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Daily 
Warm-Up
4
Fiction: Fantasy
The Storytellers
Adrián meandered over to sit by Zachary in the cafeteria, 
letting his tray clatter on the table. The heads turned of 
those who were curious about the new kid, but Adrián 
didn’t care; the newness would wear off soon enough.
Might as well get some enjoyment out of it while he could.
“What brought you here, anyway?” Jayden narrowed 
his eyes and scrutinized the newcomer.
Realizing Jayden wasn’t referring to this specific lunch 
period, Adrián said, “My dad’s company transferred 
him.” He chomped into his burrito, which was stuffed 
with beans, asadero cheese, and bits of chicken.
“Tell us another of your dad’s wacky stories,” Zachary 
requested.
Jayden interrupted before Adrián could begin talking.
“What stories?”
Adrián swallowed, scattering grains of rice with a fork, 
composing his thoughts. His dad claimed he heard the 
stories at work, but Adrián had never quite figured out 
who the storytellers were.
Sensing his comrades had settled down enough for him 
to get a word in edgewise, he launched into his 
anecdote. “He has one tale about a commander in the 
military. Seems the rest of his unit fled the enemy, 
leaving him the only remaining soldier, and he was out 
of ammunition. Somehow he managed to stun the 
general and escape. I don’t remember the details,” 
Adrián mumbled the last line and took a gulp of 
orange juice.
Zachary glanced at him quizzically. “What exactly does 
your dad do for a living?”
“Uh,” Adrián stammered. “He takes care of people.”
That’s how his dad described the lawn-mowing, flower-
tending, and ground excavation that comprised his 
daily duties.
“Where?” Jayden taunted him.
Adrián scraped a pencil against the edge of the table, 
rubbing off golden flecks of paint, eyes downcast.
“The cemetery.”
Text Questions
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 1 . What is Adrián’s role in the story?
a. He is trying to make friends at his new school.
b. He is the brunt of the boys’ jokes.
c. He becomes a storyteller like his dad.
d. He defends his dad’s work.