Shadowing Practice: This is Why I Regret Disguising as a Boy for a Week - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey, I'm Nora from LA.

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I was born to famous parents.

Mom was an actress and dad was a film director, since they both were mostly busy.

I grew up with nannies, and boy was I wild.

Like one time, the nanny left me alone for a few minutes, and I spray-painted all of mom's designer dresses.

And another time, I put on a huge coat and hid in the refrigerator, thinking I'd outsmarted everybody.

But the nanny found me in five minutes.

Aw, man, how'd you find me?

Maybe because of all this food on the floor?

Even in school, I found it extremely difficult to sit still in class.

One time in fifth grade, the teacher asked everyone about their role model.

I love Superman.

He can fly.

And I love his costume.

Superman can't be your role model.

He's fictional.

Real people can't fly.

Even I can fly.

Watch me.

I jumped and crushed right into the meanest girl in class, Jessica.

Her mom was a famous actress, too.

And mom always said she got lucky without any talent.

I just thought she was ugly.

Anyway, Jessica broke her arm and after that day, we became sworn enemies, always trying to one-up each other with pranks.

She would stick glue to my chair and I would fill her lockers with slime, but the worst was when she spread mean rumors about mom.

I've heard that Nora's mom wears a wig and never leaves the house without makeup because she's ugly.

Uh-uh.

At least in her case, makeup helps.

Your mama looks like a potato no matter how much makeup she uses.

Don't talk like that about my mom and you shut your filthy mouth about mine, you little snake.

Jessica pounced on me and pulled my hair.

I punched her nose and we both fell on the ground fighting.

And we both landed in detention.

Growing up, my parents tried everything from therapy to music to calm me down.

But what finally worked was dancing.

It felt great to finally have an outlet for all my energy and to find something I was good at.

But then a week before my 17th birthday, Dad came home looking really upset.

Apparently, this was his fifth movie in a row that had flopped and no one wanted to work with him anymore.

He was home all the time and constantly whined.

Meanwhile, mom continued getting more famous and traveling the world.

I missed having her around, but kept myself distracted with dancing.

Then one day during lunch, I was learning a new dance routine when someone tapped on my shoulder.

You're doing that wrong.

Excuse me?

The girl showed me a much cooler step and I was blown.

That was amazing.

Can you teach me that?

I'm Nora.

I know.

I actually love your mom.

I'm such a big fan.

And oh my god, I'm rambling, right?

It's just that no one talks to me because I'm not rich.

Well, I don't see how that's a problem with us being friends.

Let's grab some ice cream.

Carly and I spent the day together, and we instantly bonded over dance and music.

Soon we were hanging out every day, and the best part was that she hated Jessica as much as I did.

She's such a bully and made me feel like a loser because my clothes aren't branded.

She hates me, mostly because our moms are competing with each other for movies.

Also, because I broke her arm one time.

Carly even taught me more dance routines she'd seen on YouTube shorts, and suggested I start my own channel.

Dad gave me weird looks as I filmed the videos, but I didn't give a fig.

All he did was watch TV all day long.

Then one time, he was casually scrolling through channels when I pointed out a commercial featuring someone I followed on YouTube.

Oh, I know her.

She does the coolest dance routines ever.

You mean people get famous for making those silly videos?

Excuse me.

It takes a lot to make these videos.

You need to know the right camera angles and lighting and even makeup.

And yeah, this does make you famous.

Ted looked at me thoughtfully.

And to my surprise, he was up really early the next morning, waiting for me with the new ring light, camera, makeup, and clothes.

What's all this?

I thought about what you said, and I think, together, we can make you famous.

I can make the videos while you focus on dancing.

I thought the videos were silly.

Silly Billy Nilly, what does it matter?

Let's get to work.

He even cleaned out a whole room to set up all the equipment.

I danced a lot that week, and together, we made enough videos for the month.

Even Carly joined in sometimes, and slowly, my channel grew to be huge.

I got invited to all the latest events, celebrity meetups and talk shows, and I was living the life.

But I had no time for school.

So when I sat for my 11th grade finals, I had no idea what to write.

Carly, shh, shh, look here.

Oh my god, are you cheating?

Shut up, you witch.

But obviously, Jessica created a huge scene and I was sent to the principal's office.

Mom was called in, but since she was one of the school trustees, I only got suspended for a week and was allowed to retake the exam after.

She didn't say a word the whole ride.

But as soon as we got home, she went ballistic on me.

This was so embarrassing for me, Nora.

I don't like this whole YouTube dancing thing at all.

Someone your age should be focused on school and friends, not behaving the way you are.

Really?

And how should a mother behave?

Leave her kid and choose her career over her family?

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How dare you?

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I did what I had to do to support my family.

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Your dad, on the other hand.

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Can you please stop blaming dad for everything?

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He's been here for me, and you haven't.

