Exercise from a word association spider diagram - see tutor tutorials for more information.
It was late in the summer and late in the day, the sun was melting into the trees and the girls were chatting as they walked along the canal tow path.
"So I've unfriended Lila and she was like, 'whatever', but I know she's gutted really because..."
"Isn't that Josh?" butted in Daisy, who wasn't really paying much attention to Charlotte.
Charlotte looked miffed but was now also distracted by the tall figure leaning over a canal boat as if trying to fish something out of the canal.
"OMG, I would recognise him anywhere. He is so lush?"
Daisy was squinting at the distant figure. She hated to admit it but her Mum might have been right about her needing glasses. "Lush? What century have you just stepped out of?" giggled Daisy, she turned attention back to the canal. "What is he doing?"
"Oh my God! He was freaking out about his exams last week. I know because his brother told Jade's sister and she tweeted it and there was like this big row and..."
"Charlotte!" barked Daisy, quickening her pace.
"You don't think he's committing suicide?" said Charlotte, looking both excited and alarmed.
Daisy very much doubted it but she was getting the feeling from watching the figure lurching about up ahead that something was definitely wrong. Daisy started to run and Charlotte followed.
Their pumps on the gravel alerted Josh and he hauled himself upright, dusted down his jeans and smoothed his boy band hair.
"You OK?" said Daisy when they were close enough. Charlotte jogged up to join them.
"Hiya, Josh, love that t-shirt," said Charlotte, hoping she still had a smudge of lip gloss left on her lips and she rubbed her lips together to try to distribute any that remained. Josh looked taken aback by the sudden intrusion and a bit startled by Charlotte's vigorous lip action.
"Er, yeah I was just..." He pointed to a rucksack in the water that was caught on the mooring ropes of an ornately decorated canal boat.
Charlotte screwed her face up at the sodden bag. "Is that yours?"
"No!" said Josh.
"I didn't think so, it's one of those cheap ones," said Charlotte, pulling a disgusted face at the logo.
"Can't you reach it?" asked Daisy, looking for a stick or something useful to unhook it with.
"No, I think we should leave it," said Josh, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Daisy ignored him and dragged a bushy branch from the undergrowth that lined the canal path and dragged it over. Josh snorted, "What you gonna do with that? It's not long enough to reach."
Daisy stepped onto the boat and it bobbed gently in the water sending ripples across the glasslike surface of the canal.
"Daisy! You can't do that someone might live there," said Charlotte, trying to peer into one of the small windows.
Josh snorted again. "I'm not playing at Famous Five with you two, I'm going home." And he half shuffled backwards but didn't really go anywhere.
Daisy ignored him and swung the branch round to rest on both the rope and the bag so that she could drag the bag towards her, but instead it dislodged the bag which splashed into the water.
"Oh crap," said Daisy. They stood and watched the bag bob up and down just out of reach. It was half floating and half sinking and it looked like it was going to just slowly float away. Josh started to walk off and Daisy dragged the branch off the boat.
Charlotte was checking her mobile phone for non-existent messages when a noise made them all look back at the water. It was a muffled squeak of some sort. Daisy threw the branch down and jumped back onto the narrow edge of the boat, making it bounce in the water and making the bag bob further away. The squeaking got louder.
"There's a dog in it!" shouted Daisy. Josh bounded back in two strides and stood next to Charlotte. He stared at the bag and Charlotte stared at him.
The noise got more desperate and was now clearly a distressed yap.
"Someone needs to go in!" said Daisy, glancing at her new jeans that she'd saved up for weeks to buy.
Josh looked suddenly anxious and registered the looks from both the girls; one was adoring, the other was expectant with menace. "Well?" said Daisy, pointing at the yapping rucksack that was drifting further away.
"I'm not going in!" said Josh, but he was already kicking off his vans. He took off his new t-shirt and handed it to Charlotte who resisted the urge to hug it and instead draped it over her arm and widened her eyes in glee.
