"Second Chance"

"Look what Joshua did to my CD!" Nicole said angrily. "He's ruined it!" She turned toward her little brother, who sat at the table eating ice cream. "Don't you ever touch my CDs again!"

"I'm sorry, Nicole," Joshua said sadly. "It just broked."

"CDs don't just break!" Nicole argued. "You broke it. You were careless and now it's all scratched." She shook her finger at Joshua. "From now on, you leave my CDs alone!" she repeated as she went to her room to study.

The next afternoon Mom joined Nicole in her room. "How's the homework coming along?" asked Mom. "You had a test today, didn't you?"

"Yes, but most of us messed up on it," Nicole replied. "We didn't understand the problems very well, so Miss Nelson explained them again. We're having another test tomorrow. She's giving us a chance to bring our grades up." Nicole smiled. "Miss Nelson is a really nice teacher," she added.

Mom nodded. "I'd say it's good of her to give you a second chance,"she said. A moment later she added thoughtfully, "Joshua sure could use a second chance, too."

Nicole looked puzzled. "Does Joshua have take tests in kindergarten? What did he mess up on?"

"I was thinking of your CD--the one he used yesterday--and I think he needs a second chance with you," explained Mom. "Don't you think you were a little hard on him? I don't think he's quite gotten over it--he's been very quiet today."

Nicole looked down at her hands. As she hesitated, Joshua came into the room. "I'm gonna save my 'lowance, and I'll buy you a new CD," he told his sister.

Nicole's glance fell on her math book, and she shook her head. "You don't have to do that, Joshua," she said. "I know you didn't scratch it on purpose, and I'm sorry I was mean about it." Nicole gave him a smile. "You can use my CDs if you want to. Just be careful with them, okay?"

"Okay!" agreed Joshua with a big smile. "I'll be very careful!"