On Wednesday night, it was the closing time of the mall. But there was an hour's work, at least, to get everything cleaned up. It would be 11:00 pm before I finally got home. I hadn't even had time to have dinner. I was starving. My feet ached. My whole body was filled with tiredness. I couldn't wait to go to bed. But it would be only 6 hours before the alarm went off at 5:00 am for my day job.
Things had been tight for over a year now. My husband Paul's business had taken a huge hit. I have a fulltime job at a day care center and somehow do my homework for my college class too. Then I had to work nights at the mall. Without me taking my second job, there wouldn't be enough money to pay the bills. Let alone buy any Christmas presents for our 15yearold daughter, Marie. No one wanted to wake up on Christmas morning to an empty tree.
I barely even saw Paul and Marie anymore. Marie was growing up, but a teenage girl still needs her mom. I worried about her, about us. Was she eating enough? Keeping up with her schoolwork? I wasn't afraid of sacrifices. Everyone had to work hard for the family. I knew I was blessed to have two jobs, when millions of people couldn't find one.
How I hoped to quit my job at the day care center and obtain a fulltime degree. I'd dropped down to one class a term. If I quit that, there was no way I'd find the willpower to try again. Besides, wasn't I always telling Marie to keep hoping and never give up?
My mind went back to the conversation I'd had with Marie earlier. Paul had dropped her off at the mall, where she was getting picked up for a babysitting job. "Remember we're going Christmas shopping this night," she said. "Now I'll even have my own money. See you later. "
The floor was nearly done. The boss asked me to leave.
注意：
1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1：
I opened the back door of the mall and saw Marie outside with a bag of food, smiling.
Paragraph 2：
I pulled her tight against me.