Josh slid into the dark water and swam to the bag. He grabbed it roughly and realising the depth of the canal waded back, dragging the bag through the water.
"Hold it up, you moron!" shouted Daisy as the yelping continued, Josh obliged and dumped the bag on the grass at the side of the canal path.
"You are so brave," said Charlotte, thumbing through the photos she'd just taken. "Look at that one!" She tried to show him as he hauled himself out of the water. The magical moment as his lithe wet body emerged from the canal was only slightly marred by the stench that came with him.
Whilst Charlotte was fussing round Josh, Daisy was opening the wet bag. Inside was a lot of dirty water and a very wet puppy. It was now silent and shaking uncontrollably. Daisy grabbed Josh's t-shirt from Charlotte and wrapped the puppy in it.
"Shit! What did you do that for?" asked Josh, picking up his vans.
"It's in shock, look at it." And she held it out for inspection.
"I'm going," said Josh.
"I'll come with you," said Charlotte, barely looking up from posting all her rescue photos onto Facebook.
It was Josh's turn to pull a face.
"I'll take the puppy to the police then, shall I?" asked Daisy.
"Take it to the vet. They'll see if it has a microchip and belongs to someone. It might be stolen!" said Charlotte, coming back to take a photo of the bedraggled creature.
"Don't do that. I'll take it," said Josh reaching for the puppy. But Daisy wasn't letting go. "Look, I live nearer to the vet than you do," added Josh, his hands still outstretched. Daisy handed the wet puppy over and it yelped at the change. Josh picked up the wet bag. "I'll dump this too."
Daisy watched as Charlotte trotted off with Josh, desperately trying to stay beside him despite the narrowing of the path.
Josh was silent walking home which didn't seem to bother Charlotte who was wittering on about the flurry she'd caused on social media and her longing to ‘go viral’.
Josh was lost in his thoughts. He would have to think of a better way to get rid of the bribery gift from his mother's latest boyfriend.
It was late in the summer and late in the day, the sun was melting into the trees and the girls were chatting as they walked along the canal tow path.
"So I've unfriended Lila and she was like, 'whatever', but I know she's gutted really because..."
"Isn't that Josh?" butted in Daisy, who wasn't really paying much attention to Charlotte.
Charlotte looked miffed but was now also distracted by the tall figure leaning over a canal boat as if trying to fish something out of the canal.
"OMG, I would recognise him anywhere. He is so lush?"
Daisy was squinting at the distant figure. She hated to admit it but her Mum might have been right about her needing glasses. "Lush? What century have you just stepped out of?" giggled Daisy, she turned attention back to the canal. "What is he doing?"
"Oh my God! He was freaking out about his exams last week. I know because his brother told Jade's sister and she tweeted it and there was like this big row and..."
"Charlotte!" barked Daisy, quickening her pace.
"You don't think he's committing suicide?" said Charlotte, looking both excited and alarmed.
Daisy very much doubted it but she was getting the feeling from watching the figure lurching about up ahead that something was definitely wrong. Daisy started to run and Charlotte followed.
Their pumps on the gravel alerted Josh and he hauled himself upright, dusted down his jeans and smoothed his boy band hair.
"You OK?" said Daisy when they were close enough. Charlotte jogged up to join them.
"Hiya, Josh, love that t-shirt," said Charlotte, hoping she still had a smudge of lip gloss left on her lips and she rubbed her lips together to try to distribute any that remained. Josh looked taken aback by the sudden intrusion and a bit startled by Charlotte's vigorous lip action.
"Er, yeah I was just..." He pointed to a rucksack in the water that was caught on the mooring ropes of an ornately decorated canal boat.
Charlotte screwed her face up at the sodden bag. "Is that yours?"
"No!" said Josh.
"I didn't think so, it's one of those cheap ones," said Charlotte, pulling a disgusted face at the logo.
