It was a rainy day in September.

Children had just started studying after a long summer break. It was Stephen’s sixth school year. He had recently moved to a new house with his family. It was the biggest and the most expensive one in the area, since Stephen’s family was quite rich. His parents were often busy at work, so this young man felt sad and lonely. Luckily, his cheerful and loving grandma, Mary, lived with them and took good care of the boy all the time. Every day they enjoyed each other’s company in their huge, fertile garden, playing board games and sharing their dreams.

Since the village was very small, not more than a hundred pupils attended the local school. There were a few groups of students, which were divided due to their interests. In the beginning, it was quite difficult for Stephen to make friends in a new place. One day, when he was walking along the wide corridor, he noticed a huge old door with a very unusual handle. His curiosity always took over him, and this time was no exception. As soon as the boy opened the door, he saw a lot of long shelves with all kinds of books. Stephen also heard somebody reading quietly. At the back of the room, not far from the window, there was an old round wooden table with four young people sitting around it. There were three girls and one boy, who enjoyed reading and discussing the story together. Stephen was very interested in such a process, so he came a little bit closer and asked if he could join them.

“We would love to expand our little company,” Peter said. He was a medium-height, well-built boy with short dark hair and green eyes. An interesting thing was that both boys were the same age but studied in different classes. Unlike Peter, the girls were Stephen’s classmates. All the young ladies were 15 years old. Mary was a shy girl with long fair hair and beautiful blue eyes. Ann was quite a taller, fit girl with brown eyes and an attractive smile. Kate was the shortest among the children, with very shiny dark hair and big brown eyes.

After that day, they met for reading in the library every day. Stephen’s grandma was very excited when she heard the news about his new soulmates.

During the school year, this group of children had a lot of various adventures in different places. Most of all, they enjoyed spending their free time either in the library or in the park. They did a really good job collecting the rubbish and watering the trees, bushes, and flowers there. This year the park looked much better than any time before. The children also did a very good job sorting the books in the library, so anybody could come and quickly find the one he or she needed. The school director granted these young people a thank you letter for improving the educational process. They were also allowed to stay an extra hour in the library, which was the best reward for the young people.

Every weekend the local citizens had a little tradition to organize a fair and spend fun time together. Stephen, Peter, Mary, Ann, and Kate were not an exception. This fair was their favorite activity of the week. Every time the children came back home, they brought something new: toys, sculptures, magnets, souvenirs, dishes, and a lot of tasty treats. Once they also met a new friend, Max, at the fair. He was well-built and tall, with medium-length dark hair and green eyes. This boy had just recently come to live in the village, but he had already become very popular among the children.

The first time Stephen’s company met Max, they invited him to spend the weekend together. That Sunday everybody was celebrating a Village Day. There were so many children’s attractions, water rides, carousels, and snack shops at the fair that all the villagers came to spend the day. The whole local center was full of beautiful decorations: colorful bunting, hung-up umbrellas, balloons, fireworks, candles, bright ribbons, extraordinary fruit, and wooden sculptures made this place look really special. Everything looked very cozy and memorable. All the children met near the entrance of the fair at noon. In the beginning, Stephen took everybody to try the water ride: they took three double swimming circles and tried all the water attractions in the area. After this, all the young people felt hungry and decided to have some lunch in the cafe. They ordered two large pepperoni pizzas, some apple juice, and a cheesecake for dessert. Stephen was very happy to treat his friends and paid for everybody.

The rest of the day they spent searching for interesting souvenirs. Suddenly, Stephen noticed a really nice wooden crossbow and decided to buy it. Unfortunately, when he reached into his pocket with his hand, he found no wallet in it. He got really upset, because he wanted to present the crossbow on his father’s birthday, as he was a big fan of weapons. Peter, Mary, Ann, and Kate did their best to help look for Stephen’s money. However, Max told them that he had to go home because his parents would get worried about him being out so late that evening. After he had left for home, the children searched for the wallet for another hour. Sadly, it was all in vain. An unlucky boy had to come back home with empty hands.

On Monday, when the children were entering school, they saw Max surrounded by his classmates. As soon as Peter got closer to the crowd, he saw a lot of expensive souvenirs in Max’s hands. Max was boasting and showing them off. After a while Stephen, Kate, Mary, and Ann came up to them. Everybody was really surprised, because Max hadn’t bought any of these things with them yesterday.

Stephen walked up to Max and said, “Hi, Max! Where did you get all of this?”

The boy answered: “They are presents from . . .”

Unexpectedly, Stephen’s wallet fell out of Max’s backpack. There was absolute silence for a couple of seconds.

“Nevermind,” said Stephen, and he persuaded the company to leave right away.