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And he's happy for my success.

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Please spare the lecture, Mom, and go back to making movies.

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I appreciate what you've done, but I'll take it from here.

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I hated being rude to mom, but she was being annoying.

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Soon she left the country for yet another project.

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Carly helped me study, and somehow I managed to clear my exams.

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A week later, I got an email from none other than Gucci.

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It was a big campaign, and they wanted both me and Carly to feature in their video.

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We spent hours selecting our looks for the video, but on the day of the shoot, Dad took me to the location three hours earlier, saying the producers gave a new schedule.

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Does Carly know?

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Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier.

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Gucci called me to say they only wanted to work with one girl, and obviously that's you.

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What?

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I didn't get any such email.

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I told you, they called me.

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You were busy with some shoot.

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You should have told me, and I should have talked to Carly about this.

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She's helped me so much with the channel.

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Yeah, okay, but would you give up such an important campaign to her?

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Since there's only one spot, it is your channel.

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I still wanted to call Carly, but I had to get my hair and makeup done, and then there was no time.

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I felt mad at dad for signing the deal without consulting me.

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But this was a great opportunity and I couldn't let it slip.

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But the next day when I saw her, she looked completely heartbroken.

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I'm so sorry.

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I wanted to tell you, but it was such a sudden change of plans and it's okay.

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It's your channel anyway.

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So you're not angry then?

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No, but I do have class, so I'll see you around.

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Carly smiled, but I knew she was hurt.

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So the next week, I surprised her with tickets to her favorite concert, and thankfully, things went back to normal.

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My video with Gucci blew up, and suddenly, every big brand wanted to collaborate with me.

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Not only was I super popular, but these deals were making me rich, and even the kids at school were less annoying now, including Jessica.

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One time during lunch, Jessica pulled up a chair next to me and Carly.

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Hey, Nora, how are you?

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It's been so long since we had a little chat.

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Not long enough.

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Let's talk in another 10 years, or maybe never.

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You're so funny.

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Anyway, you know how my mom has this, makeup brand, right?

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And she wants you to be the face of the label.

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Isn't that amazing?

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Oh, wow.

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Lucky me.

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And I'd rather eat bugs than help you or your mom.

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She's ready to pay you a lot.

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Think about it?

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Aw, desperate much?

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You know what?

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Since I have such a big heart, I'll help you.

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Climb on the table, say this, and I'll seal the deal.

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What?

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No way, I'm not saying this.

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Look, who are you kidding?

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I know your mom's brand is struggling, and I could really push the sales.

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Don't you want that?

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You want this favor?

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You gotta do what I say.

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Fine.

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Ahem.

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Hey, everyone.

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I have to confess something.

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I have an unhealthy obsession with eating my own boogers, and Nora's amazing because she's helping me get over it, but sometimes I still can't help it.

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Go on.

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With that, Jessica dug into her nose and licked her fingers.

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I could see everyone making disgusted faces as she turned bright red and she ran off.

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I couldn't stop laughing.

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Now that was fun, right?

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No, you didn't need to humiliate her like that.

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What do you care?

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You hate Jessica just as much as I do.

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I do, because she was a bully.

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And right now, you are one too.

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I only gave her a taste of her own medicine, and I'm not sorry about it.

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Well, you should be.

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With that, Carly turned around and left.

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I wanted to stop her and explain myself, but then why should I?

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Jessica has always been horrible to me.

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I didn't need to feel bad.

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After that day, Carly started avoiding me.

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I tried to talk to her a few times, but then I got busy with shoots and there was never a good time.

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Finally, it was time to shoot for Jessica's mom, but as I was getting my makeup done, I saw an article about how her products used substandard ingredients, even some that were banned.

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Dad, will you look at this?

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It looks like these makeup products are full of toxins.

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I can't tell my followers to use these.

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Uh, yes you can.

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Who cares if these products are harmful?

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All you need to do is go up there, smile, and say it's the best makeup you've ever used.

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But that's lying.

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Listen, Nora, we've signed the contract and got a lot of money for this, so we can't back out now.

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If we do, they'll sue me because I'm your legal representative.

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I knew endorsing these products was wrong, but if I walked out at the last moment, dad would get sued.

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So I I decided to shoot the video and get it over with.

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But I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd lied for a few bucks.

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It kept nagging at me all night.

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And the next day, I told Dad I wanted to take a break.

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No way.

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We've taken an advance on all your sponsorships.

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I don't care, Dad.

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I started this channel to dance and have fun, and now I'm lying to make money.

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I don't want to do this anymore.

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Just give all the money back.

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You don't understand, Nora.

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I can't give the money back because...

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Because you lost it?

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I turned around to see Mom walk in.

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Go on.

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Tell her about how you lost all the money in some shady internet scam, and how you need more money to do this all over again.

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What?

