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Kevin DREW A BLANK when he stood in front of the judges. He couldn’t remember any of his lines that he has been intensively rehearsing for the past week. He remained frozen for two minutes straight. His eyes were wide open as if someone had hypnotized him. Before Kevin STEPPED UP to the theater, many thoughts were rushing inside of his head. His fear and worries CONTROLLED OVER his state of mind. Now, he was SCARED STIFF especially when he saw Mr. Johnson between the judges. Kevin HEARD a lot ABOUT him in the past. Mr. Johnson was one of the toughest people to please when it came to acting in theater. He was STRAIGHT TO THE POINT and didn’t SUGAR COAT his criticism or his praises. At that moment, Kevin realized that the role of his dream was out of reach. But what Kevin didn’t TAKE INTO ACCOUNT was that Mr. Johnson wasn’t just a picky person but can also CATCH ON to which people deserve to be reconsidered or which do not. Mr. Johnson CUT Kevin SOME SLACK and gave him another chance to perform on the next audition. He could tell that Kevin was worth a second shot.

CALM BEFORE THE STORM:

Courtney CAUGHT WIND OF gossip being spread about her. She was PSYCHED OUT when she heard such stories that had no connection to her. Her reputation was deeply affected in her neighborhood. She used to be the most genuine, trusted, and beloved person among the women in her circle. But things changed drastically. Women that used to keep her company were no longer around. Everyone kept their distance from her. They didn't want to ruin their reputation by getting in touch with her again. They simply LET HER DOWN in the most difficult time. Courtney knew that things were getting OUT OF HER HANDS. She had never been in such a catastrophic condition. She even couldn’t COME OUT SWINGING against all these dirty stories. She didn’t know to whom she could SEEK OUT help. She knew that her truth shouldn’t FALL ON DEAF EARS since this would threaten her marriage life that she has been building for years. She was so WEIGHED DOWN that she may BE SUBJECTED TO losing her job in case her manager or co-workers received such horrible news about her. It looked like someone was seeking revenge and wanted to see her lose everything and suffer.

I still remember how my teacher LEFT A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH. It is not a TALL TALE but it’s a true story that left a great impact on my life. One day, we were reading a story in class and each student was given a section to read. I kept on waiting for the teacher to assign me a paragraph but that never happened. It was so obvious that she PASSED ME BY on purpose. I started to feel teary-eyed but I tried my best to control my feelings. But, for a nine-year-old girl, my heart was aching so badly. I was so hurt when I saw that she picked everyone to read a portion of the story except for me. No, it wasn’t the first time. It has happened at least 5 times before. At first, I had good intentions TOWARDS HER and thought that I may HAVE SLIPPED HER MIND. I even thought that it might have been my fault, but she kept skipping me RAIN OR SHINE. One day, she finally chose me to read. My excitement didn’t last long though. I had barely SCRATCHED THE SURFACE and was starting to TAKE OFF my reading performance when she CUT ME OFF and asked someone else to continue reading my portion. The truth was plain and clear now. It was obvious that she didn't want to waste her time waiting for me to FINISH UP since I took three times the average time needed to read my part. I was devastated. This experience scarred me and it took me several years to get over what happened.

I WOKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED this morning and my wife IS STILL GOING ON AND ON ABOUT  how miserable her life has been. She literally puts me OUT OF SORTS. I can no longer PUT UP with her. In fact, I don’t have enough energy to PULL MYSELF UP anymore. I am so bored and SICK OF every detail in my life. I have even BECOME AWARE OF all the symptoms and signs that say I am in a deep depression. I can't FEEL FOR my wife anymore. My pain has become the center of my attention. My depression has penetrated my soul and my mind. I am a person that KNOWS all the details about depression LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. My life is FOR THE BIRDS and everything seems unexciting, dull, and dark.

I still remember how I was sure that she was living her best life. I had no idea that she was BLOWING SMOKE and was actually faking most of her life. She used to upload pictures of her travel trips, romantic dinners, and luxurious cars on Instagram. The sarcastic truth was that everything she posted online was totally fake. If you looked closely, you can tell that things were not as they seemed. After a while, things became clearer. Her stories were MADE UP and started to conflict with one another. Also, even if things were partially real, she would BLOW THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION and add some spices to her stories trying her best to SHOW OFF. She was literally FULL OF IT. However, doing so wouldn’t encourage people to STAY CLOSE to her instead she would make them RUN AWAY or use her. She must understand that being DOWN TO EARTH is not something to be shameful of. In fact, people are attracted to those who are genuinely humble but still confident. Also, she must remember the idiom that says “EASY COME, EASY GO”. That being said she must not rely on those superficial relationships because sooner or later they would actually FALL APART and would eventually fail.

