RED ROSES

There are pretty young women everywhere. And there are young
men with nice smiles. In every town, in every city, young men are
looking at young women, and young women are smiling at them.
They look, they meet, they talk, they laugh … happy days, sweet
nights – it’s love.

Will looks at Anna. She is a pretty young woman, and he wants to

meet her. But how? He can hear her guitar, but he cannot find her.

Anna looks at Will. She wants to meet him too. But where is he? She
can smell his roses in the elevator, but where does he go?

Anna’s friend Vicki wants to help. Will’s gran wants to help. But
nothing happens. Can Anna find Will? Can Will meet Anna? Is it
love?
It’s August. Anna is playing her guitar on the balcony of her new
apartment. ‘I like it here,’ she thinks.
Then her phone rings. It’s her friend Vicki.
‘I’m coming now, Anna. It’s Grandview Apartments, Charlton,
isn’t it?’
‘That’s right. See you soon.’
Anna takes her guitar and goes out of her apartment. She goes
down in the elevator and goes outside.
Anna is waiting outside the apartment building.
A young man is walking along the street. He is carrying a bunch
of white roses.
Anna looks at them. ‘What beautiful roses!’ she thinks. Then she
looks at the young man. ‘He’s nice too!’ she thinks.
The young man looks at her and smiles, and suddenly Anna’s face
is pink.

Will is walking along the street, when he sees a young woman with
a guitar.
‘Hmm – a guitar!’ he thinks. ‘I must play my guitar more often.’
Then he looks at the young woman.
‘She’s nice!’ he thinks, and he smiles at her.
 Anna’s face is pink, and she looks away. Will goes into Grandview
Apartments.

Just then, Vicki arrives in her car.

‘Hello, Anna,’ she says. ‘Are you OK? Your face is a bit pink.
What’s the matter?’
‘Oh – er – nothing,’ says Anna.
They drive away. Vicki talks to Anna, but Anna is thinking about
the young man.
‘Who is he?’ she thinks. ‘Does he live in the building? Who are the
roses for? His wife? His girlfriend? His mother?’
‘Anna? Are you listening?’ says Vicki.
‘Oh! Sorry, Vicki,’ says Anna. Her face is red now.
‘What are you thinking about?’ says Vicki. ‘Tell me!’
‘Well, I’m thinking about a bunch of roses,’ says Anna. ‘And a
man.’
‘Aha! Who is he?’ says Vicki.
‘I don’t know,’ says Anna.
‘But I want to know,’ she thinks.
Will arrives at his gran’s apartment.
‘Hello, dear,’ she says. ‘Oh, you are a good boy. You always bring
me roses.’
‘Of course,’ says Will.
 Gran makes Will some coffee. She asks him a question, but Will
does not answer.
‘Will, are you listening? You’re thinking about something, aren’t
you? What is it?’
‘Oh – sorry, Gran. It’s – it’s not important.’
Later, Will says goodbye to his gran. Then he gets into his car and
drives away.
In the car he thinks about the young woman with the guitar.
‘Where does she live?’ he thinks. ‘Does she live in one of the
apartments? Or has she got a friend there? How can I meet her?
Who is she?’
Five minutes later, Anna and Vicki arrive outside the apartment
building.
‘Goodnight, Vicki,’ says Anna.
‘Quick – go inside,’ says Vicki. ‘Just think – you walk out of the
elevator, and there is a young man with a bunch of roses. And he
says—’
‘Oh be quiet,’ laughs Anna. ‘See you tomorrow.’
It’s September. Will is visiting his gran again.
‘It’s a lovely day, Will,’ she says. ‘Let’s have our coffee on the
balcony.’
Will and his gran are sitting on the balcony in the sun, when
suddenly Will hears a guitar.
‘Listen!’ he says. ‘That’s a guitar. Where’s it coming from?’ He
stands up and looks around, but he cannot see the guitar.
‘Excuse me, Gran,’ he says. ‘I – er – back soon!’ And he runs out of
the apartment.
Will runs along the corridor. Where is the guitar? And who is
playing it?
He stops outside an apartment and listens. Nothing.
‘Perhaps it’s outside,’ he thinks. ‘Perhaps she’s on her balcony.’
So he goes down in the elevator and goes outside.
Upstairs, Anna takes her guitar and goes inside. She closes the
door to the balcony.
‘That’s it for today,’ she thinks.
Will looks at all the balconies, but he cannot see or hear a guitar.
He goes back to his gran’s apartment.
‘Are you all right, dear?’ she says.
 ‘Yes thanks, Gran,’ says Will. ‘It’s just – oh, it’s not important.
Well, it is important, but …’
And Will tells Gran about the girl with the guitar.