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Dad, is that true?

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You stole my money?

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No, I never meant to steal it.

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I just borrowed it to invest so I could use the profit to fund a movie project I've been working on.

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But I swear, I intended to return every single penny.

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I had no idea the investment scheme was a complete scam.

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I'm so sorry.

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I don't even know what to say.

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How could you?

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I'm sorry for not being there before, Nora.

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But I'm here now, and I won't let you stay with this man for another second.

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You can't just leave.

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Watch me.

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Mom took me to her holiday home that evening.

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She even promised to pay back all the money to Jessica's mom

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and get my name out of the deal before they released the video about her makeup brand.

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But the next morning, I woke up to people screaming my name outside.

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I wanted to see what all the ruckus was about, but mom stopped me.

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Don't go out there.

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Why?

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Who are all these people?

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A video of my conversation with dad before the makeup shoot had gone viral, where I was protesting against doing the shoot, and he asked me to lie.

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I was losing followers, and sponsors were canceling contracts by the second.

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But it was worse for dad.

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People were calling him a liar, a fraud, and much worse.

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I didn't go to school that day, but when I told mom to drop me off the next day, she was hesitant.

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I don't think that's a good idea.

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Let things cool down.

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I'm not gonna sit at home like a scaredy cat mom.

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Despite mom's protests, I left for school.

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But just as I entered, Jessica jumped on me from nowhere.

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You witch!

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How dare you insult our brand after we paid you the money and did everything you said!

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Get off me, you dinosaur!

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I said those things because that's the truth and drop the act.

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It was you who uploaded the video with dad to ruin my name.

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So we're even.

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Are you dumb?

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Why would I upload something that says bad things about my mom's brand?

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We're undergoing an investigation now.

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That did make sense.

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But if this wasn't her, then who?

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I was wondering who it could be later that day when Carly walked up to me.

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Okay, don't kill me.

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But I did something horrible.

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I was at your set that day and it was me who posted the video.

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You?

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Why?

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Because I didn't know how else to make you stop working with your dad.

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He's so manipulative that you just weren't seeing that.

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He makes you do things you don't even want to do.

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But you're not a bad person, Nora.

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And I couldn't stand you turning into one.

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So I did this.

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Now, you can hate me forever.

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Oh my god, just shut up and listen to me.

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I already told my dad that I wanted to take a break and I'm done working with him.

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I can't lie to people.

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I'm even kind of relieved that my sponsors have backed out.

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You did?

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So that means you're not mad at me?

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Of course I'm mad at you for not talking to me before posting the video.

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But I understand why you did it.

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So, do you think we could be friends again?

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Maybe.

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Probably.

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Learn English with Videos: Practice Speaking Like a Native

This video offers a dynamic way to boost your English speaking skills, focusing on conversational fluency and natural storytelling. By engaging with Nora’s lively narrative, you’ll practice following a personal anecdote, using casual expressions, and mastering the rhythm of everyday speech—key milestones for sounding confident in real-life interactions.

Speaking Goals for This Clip

This dialogue targets narrative fluency: organizing a story with a beginning, middle, and details (like pranks, family dynamics, and personal growth). You’ll also practice emotional expression, as Nora’s tone shifts from playful (talking about childhood antics) to defensive (arguing with Jessica) and reflective (discovering dance). These skills help you convey meaning beyond words, a critical part of effective communication.

Phrase Bank: Reusable Expressions from the Dialogue

"sworn enemies" – Describes a long-standing rivalry (e.g., "We’ve been sworn enemies since she stole my idea").
"one-up each other" – To try to be better than someone (e.g., "My brother and I always one-up each other with holiday gifts").
"landed in detention" – Got in trouble and was punished (e.g., "I landed in detention for forgetting my homework").
"blown away" – Extremely impressed (e.g., "Her singing blew me away").

Fix Your Weak Spots: Pronunciation and Rhythm

The video is perfect for practicing the shadowing technique (or "shadow speak"), where you repeat lines immediately after the speaker to mimic their tone, stress, and pace. Notice how Nora shortens words in casual speech: "boy was I wild" (rising intonation for emphasis) and "Aw, man" (relaxed, conversational). Pay attention to how she stresses key words like "ugly" and "lucky" to convey attitude. These nuances are hard to learn from textbooks but easy to pick up through shadowing. By practicing with this clip, you’ll improve English pronunciation and sound more natural in casual conversations.

To get the most out of it, pause the video after short phrases, repeat them, and record yourself. Compare your version to Nora’s—focus on rhythm, not just words. Over time, this will help you internalize the flow of English speech, making your own conversations feel more effortless.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	If we do, they'll sue
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've heard · He's been · you've done
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was born · was blown · aren't branded
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was dancing · was learning · were hanging

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: This is Why I Regret Disguising as a Boy for a Week - Learn English Speaking with Video

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