was right. Sanan and his men had guns.

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•

They did not say anything, but they were watching us . very carefully. Sanan shouted to his men. One man pointed his gun at Lisa, another man pointed his gun at Etienne. 'Quickly!' cried Sanan. 'Give me the money now or I'll shoot the actress. Then she can't be in your film.' Lisa was frightened. 'Kaya, what's happening?' she asked. 'Who are these men? What do they want? Are we in the movie?' 'Yes':" er, no,' I said. 'Don't worry, Lisa.' I did not want to explain what was happening. I was afraid that Lisa . would panic. Then something terrible would happen. 'It's a mistake,' I told her. 'This man thinks that you are an actress called Shannon Gold.' 'Shannon Gold!' cried Lisa. 'She's really famous and she's very beautiful! I love her movies. Does he really think that I'm Shannon Gold l' Lisa was very pleased. Sanan thought that she was a movie star! So she did not worry about the guns. But Etienne was worried. He understood what was happening. I didn't know what to do. 'How can I make Sanan understand that we are not the real film crew l' I asked myself.

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6

In the Boat Suddenly there was more shouting. Someone was shouting loudly in English. Both our boat and the boat with Sanan's gang of men in it were drifting on the sea. And both our boats had come close to the place where the film crew was working . Now th ere was ano"ther boat coming towards us. I could see a short fat man in the boat. He had a green cap on his head. 'Th is ma n mu st be th e director of the mov ie,' I thought. The man had a megaphone in one hand. He was usi ng the megaphone to ca ll to th e film crew. The cameraman was shooting the scene from another boat. But now the director was using the megaphone to shout at us.

--

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But now the director was using the megaphone to shout at us.

'Get out of the way!' the director shouted angrily. 'Get out of the way!' 'We're very sorry, Mr Director,' Etienne shouted. 'We have some bad news for you. These men here want to speak to you. They have guns and they want protection money.' The director could not hear. He was too far away. He went on shouting at us through his megaphone. Now there were five boats in this part of the bay. The film director was in one, the crew with their film cameras were in a second boat. Our boat was the third and Sanan's gang were in the fourth boat. But there was a fifth boat. The fifth boat was red and white, just like our boat. There were four people in it, just like our boat. A woman was sitting in the front of the red and white boat. She was wearing a pink T-shirt, like Lisa's. Her hands were tied together and she was screaming. 'Help! Help!' she shouted. 'Save me! Quickly!' The other three people in the red and white boat were men. They were Thais. They were waving guns and they were shouting at the woman. The woman and the other men in the boat were actors in the movie. 'Now we are safe,' I thought. 'Our boat has drifted into the scene where the real director is filming. Sanan can see that the fat man in the green cap is the real film director.' 'Now Sanan will believe us,' I said to Etienne. 'And he'll believe that you are a tourist, not a film director. Sanan will ask the director, the man in the green cap, for protection money. Then we can go back to the village

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and to Uncle Pran's restaurant.' My father heard me. 'No, Kaya, Sanan won't let us go,' my father said. 'He knows that we will get the police. He will make us stay here until the director gives him the protection money.'

Sanan's gang had noticed the red and white boat with the other woman in the pink T-shirt. The gang pointed at this fifth boat and they shouted to Sanan. 'Who are these people, Sanan? What's happening?' 'It's OK,' said Sanan to his men, 'those people are not important. The important people are in this boat.' He pointed at Etienne. 'This man is the film director and he will give us the money.' Sanan did not realise that the real director was coming towards us. The director's face was red and he was shouting even more loudly through his megaphone. But the film director did not know that Sanan and his gang of men had real guns. And Lisa also had not realised that Sanan and his gang were dangerous and that their guns were real. She thought that Sanan and the other men were actors, too. 'Hey!' she cried. 'We're in the movie! That's Shannon Gold over there in the red and white boat! But where's James Rogers?' 'There he is!' shouted Etienne. He pointed at someone behind our boat. It was James Rogers himself!

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7 James Rogers, the Hero Suddenly, lots of things happened at once. James Rogers was on a jet-ski. He had come up quickly behind our boat on his jet-ski. Nobody noticed him. Suddenly he jumped from the ski-jet into Sanan's boat. He was carrying a gun in one hand. 'Drop your guns!' he shouted. 'Put your hands up.' He pointed his gun at Sanan's gang. Sanan's men dropped their guns and put their hands in the air. 'Don't be stupid!' Sanan shouted at his men. 'He's only an actor! That's not a real gun!' Sanan was looking at his men and not at us. His gun was in his hand, but he was not holding it very tightly. This was my chance. Quickly I jumped at Sanan. I pushed him hard. The boat rocked. Both Sanan and I fell into the sea. My head came up out of the water. I saw Etienne. 'Wow!' he said. 'Well done, Kaya!' 'Help! Help!' a voice shouted. It was Sanan. 'I can't swim.' 1 swam to Sanan. 1 pulled him towards our boat. He put his hands on the side of the hoat. Etienne pulled me out of the water. Then my father pulled Sanan out of the water. I saw James Rogers. He jumped into our little boat. He went towards Lisa.

