Sharpen your pencils and dust off your keyboard as the competition is about to roll.

1) Book reviews wanted!!!

1) Oksana Kovalchuk    - 1st place
2) Marina Krasnova       - 2nd place
3) Galya Mandra           - 3rd place

 1st place - Oksana Kovalchuk

Michael closed the door and knew at that moment he had made a mistake. Cold drops of sweat sprang to his forehead. “Oh, no!” -he whispered. Terror was all over his face. “It can’t be true…”

He got the shakes when he had recognized the horror of the situation. It could be the last straw and he understood it. “It’s time to take measures”, he said. So, Michael clenched his hands into hard fists, hang on for a while, then he opened the door slowly as if it was a huge concrete door. He squeezed through it, though, took off his shoes and tiptoed to the bedroom.

His wife was on the bed. She didn’t move. Michael looked at her and his heart started pounding. “It’s the end…”, he thought. Sarah held his mobile and gazed at the screen. “I’m sorry”, Michael whispered. “What?”, she asked (with a startle).Then she smiled. “Look!” she exclaimed. “I’ve broken your record!” He didn’t answer…

2nd place - Marina Krasnova

Michael closed the door and knew at that very moment he had made a mistake. Now he was alone inside an old creepy house. “There is nothing to be afraid of”, he thought. It was simply a big two-storey mansion, with a huge fireplace, ancient furniture all in dust, and dark curtains on windows. Of course, the rumors were rife about the house, that it was haunted by the ghost of a girl, who had been found murdered there. The spirit was said to be a vengeful one and it seemed enough for people to keep away from that place.

The boy took a couple of steps and felt something against his foot. He kicked it reflexively in panic. But as soon as Michael noticed that it was a cat, he sighed with relief. When his hands finally stopped shaking, the boy continued on and went upstairs.

Suddenly Michael heard someone crying. He opened the door very slowly and could not believe his eyes: a little girl was sitting on a bed. She was dressed in a long white dress and had black hair. It seemed amazing, but her face was to innocent, that for a couple of seconds he stopped being afraid of her.

“You should not have come” – she said. The windows opened, the wind blew into his face, and in a moment the ghost turned up near the boy. There was a living air about that girl as if her arms could really reach him and grab.

Michael screamed in terror. As he opened his eyes, he understood that it was just a bad dream.

3rd place - Galya Mandra

Life in diamonds

I looked at the map and realized that I was completely lost. I decided to ask for help. But who?

Here in the city of dreams and crushed hope, biggest success and at the same time of desperation and unemployment, any minute I could bump into a Hollywood celebrity or into a real weakling.

“Maybe I must ask that old gentleman or maybe that young girl with a dog? What do I need from these people and the city they live in?” – I asked myself. This was what I did then, that day… My first day of a new life in New York.

In few days I was already married to one of the richest (and the oldest) man in America. Firstly I did not really fancy him. However, in thirty years of happy life I got used to him after all this time living together. The next stage in my career was building my own business.

I was always in love with diamonds but now they became the style of my life. They became my life but not the whole one. I believe that the most significant thing in my life is probably having my children around. They inspire me to work and better myself. So my advice to you is never give in without putting up a struggle.