David SNEAKED INTO the laundry room without Maria noticing. He was BREATHING DOWN HER NECK and watching whether Maria would go back on the promise she made to herself. Maria took a vow that she would never smoke again after her mother’s death. Maria CALLED IT QUITS because her mother PASSED AWAY due to lung cancer and that BROKE her DOWN even more. But watching if Maria would LIGHT UP a cigarette wouldn’t make the situation better. David needed to know that acting this way would RUB HER THE WRONG WAY and it would make her even more mad because this would leave her feeling as if she was CHEATING ON herself. David needed to trust and support her instead of discouraging her by being overbearing and watching her every move. Maria knew that such a decision needs a lot of effort, but still she TOOK THE PLUNGE. She was doing a great job. Although she went COLD TURKEY,  she hasn’t smoked a cigarette since.

After I MULLED OVER it, I finally GOT IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM and decided to get back to my favorite hobby. I have had enough stress lately due to being STUCK IN A RUT. I was neither doing well at work nor on a personal level. I found out that I was the reason behind my depression and lack of enthusiasm in life since I left the things that made me content and fulfilled. That’s why, I thought that once I set up a daily time slot to paint, I shouldn’t GO BACK ON the promise I made myself because I knew it would be my only way to LOOSEN UP and decompress. I knew that drawing and painting felt like a therapeutic session to me, I was sure it would help me LET OFF SOME STEAM. I GOT THE BALL ROLLING by DECIDING UPON which main supplies I needed to order to START OFF this project. I designated one corner of my room for my painting stuff. It was my absolute favorite place to spend my time and play with colors. I still have the wooden tripod easel that my uncle gave me as a souvenir. I believe that I have inherited this talent from him and I wish I would be able to FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS and become a great artist like him.

Emma and Chris had a very hard time when the school's doors were shut and their 4 kids were sent back home for 3 months due to COVID. It was also obvious that this lockdown period was SUBJECT TO extension since the school DIDN’T HAVE THE FOGGIEST IDEA of when this madness will be over. Emma and Chris WENT THROUGH THE ROOF not only because their children were bored and MONKEYING AROUND but also because they were facing a lot of troubles at work. Both of their companies RAMPED DOWN the number of employees to half and they were expected to run the same business workload with just a SKELETON CREW on board. In addition, Emma’s company CLOSED DOWN two of its regional branches which led to many of the company’s staff being LAID OFF, and that made her worried about hers. It was AN absolute PIT for both of them FACING UP TO all these struggles at the same time and hoping that things will go back to normal.

Rene looks so angry today. A STORM IS BREWING on the inside of her. Maya has been IN RENE’S GOOD BOOKS ever since they were roommates. However, when Rene finds out that Maya is still secretly in touch with Matthew, she couldn’t stand her anymore. Rene had enough of Maya’s NAGGING ABOUT her relationship with Matthew because she makes the same mistake over and over again. It is obvious to Rene that Matthew is using Maya for her money to pay his bills. Whenever he GETS SACKED, he would come back to Maya the very next day with regret in his eyes. Maya always FINDS EXCUSES FOR why she GOT BACK with him again. She would justify her actions by saying that she LOSES HER HEAD when she sees him KNEELING DOWN at her feet and begging for her help since everyone ditched him and she is the only one that cares about him. Rene is going to LOSE HER MIND not because Maya offers help but because of how she still believes she is HEAD OVER HEELS in love with him. Rene is sure they both know the ending of this type of relationship and how much she would suffer by doing this to herself.

Having a company that does not KNOW ITS STUFF is a real issue in this day and age. Mexus, a well-known company, needed to WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE since they hadn't got much done to win the bidding against the local company Tyron. On Monday, the bidding was officially GRANTED TO Tyron. Tyron knew that gaining this project will HELP them OUT immensely to be an UP AND COMING construction company in town. They were waiting for such an opportunity so badly to expand their services on a larger scale. A few days before the bidding, they GOT CRACKING so they could prove that they were one of the best companies to contract with. That’s why the head of the team WENT THROUGH WITH equally DIVIDING UP the tasks between the team members so they could GET OVER WITH finalizing their proposal by Thursday. Tyron has finally begun to GAIN GROUND and bigger projects are anticipated in the near future with new companies.