"A friend in need is a friend indeed."

                                              A proverb

    Joe and Bob were friends, but they were totally different. Joe liked learning, he knew English pretty well but was very shy. Bob, on the contrary, was self-confident and sociable, he couldn't stand school and preferred doing sport. Last summer, Joe thought it would be a good idea to go with Bob to a language camp in Malta.  Bob was not eager to do it. "What? Why do you want to waste our vacation time on some stupid launguage camp?"  However, he reluctantly agreed and they went to Malta together. 

    When they arrived in Valletta, they decided to visit Café Cordina, one of the most popular places there.  They were eating the best pastizzi on the island sharing some thoughts about the language camp when Joe said:  "You'll see. It will be great! You'll learn English." Bob wasn't so sure about it: "I don't think so. I'm already bored. The only positive thing about this camp is that we got some backpacks for free."

   The next day, Joe and Bob, with the rest of the group, took a ferry to Gozo island. Their tour destination was Dwejra Bay, a famous tourist attraction (because of its magical view of the Mediterranean Sea). The weather was fantastic. It was a very sunny day and the light breeze was blowing from the south.  

  After they arrived at the bay, the supervisors surprised the group with a boat trip. Bob was at his limits of boredom, so a trip at the sea sounded like a dream to him.  Joe, on the other hand, was not so enthusiastic. 

"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Bob, after noticing how pale his friend was.     "Well, I'm not a big fan of boats and deep water, especially deep water," answered Joe, a little embarrassed. 

"Don't be silly, Joe. What's the worst that could happen? Everything will be fine,    I promise. I won't go without you".  

     After some consideration, Joe agreed . As they were watching the island from the sea, he realised that boats weren't  so scary after all, and that he was just being a chicken. Everybody felt excited except from Bob, who seemed to be grumpy. Noticing this, Joe tried to change his mind: "Bob, just look how beautiful the island is! Can you spot the Fungus Rock in the distance?"  But Bob only muttered that the sun was too bright for him to see.

    Upon arrival, the group went to visit the famous Cittadella in Victoria, the capital of Gozo. When the boys reached the monument, Joe was truly impressed with the fortifications. "Look! Wow, I've never seen anything like that in my life!" he exclaimed.  Bob wasn't in the mood for exploring new places. "Eh, it's OK," he replied. "I really don't understand what the guide is talking about." 

     They were sightseeing the Citadella when their stomachs began to rumble, so they asked their supervisors about the lunch break. The answer was: "Not soon. But you'll survive."

    However, the boys were really hungry and they decided to leave the group and look for a place where their favourite dish, spaghetti, was served. They found a restaurant on the internet, mapped out a route and headed for it. 

    Unfortunately, at some point they got lost in a dark lane.  Joe wanted to check  the GPS but there was no signal there. Every side street appearred to be a dead end. The boys were really worried and starving. It was getting dark.

    Suddenly, some strangers came out of nowhere and started approaching them.

   There were two of them, all dressed in black, with hats, coats  and shaded glasses they looked like muggers.  They  seemed to have some weapons with them, and the boys were sure that they can be aggressive. Joe and Bob were scared to death, but they knew they had to do something. Bob asked Joe to say something to them in English, but  he was too terrified and hungry to respond.  

    However, after a few seconds, the boy realized  that Bob couldn't speak English. Although he was shaking all over, he took a deep breath and said: "Please,  don't hurt us! We are only kids that came to Malta for a language camp!"   Fortunately, the men started laughing! They came closer and took off hats, glasses and jackets. 

 "Joe you can open your eyes! They are our supervisors, you do not have to be afraid."   Joe sighed: "What a relief! We are saved!" 

     The men began to explain how they found them...

"It's impossible to really get lost at our camp.  Your parents had to sign a document which allowed us to equip you with a kind of a GPS transmitter attached to your backpacks in advance.  In a situation like this, we use a disguise to make our camp participants understand why you should never leave the group on your own."

"That really makes sense now" - said Bob.

    In the end, the supervisors decided that they had already had their punishment being so hungry and scared, so they let it off.  After they reunited with their group, there was a huge picnic at Xlendi Beach.

    Bob, being very hungry, couldn't be any happier at the sight of all that food. After the picnic, the whole group went to Sannat Cliffs to admire the sunset.  When they sat down, Bob turned to Joe and whispered: "I am really proud of you. You could use your language skills in a dangerous situation.  You know, I'm going to take additional English classes as soon we come home."

Joe replied: "Well, I wouldn't have had the courage to do it if you hadn't helped me on the boat earlier. You showed me that with you I stop being terrified of things that aren't really scary." 

    They both agreed that the greatest courage is to overcome one's fears.