(Facile - Frenetic - Fastidious)
Nicole was in the 4th grade. She got made fun of a lot because she wore glasses and was bigger then the other kids her age. Some would be extra mean and call her fat or ugly. There were many days when she would come home crying.
She had the best mom and dad in the world. Her mom's name was Nancy and her dad's name was Nathan. They always knew what to say to make her feel better about herself. They would explain to her that not just kids but even some immature adults who make fun of other people and/or try to make other people feel bad about themselves, are just being mean and trying to make themselves feel better about how insecure they feel about themselves.
Nicole came home from school that afternoon and was very excited. "Mom!" "Dad!" she came running in the house. "What, what??!!" cried her mom, thinking something was wrong.
Nicole was gasping for air because she was so excited, she ran all the way home. "There is a contest at school, a Spelling Bee, and if I win I get a big trophy with a first place ribbon aaannnnd I get my name on the "Wall of Fame" at school. Everybody will see it!"
"Well if you are going to win, her dad said, you'd better start studying a lot everyday. How many other kids will there be?" Nicole shrugged and said "Just all of the fourth and fifth graders". "Oh." "Well then, START STUDYING" her mom faked a yell and off to her room Nicole went.
Nicole had 1 month to study, and that is exactly what she did. After school, after homework and after dinner. She would study and study more. Sometimes her parents would go through the word list and test her on spelling words. She was doing very well but still kept studying.
Before she knew it, it was the day of the Spelling Bee. Nicole was so nervous she couldn't even think or remember of any of the words she had learned. She thought she was going to blow it, lose in a big way. She almost had tears in her eyes the first time her name was called.
The moderator said smiling "Nicole, you must say the word, spell it and then use it in a sentence". We will let you know if you go to the next round. The first word is FACILE". Nicole smiled, suddenly she remembered her studying. "FACILE/ F-A-C-I-L-E/ "The facile movement of the nurse giving the shot was very comforting."
"Perfect" said the moderator". People clapped and Nicole sat and waited for her next turn. When her turn came, the moderator said "Frenetic". Nicole thought for a minute and said "FRENETIC/F-R-E-N-E-T-I-C/ "The Frenetic mood of the contest put everyone in a stressed out state". The moderator and her helper smiled,exchanged a whisper and said "Well done, your on to the final round.
Nicole felt like she was going to pass out, so much depended on this next word. She didn't know what the word was yet, and she was so scared. She had come so far, she just had to win now. She'd be heartbroken if she didn't. The other girl got a word, Nicole couldn't remember what it was, but the girl spelled it wrong. Nicole came up for her final word. If she got it right, she would win. Suddenly she couldn't breathe. She felt as if the walk to the microphone was a mile. The moderator said, "For the win, the word is Fastidious". Nicole closed her eyes and thought. She started..."FASTIDIOUS" "F-A-S-T-I-D-I-O-U-S". Now all she had to do is think of a sentence. She said "The FASTIDIOUS manner in which she worked was described as difficult".
The moderator looked at her, smiled and congratulated her for winning while handing her a trophy and blue ribbon. She said quietly to Nicole, "your very smart and well spoken. Your a great winner and your very intelligent". Everyone in the crowd cheered as Nicole smiled and held up her trophy.