"Can't you reach it?" asked Daisy, looking for a stick or something useful to unhook it with.
"No, I think we should leave it," said Josh, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Daisy ignored him and dragged a bushy branch from the undergrowth that lined the canal path and dragged it over. Josh snorted, "What you gonna do with that? It's not long enough to reach."
Daisy stepped onto the boat and it bobbed gently in the water sending ripples across the glasslike surface of the canal.
"Daisy! You can't do that someone might live there," said Charlotte, trying to peer into one of the small windows.
Josh snorted again. "I'm not playing at Famous Five with you two, I'm going home." And he half shuffled backwards but didn't really go anywhere.
Daisy ignored him and swung the branch round to rest on both the rope and the bag so that she could drag the bag towards her, but instead it dislodged the bag which splashed into the water.
"Oh crap," said Daisy. They stood and watched the bag bob up and down just out of reach. It was half floating and half sinking and it looked like it was going to just slowly float away. Josh started to walk off and Daisy dragged the branch off the boat.
Charlotte was checking her mobile phone for non-existent messages when a noise made them all look back at the water. It was a muffled squeak of some sort. Daisy threw the branch down and jumped back onto the narrow edge of the boat, making it bounce in the water and making the bag bob further away. The squeaking got louder.
"There's a dog in it!" shouted Daisy. Josh bounded back in two strides and stood next to Charlotte. He stared at the bag and Charlotte stared at him.
The noise got more desperate and was now clearly a distressed yap.
"Someone needs to go in!" said Daisy, glancing at her new jeans that she'd saved up for weeks to buy.
Josh looked suddenly anxious and registered the looks from both the girls; one was adoring, the other was expectant with menace. "Well?" said Daisy, pointing at the yapping rucksack that was drifting further away.
"I'm not going in!" said Josh, but he was already kicking off his vans. He took off his new t-shirt and handed it to Charlotte who resisted the urge to hug it and instead draped it over her arm and widened her eyes in glee.
Josh slid into the dark water and swam to the bag. He grabbed it roughly and realising the depth of the canal waded back, dragging the bag through the water.
"Hold it up, you moron!" shouted Daisy as the yelping continued, Josh obliged and dumped the bag on the grass at the side of the canal path.
"You are so brave," said Charlotte, thumbing through the photos she'd just taken. "Look at that one!" She tried to show him as he hauled himself out of the water. The magical moment as his lithe wet body emerged from the canal was only slightly marred by the stench that came with him.
Whilst Charlotte was fussing round Josh, Daisy was opening the wet bag. Inside was a lot of dirty water and a very wet puppy. It was now silent and shaking uncontrollably. Daisy grabbed Josh's t-shirt from Charlotte and wrapped the puppy in it.
"Shit! What did you do that for?" asked Josh, picking up his vans.
"It's in shock, look at it." And she held it out for inspection.
"I'm going," said Josh.
"I'll come with you," said Charlotte, barely looking up from posting all her rescue photos onto Facebook.
It was Josh's turn to pull a face.
"I'll take the puppy to the police then, shall I?" asked Daisy.
"Take it to the vet. They'll see if it has a microchip and belongs to someone. It might be stolen!" said Charlotte, coming back to take a photo of the bedraggled creature.
"Don't do that. I'll take it," said Josh reaching for the puppy. But Daisy wasn't letting go. "Look, I live nearer to the vet than you do," added Josh, his hands still outstretched. Daisy handed the wet puppy over and it yelped at the change. Josh picked up the wet bag. "I'll dump this too."
Daisy watched as Charlotte trotted off with Josh, desperately trying to stay beside him despite the narrowing of the path.
Josh was silent walking home which didn't seem to bother Charlotte who was wittering on about the flurry she'd caused on social media and her longing to ‘go viral’.
Josh was lost in his thoughts. He would have to think of a better way to get rid of the bribery gift from his mother's latest boyfriend.