I remember the first time I met Roy.He was standing in the centre of a group of boys,and he was telling a joke.When he reached the final line,everyone burst out laughing.Roy laughted too.A loud happy laugh."Popular boy,"I thought to myself.My name is Daniel.I was from the north of England,but my father had been offered a better job in London,and our whole family had moved there.I was 12 and,having lost all my old friends,I felt shy and lonely at my new school.
There were 33 students in my new class,and most people weren’t very interested in a shy new boy.Roy was one of the few people who were kind to me .He often invited me to join his particular goup,and as a result,I started getting to know people.Roy and I become good friends.We trusted each other and we could talk about personal matters,things that were important to us.
Five years later,Roy and I are still in the same class.But just under a year ago.Roy’s father was knocked over by a car.He died a few days later.The family had to move to a much smaller house in order to manage financially.Roy,who had always been very close to his father,changed completely,becoming silent and moody.He had always been a clever,hard-working student but now he seemed to lose all interest in his work.He started losing friends.These days,Roy and I see each other from time to time,but we no longer close.
About three months ago,a group of us were playing football together after school.Having left something in the cloakroom,I went inside to get it,and found Roy going through the pockets of people’s coats.In his hand he had a wallet---and I knew it wasn’t his!My mouth fell open and I just looked at him.Roy went bright red.“I’ll put it back right now,”he said,and he did so.I turned round and walked out without saying a word.
I really hoped that Roy would explain why he had been stealing,but instead he started avoiding me.At the same time,small amounts of money started disappearing from students’ lockers.I wonder if the thief was Roy but decided not to say anything to anyone.I hope it wasn’t him.
Last week our school had a big fair in order to raise money for a charity.It was very successful and by the end of the day,we had made about $500.Our class teacher,Mr White,came and chatted to a group of us that included Roy,and held up a box for us to see.“There’s $500 in here,”he said with a smile.But to our surprise,the next morning,we were told that the money had been stolen.Mr White had left the box in a classroom for a few minutes,and when he came back it had disappeared.The head teacher asked anyone who thought they might know something about the theft to come to him.
This weekend ,having thought about the situation for a while,I decided to ask Roy about the theft,and this morning I went to see him.Roy was out,and I went upstairs to his bedroom to wait for him.It was a cold day and his jacket was lying on the back of a chair.I put it on and put my hands in the pockets.I could feel a lot of paper notes and I pulled them out.
It looked as if there was about $500 there.I was so surprised that I just stood there,holding the notes in my hands.At that moment,the door swung open,and Roy walked in.
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