Second Chance

"Look what Elias did to my math book!" Isabelle said angrily. "He's ruined it!" She turned toward her little brother. "Don't you ever touch my books again!""I'm sorry, Isabelle," Elias said sadly. "It just broked.""Books don't just break! You ripped it. You were careless, and now it's all torn up." Isabelle shook her finger at Elias. "From now on, you leave my books alone!" she said as she went to get ready for school.That afternoon Mom joined Isabelle in her room. "How's the homework coming along? You had a test today, didn't you?""Yes, but most of us messed up on it," Isabelle 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." Isabelle smiled. "Miss Nelson is a really nice teacher."Mom nodded. "I'd say it's good of her to give you a second chance."A moment later, she added, "Elias sure could use a second chance too."Isabelle looked puzzled. "Does Elias have t