Name____________________________________                             Date_______________________
           
Ellie and Jessica
Reading Comprehension Worksheet           

Directions:  Read the passage below carefully. When you have finished reading it completely, answer the questions that follow.

True Scary Story 

July 27th, 2010 

It was a typical Friday night for Jessica, watching a movie in the living room with her family, having fun, and just enjoying life. She had no idea what the night had in store for her.

She took a shower after the movie and got ready for sleep. She kissed her parents goodnight and got in bed. When she thought that everyone had gone to bed, she called her friend Ellie and told her to meet her at the store down the street from her neighborhood. Ellie agreed and hung up. Jessica calmly and quietly made her way to her window, cracking it open as smoothly as possible, trying not to wake anyone. 

She got out onto the small porch outside her window by the back door and crept along the outside of the house swiftly, cuz there was no light back there, and the street light had burned out. She wasn't feeling so good about this night. She got to the edge of her street and hid by a bush so no one could see her, and she called Ellie.

"I don't know about this Ell… This isn't like other nights. Something doesn't feel right. I've got a bad vibe." Jessica complained.

"You're just paranoid Jess… if it makes you feel any better, I'll walk to where you are and we can walk together ok?"

"Ok I'm at the end of my street, hurry Ell… or I'm going home!"

The girls hung up and Jessica felt a presence… she looked all around trying to find a reason, maybe a bird or some sort of animal was watching her. She saw nothing. Ellie arrived about 5 minutes after they got off the phones, and the girls walked together to the store. Upon arriving, Jessica's stomach felt uneasy, like she was being watched… observed… targeted.

They get inside and Ellie makes simple instructions on how they are going to go around the store. "Alright Jess you get the candy and soda, I'll get some magazines and maybe a book! Hurry! And we'll meet back up at checkout counter number 6."

As Ellie walked away, Jessica felt as though she was more vulnerable. She goes to the candy section and gets multiple bags of sour patch kids, then goes to the back of the store to get some sodas. She receives a text at around 2:53 that said "come out side, I've got a huge surprise for you!" It was from her ex boyfriend Anthony, whom she hadn't heard of in a month, since the break up. Curious now, she walks to the door and goes outside. She takes a few steps out, then feels a sharp pain in her foot. She looks down only to realize she stepped on a large nail… she lifts her foot and tries to pick the nail off the ground, but its stuck. Now suspicious she turns around to limp her way back into the store, only to be greeted by a large man, who hits her over the head, and she falls to the floor.

Inside, Ellie has collected her items, and makes her way to the checkout counter. After waiting for 15 minutes, She begins to grow impatient, and even angry at Jessica, assuming she ran home because of her paranoia. She decides to look around the store in search of her friend, checking every isle, and even looking in the bathrooms with no luck. At 3:27 in the morning she receives a text from Jessica saying "Meet me outside now!" Frightened at what might have gone wrong, Ellie drops her magazines and runs to the door, as they open she runs over the nail, screaming in pain. Then looks up and sees a gruesome sight. 

Jessica is hanging from the street light in the parking lot. She was hung upside down with small Christmas tree lights wrapped around her ankles gleaming and covered in blood. Her body was completely stripped of clothing, revealing her deep wounds along her stomach and chest.

Ellie ran inside and told the cashier who called the police immediately. When Ellie talked to the police she was in hysteria. She could hardly talk, through the tears and trembling. Still inside the market, she was questioned on her reason for being at the store at this hour, and where she was when it happened. In the middle of the conversation, another cop walks up to the one asking the questions and whispers in his ear while handing him a sealed envelope. The blood stained paper had the name "Ellie" written across the front. When the cop handed her the letter, she opened it and read it. Then she fell to the floor, motionless. 

The cop had an ambulance take her to the hospital for her fainting, fearing that the girl had experienced too much trauma for the night. When he read the letter, he understood why she had fainted. The letter read "Maybe if you stayed in bed like you were supposed to, things like this wouldn't happen Ellie. Now be a good girl for me, ok?"

When Ellie returned home two nights later she was still shaken by the letter. She found out that Anthony was arrested for being part of the murder, but he was later released after passing a lie detector test saying he was not guilty. His phone had gone missing the day of the murder, and he wasn't sure what had happened to it.

Over the next two years Ellie had basicallyforgotten about the night of the murder, and the warning she was given in the letter. She called her boyfriend and asked him to meet her at the park near the store that Jessica had been killed at. He gladly accepted the invitation, even though it was about 2:00 am. She begins to walk to the park, but feels a strange presence, just like the one Jessica had told her the night she was murdered. She was almost to the park when the feeling came across her, so she let it go. Her boyfriend sent her a text saying "almost there baby, luv u!" and she felt better. Her last task was to pass by the store, the park was on the other side. She began to walk but heard something behind her. Immediately she begins to run! She trips over the uneven pavement and hits her head on the ground. The last thing Ellie sees before she loses consciousness is a large man, who grabs her and drags her away.

Her boyfriend gets to the park and waits for about 5 minutes. At around 3:12 in the morning, he gets a text from Ellie, it says "keep walking forward, you'll see me;)" He does as the text says and walks forward. There, hanging from tree, is the mutilated body of Ellie, hung upside down with Christmas tree light just as Jessica was. He runs to the store and calls the cops. He is brought into custody and questioned.

The next day Ellie's boyfriend gets something in the mail. A letter, stained with small drops of blood. Inside it said "No more sneakin around bud;) bad things happen at night, don't wanna get yourself hurt do ya? Be a good boy, stay inside;)"

The murder of Ellie, along with the earlier murder of her friend Jessica were not spoken of. They were high profile cases, due to the strange lack of evidence. Everyone who was involved was told to husg up, and forget about it. So you may wonder how I know about this? Well… let's just say I was there… Stay in bed kids;)

Questions:

1)   What is the tone of this selection?

2)   What is the setting of this passage?

3)   What seems to be the author's intent for writing this selection?

4)   What is the Main Idea of this passage?

5>   Tell this story in only 3 sentences.

6>   If you were in this story, what would you do?

7>   Use your imagination to draw a picture about the story.  The ADD ONE NEW thing of your own that fits but was not in the orignial story.

8>   Was this the best ending for this story?  Why or why not?