A week later, Anna is coming home. She can see a young man near
the apartment building, and he is carrying a bunch of roses – pink
roses today. But he is not looking, and he does not see her.
Anna walks more quickly. But when she gets to the building,
there is nobody there.
She gets into the elevator. There is nobody in the elevator, but she
can smell roses – beautiful pink roses.
One day Anna comes home and finds Gran at the door of the
building with a lot of bags.
‘Oh, can I help you?’ she says. ‘Can I carry something?’
‘Thank you very much,’ says Gran.
At the apartment, Gran says, ‘Come in, dear. Would you like some
coffee?’
‘Oh – that’s very nice of you,’ says Anna. ‘I’m new here, and I
don’t know anybody in the building.’
‘What do you do?’ asks Gran.
‘I’m a music student,’ says Anna.
Gran brings some coffee into the room.
‘These are lovely apartments, aren’t they?’ says Anna.
‘Oh yes,’ says Gran. ‘I like it here very much.’ She tells Anna
about her apartment, and about Charlton. Later Anna gets up.
‘I must go now,’ she says. ‘Thank you for the coffee.’
‘Goodbye, dear,’ says Gran, and Anna goes out.
‘What a nice girl,’ Gran thinks. ‘But – just a minute. A music
student – perhaps she’s the girl with the guitar! I can ask her over
one day when Will comes. No I can’t – I don’t know the number of
her apartment!’
Later that week Vicki talks to Anna. ‘I’m having a party on
Saturday,’ she says. ‘Can you come?’
‘Yes, of course!’ says Anna. ‘Your parties are always wonderful.’
Vicki calls her brother. ‘Come to my party on Saturday, James,’
she says, ‘and bring some friends.’
On Saturday, James and his friends arrive at Vicki’s house.
‘Hi, Vicki,’ says James. ‘Meet my friends. This is Tom, and Daniel
– and Will.’
Just then, Vicki’s phone rings.
‘I’m sorry, Vicki,’ says Anna. ‘I can’t come to your party, because
I’m not feeling well.’
‘Oh Anna! I’m sorry, too,’ says Vicki. ‘Well, stay in bed, and get
better soon.’
Vicki’s party is wonderful. Will meets Natalie, and Jane, and
Katie. But he does not meet Anna.
Now it’s October. Will visits his gran, but he does not see Anna. He
walks along the corridor, but he does not hear a guitar.
‘Where is she?’ he thinks.
Anna visits her family for a week, then she comes back to her
apartment. She looks for Will, but she does not see him.
‘There are lots of men!’ says Vicki, but Anna cannot forget Will.
Then Gran goes to hospital for two weeks. One day Will visits her
there.
‘How are you today, Gran?’ he asks.
‘Very well thank you, dear. I’m going home on Friday.’
‘That’s good,’ says Will. ‘Perhaps I can get some things for you on
Thursday and take them to the apartment.’
‘That’s very nice of you, Will,’ says Gran.
After work on Thursday Will goes to the shops and gets some things
for Gran. He gets some roses, too, and he puts everything in his car.
 Suddenly it begins to rain. Will is getting into his car when he
sees his friend Tom.
‘Where are you going, Tom?’ says Will.
‘Home – to Eastfield.’
‘I’m going to my gran’s apartment in Charlton, so I can take you
to Eastfield first.’
‘Can you take my friend Anna, too? She’s going to Charlton.’
‘Yes of course,’ says Will.
Tom and Anna get into Will’s car.
‘Thanks, Will,’ says Tom. ‘It’s not a very nice night!’
‘That’s all right, Tom,’ says Will. He drives Tom home, and then
he says to Anna, ‘Where are you going, Anna?’
‘I’m going to Grandview Apartments. It’s on Park Road.’
‘That’s funny,’ says Will. ‘I’m going to Grandview Apartments.’
‘Is it her?’ he thinks. ‘The girl with the guitar?’ He looks in the
mirror, but he can’t see her face very well.
‘Can I smell roses?’ thinks Anna. ‘Is it him – the man with the
roses?’
Then they are outside the apartment building. They get out of the
car, and then they begin to talk at the same time.
‘Oh! It’s you!’
‘You play the guitar!’
‘And you come here with roses!’
 ‘Yes – I always bring roses to my gran.’
‘His gran!’ thinks Anna. ‘Not his wife, not his girlfriend.’
‘She’s coming home from hospital tomorrow, so I’m taking some
things to her apartment,’ says Will.
‘Can I … would you like some help?’ says Anna.
‘Yes please!’ says Will.