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James Rogers had come up quickly behind our boat on his jet-ski .

'It's OK,' he said to her. 'Everything is fine now. These men can't hurt you.' James Rogers put his arm around her shoulders. Lisa's mouth was open wide and she was staring at him. 'M y hero!' she said. 'Hey, what's going on? Who are you? And you're wet!' James Rogers said. He took his arm away quickly from Lisa's shoulders. 'You aren't Shannon Gold! Hey! What's going on here?' The director's boat came towards us. The director's face was bright red and he was shouting through his megaphone. 'Cut! Cut!' he shouted to the cameraman. They sropped filming. Then the director shouted to James Rogers. That's the wrong boat, James! Who are these people anyway? Listen, James, I guess that we'll have to try that scene again from the beginning.' But it was impossible to try to shoot the scene again. Everybody was talking loudly. They were not listening to the director. Sanan's men were still pointing at J ames Rogers and shouting his name. One man had found a piece of paper and the actor was giving him his autograph. Another man was trying to shake James Rogers' hand. Etienne was taking photographs of them, and of the angry director. 'Why are my men so stupid?' Sanan said angrily. 'Of course J ames Rogers has a gun. He's the hero in this movie. But it isn't a real gun and he is only an actor.'

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I wasn't frightened of San an now that he had no gun. 'You came to the wrong boat,' I said. And I laughed. 'Yes, I made a mistake,' Sanan said. 'The young man has two big cameras. And I thought that this woman was Shannon Gold.' He pointed at Lisa. 'But Shannon Gold is more beautiful,' Sanan said. Luckily he spoke in Thai and Lisa did not understand him! 'James Rogers!' Lisa was saying. 'James Rogers put his arm round me. I have met James Rogers. This is the best day of my life!'

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8

Lisa and James All the boats returned to the village. Sanan was still angry and he did not speak to anyone. But his gang was very cheerful. 'Then suddenly there he was!' one of the gang said in Thai. 'James Rogers! "Drop your guns," he said. So we dropped our guns.' When we were back at the village, we took Sanan and his gang to the police station. Lisa, Etienne, my father and I then went back to Uncle Pran's restaurant. James Rogers and the director came too. Aunt Kao, Uncle Pran's wife, took Lisa into the family's house next to the restaurant. She gave her a towel and some dry clothes. Uncle Pran brought tea for everyone. The director was still angry. 'It's crazy!' he said. 'It's the most important scene in the film. A gang kidnaps Shannon. James comes up on his jet-ski with his gun. He jumps onto the gang's boat and rescues Shannon. The gang jump in the water and try to swim away.' He turned to James Rogers. 'James!' he shouted. 'You jumped onto the wrong boat. And now we have to shoot that scene again. That costs money, you know!' 'One hundred thousand baht?' I asked. The director looked at me. He had not seen Sanan's note and he did

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not know about the protection money. 1 realised that the director often shouted at people. He even shouted at James Rogers and James Rogers was the star of the movic. 'Look, Wayne,' James Rogers said to the director. 'This is what happened. 1 got on the jet-ski. 1 had the gun in my hand. 1 took the jet-ski to the red and white boat to rescue Shannon from the gang. 1 didn't know that there were two red and white boats. And that there were two women in pink T-shirts!' Everybody laughed. The director was not angry any more. He spoke more quietly. 'There is still onc thing that 1 don't understand,' he said. 'Sanan's gang dropped their guns and put up their hands when they saw James with a gun. But why didn't Sanan use his gun? And why did Sanan fall in the water?' 'I saw what happened,' Etienne said. 'Kaya pushed Sanan into the water.' 1 did not say anything. 'You were very brave!' Etienne said. 'You kicked a real gun out of that man's hand!' James Rogers said. 'Kaya, you are a hero.' Then Lisa came back into the restaurant. She was wearing a pretty red sarong that she had borrowed from my aunt. 'Hello, Lisa,' said James. 'Pran has told us the whole story. Now 1 understand why there were two boats. And 1 understand why you were wet when 1 put my arm around you. I'm sorry that 1 was rude to you.'

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'O h no, you weren 't rude to me,' sa id Lisa. She smiled . ' I'm glad that someone understands the who le story. I didn't really know what was happening out th ere.' I poured some tea for Lisa. After a while, Lisa said , shyly, 'Mr Rogers, er, James , could I have your autograph ?' 'With pleasure,' replied James. Uncle Pran gave him a piece of paper. To Lisa , James wrote. Thank YO tl for helping tis. Ie was the most extraordinary scene that I ever acted in . Best wishes, James Rogers. 'Thank you so much! ' sa id Lisa as he handed her the paper. Then she read his message and her mouth opened wide. 'Will we really be in the mov ie?' she asked excitedly. 'I don 't know,' said Wayne, the director, kindl y. 'It sure

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was a very exciting scene!' James Rogers and the direcror had ro go back ro the film crew. They had ro explai n what had happened. Soon it would be dark. James and the direcror said goodbye ro us. 'We' ll come back for dinner later tonight, Pran,' said Wayne. 'I promise that it will be a very specia l dinner,' Uncle Pran said. We sa id goodbye ro Uncle Pran and Aunt Kao and we drove home in the pick-up. Lisa soon fell as leep. Etienne and I sat in the back of the pick-up and talked about our adventure . 'What an amazing dayl' I said. 'Yes,' Etienne replied. 'It was extraordinaire as we say in French.'

