As Sam slowly woke, he got a funny feeling in his stomach. He knew he would have to do something that he had been afraid to do for a long time.The school bus came on time, and he sat with his friend, Billy. They chatted about baseball. It was a great way to get his mind off what he had to do later. As they got close to the school, he could feel his heart beating. His hands were starting tosweat. He hated this!

    He entered Mrs. Owen's class. She was smiling, and saying hello to all her students as she did every morning.

    "Hi, Sam!" she said as he walked in."Hi," he said and quickly sat in his seat. Then the class began to take their spelling test. He looked at the clock. The time was near. He hoped he was not first! Mrs. Owens said it was time to begin their special day."Sam, you'll be first." Mrs. Owens said to the class, "Sam has worked very hard on his report on Hawaii, and I know it is very interesting."

    Sam nervously greeted his class. Then, he thought about the fun things he had read about surfing, volcanoes, and pineapples in Hawaii, and he started to talk. He talked in front of the whole class, and it was fun. The class clapped as he finished and Mrs. Owens was smiling. It wasn't terrible at all and he knew he would do better the next time.