They go up to Gran’s apartment. Will puts things away, and Anna

puts the roses in a vase.
‘There – aren’t they lovely!’ she says. ‘I like roses. They smell
wonderful.’
 ‘Thank you for your help, Anna,’ says Will.
‘That’s all right,’ Anna says. ‘Look – would you like to come up to
my apartment for coffee?’
‘I’d like to very much,’ says Will.
He smiles, and she smiles. They go upstairs.
On Friday Gran comes home. Will goes to see her. He is carrying a
bunch of red roses.
‘That’s a big smile, Will!’ says Gran. ‘Red roses – don’t they say
“Red roses for love”?’
‘Well, Gran …’ says Will.
Ten minutes later, Will comes out of Gran’s apartment and goes
upstairs. He’s carrying a bunch of red roses.
Gran goes out onto the balcony and sits down in the sun. She can
hear a guitar. Then it stops.
Gran hears Will’s voice, and Anna’s voice. Then Anna laughs.
 Gran smiles. She can smell roses – beautiful red roses, in the sun,
outside on a balcony.
 GLOSSARY

a bit a small amount, not much

along from one end of something to the other end
anybody any person
apartment a group of rooms for living in
around in different places
dear you say this when you speak to someone you like or love
funny strange
girlfriend a girl who is a man’s special friend
gran grandmother – the mother of your father or mother
inside into a room or building
lovely very nice
music what you make when you sing, or play the piano, guitar,
etc
outside out of a room or building
ring (v) make a sound like a bell (e.g. a telephone rings)
smell (v) notice something with your nose
upstairs to or in the higher part of a building
voice you speak and sing with your voice
 Before Reading

1 Look at the front and back cover of the book and choose
the correct ending for these sentences.
1 This story is about …
a work.
b love.
c families.
2 Roses are …
a people.
b buildings.
c flowers.
2 Guess what happens. In the story …
Yes No
1 Anna and Will never meet.
2 Will meets Vicki.
3 Will takes Anna home in his car.
4 Will meets Anna at work.
5 Anna sees Will on TV.
6 Anna meets Will’s grandmother.
 While Reading

1 Read pages 1–4, then answer these questions.

1 What does Anna play?
2 Who is coming to her apartment?
3 What colour are Will’s roses?
4 Who is Anna thinking about?

2 Read pages 5–8. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
1 Anna is not listening to Vicki.
2 Will always takes apples to Gran.
3 Gran makes coffee for Will.
4 Will talks to Gran about Anna.
5 Anna sees Will outside the apartment building when she
comes home.

3 Read pages 9–12, then answer the questions.

Who …
1 … says: ‘It’s a lovely day’?
2 … runs out of the apartment?
3 … closes the door to the balcony?
4 … says: ‘Are you all right, dear?’?
5 … can smell roses in the elevator?
4 Read pages 13–16, then answer these questions.
1 How does Anna help Gran?
2 What is Vicki doing on Saturday?
3 Why does Anna stay at home on Saturday?
4 Who does Will meet at the party?

5 Read pages 17–20, then match the sentence halves to

make four complete sentences.
1 Will walks along the corridor …
2 Anna visits her family for a week …
3 Will is getting into his car …
4 Will is going to Charlton …

a then she comes back to her apartment.

b so he can take Tom to Eastfield first.
c but he does not hear a guitar.
d when he sees his friend Tom.

6 Read pages 21–24. Are these sentences true (T) or false

(F)?
1 Will takes the roses to his mother.
2 Anna puts the roses in a vase.
3 Anna asks Will to her apartment.
4 Will has a bunch of red roses for Gran.
5 Gran laughs when she smells the roses.
 After Reading

1 What do you know about Anna? Write a description using

these words:
live / Grandview Apartments / Charlton
music student / play guitar
friend / called Vicki
like / help people
like parties / roses

2 Put these sentences in the correct order. Number them 1–

10.
a Tom and Anna get into Will’s car.
b ‘Is she the girl with the guitar ’ Will thinks.
c Will goes shopping for Gran.
d They arrive at the apartment building and get out of the
car.
e Then they go to Anna’s apartment.
f Will drives Tom home.
g Anna says, ‘I’m going to Grandview Apartments.’
h Anna helps Will with the roses.
i Then Will and Anna meet!
j Then he sees his friend Tom.

3 Who says this? Who do they say it to?

 1 ‘I’m thinking about a bunch of roses.’
2 ‘That’s a guitar. Where’s it coming from?’
3 ‘Can I carry something?’
4 ‘Come to my party on Saturday.’
5 ‘Stay in bed, and get better soon.’
6 ‘Can you take my friend Anna, too?’

4 Complete this summary of the story. Use these words:

apartment because hears home do not nice outside party rain red
One day Anna sees Will with a bunch of roses outside her
__________________ building. She thinks, ‘He’s __________________.’ Will likes
Anna too, but they __________________ meet. Then Will __________________ a
guitar. Is it Anna’s guitar? He goes __________________, but he cannot see
it.
Anna’s friend Vicki asks Anna and Will to her __________________, but
Anna cannot go __________________ she is not well. Then one afternoon
Will sees his friend Tom in the _______. He takes Tom and Tom’s friend
Anna __________________. This time, Will and Anna meet. The next day,
Will takes a bunch of roses to the apartment building – but they are
__________________roses, for Anna.