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9

Back Home When we got back to The Silver Moon Hotel, my mother and my brother were waiting for us. We were very late, but they were not worried. Uncle Pran had telephoned and had told them what had happened. Achin, my brother, was very jealous. He has been to Phang Nga many times. This time, he had stayed at home. He had wanted to play football with his friends. '\ thought that the boat-trip would be boring,' he said. 'I've seen those islands hundreds of times. But you had a really exciting adventure! I'm not afraid of bad men.' My mother cooked dinnerfor all of us. We had eaten a large lunch at Uncle Pran's, but we were all very hungry after our adventure. Lisa was leaving The Silver Moon the next day. After dinner, she went to her room to pack her suitcase.

The telephone rang. My father answered it. It was the police from Phung Nga. They told my father some news abour Sanan and his men. 'Sanan is a well-known criminal in Bangkok,' my father said. 'The police say that he often tries to get protection money from rich people in Bangkok. Sanan read about the movie in the newspaper and he decided to come to Phang Nga. He thought that he would get protection monel' from foreigners.'

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The next day Lisa had to leave. Her holiday was over. She was going to take a plane ftom Phuket to Bangkok. From Bangkok, she was going to fly back to America. She was going back to university in a few days. Before Lisa went to the airport, Etienne took a photo of me, Lisa and my family. We all stood outside The Silver Moon in the sunshine. Afterwards Lisa took a photo of all of us with Etienne. Then it was time for her to leave. 'Goodbye, Kaya,' Lisa said. 'Thank you for helping me to meet James Rogers. It was the most exciting day of my life! I'll write to you from the United States. You know that I like reading movie magazines. If I see anything in the magazines about James Rogers and about the movie, I'll tell you about it.' The next day, Etienne and I went swimming. I was beginning to like him a lot. He made me laugh. 'I am sorry that he has to go soon,' I thought. Etienne left a few days later. He was going to the north of Thailand and he was leaving on the bus. I was washing up glasses and dishes in the kitchen when he came to say goodbye. 'Lisa never understood that Sanan and the gang were really bad men,' Etienne said. He laughed. 'She thought that they were actors in the movie, like James Rogers. I wanted to tell her the truth before she left.' 'Yes,' I said. 'Lisa wanted to believe that everyone was in the movie. She even thinks that we will all be in the movie when it is finished. Anyway, she met James Rogers and got his autograph.'

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'That was very important,' said Etienne. He smiled. 'But the most important thing was you, Kaya! You didn't panic at alL You were very brave to kick Sanan's gun out of his hand. Even James Rogers would be frightened of a real gun.' I knew that my face was recl. 'Kaya,' Etienne said. 'I will miss you. But I will write to you. I have to go to the north of Thailand. My magazine wants photos of the mountains near Chiang MaL Then I have to go back to France. But I'll come back. Will you write to me too?'

'Yes, Etienne,' I said. 'But [ haven't got your address.' 'No problem,' he said. 'Send the letter to PhotoMagic Magazine, Paris, France.' '[ rook some pictures of Sanan and the gang, with James Rogers,' Etienne went on. 'Those pictures will be very interesting. When you see them, you'll remember our adventure.' [ stood outside the hotel as Etienne drove away in a taxi. I waved goodbye. I was sad. Etienne had gone away. [ understood now that I liked him very much. The holiday was over and next week I had to go back to college. [ thought about Etienne a lot. 'Will he write?' [ asked myself. 'Will [ see him again?' The hotel was quiet and boring without Etienne and Lisa.

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I waved goodbye to Etienne.

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Kaya, the Movie Star But I was wrong. Life was not quiet and boring without Lisa and Etienne. The next morning I had a surprise. I was in my room studying when my mother called to me. 'Kaya,' she called. 'Come quickly. A police inspector is here with two foreigners. They want to talk to you.' I ran downstairs. A policeman from Phang Nga, James Rogers, and the director were at the door of the hotel. The inspector spoke first. 'Thank you for helping us catch San an and his gang,' he said. 'They are dangerous men. We have sent them back to Bangkok. I am sure that they will go to prison.' Wayne, the director, spoke next. 'One of the Thai actors is sick,' he said. 'We need a young Thai woman to take a small part in the movie. We need a Thai girl who speaks good English. Would you like to be in the movie)' 'Me?' I said. 'Do you really mean me?' 'Yes. This is a part that you can play,' James Rogers replied. 'You remember the scene that we were shooting the other day? This is wh