Lena is a student at a language school. She is in the corridor between classes. She has a bag on her shoulder and a book in her hand. Her friend Marco walks up to her. Marco looks very sad. His face is red and his eyes are wet. Lena sees him and stops. She smiles at him. "Marco, are you okay?" she asks. Marco shakes his head. "No," he says. "I am not okay." Lena moves closer to him. She puts her book in her bag. "Tell me what is wrong," she says. Marco takes a deep breath. "I failed my speaking test," he says quietly. Lena listens carefully to Marco.

She does not interrupt him. Marco says he did not sleep well the night before the test. He also says he forgot many words during the test. He felt very nervous. His hands were shaking. "I studied a lot," he says, "but it was not enough." Lena nods slowly. She understands how he feels. She failed a test before too. "I know it is hard," she says. "But one bad test is not the end." Marco looks at her. "Really?" he asks. "Yes, really," says Lena. She puts her hand on his arm. "You can try again," she tells him. Marco wipes his eyes. He feels a little better. Lena starts to give Marco some advice.

"First, you should sleep well before the test," she says. "Sleep is very important." Marco nods. "Second, you should practise speaking every day," Lena continues. "Talk to your classmates. Talk to your teacher. Talk to anyone!" Marco laughs a little. "Even to myself?" he asks. Lena laughs too. "Yes! Talking to yourself is good practice," she says. "Third, try not to worry so much. Worry makes things harder." Marco takes another deep breath. "Thank you, Lena," he says. "You are a good friend." Lena smiles warmly. "You are going to be fine, Marco," she says. "I believe in you." They walk to their next class together. Marco feels much better now.