Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying. Mark helped the boy pick them up. Since they were going the same way, he carried them for the boy. As they walked, Mark knew the boy's name was Bill. Mark _______ discovered that he loved computer games, baseball and history and that he was having lots of ________ with his other subjects.

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed ________ with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home. They ________ to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice and then both ended up from the same high school. Just three weeks before they finished school , Bill asked Mark if they could have a talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see. I ________ out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mass for anyone else. I had planned to ________ from home and I was going home to pack my things. But after we spent some time together playing and laughing, I realized that if I had done that, I would have lost a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together. So you see, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more, you ________ my life."