No Name Town written & illustrated by

Cheryl Chen

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No Name Town

Cheryl Chen

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Content

About the Author…...5

Synopsis…………….6

Characters………….7

Chapter 1…………...8

Chapter 2……………11

Chapter 3….............14

Chapter 4……………20

Chapter 5……………32

Chapter 6…….………37

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Chapter 7...................45

About the Author Cheryl Chen

Cheryl Chen was born in 1990 in

Kaohsiung city, Taiwan. She is now the

student from the English Department at

Wenzao Ursuline College of Language.

She likes English, also studies German in

school, and she’s going to study design in

the future.

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Synopsis

Dell is the smart young man who 

wants to be a successful man in the future.

One day he woke up early as usual, he

didn’t feel sick but couldn’t remember his

name. All the people around him, even his

father didn’t recognize him. Finally, he

found that he was in the place, “no name

town”, which he had never seen. However,

the people here all recognize him,

although he didn’t know anyone of

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them............................................... 

Characters

Dell Boss:

An 18-year-old young man, and the main character of the story.

Rick Boss:

Dell’s Dad, and the owner of “THE BOSS PIZZA HOUSE”.

Mac Porter:

Dell’s best friend and classmate, who is from Poland.

The Mayor:

The mayor of the “No Name Town”.

Chapter 1

Excellent son

“Dad, I’m home,” said Dell stepping

into the house.

“Hey, son! Come here and help me.

We have so many guests today.”

“Sorry, Dad. I have so many reports

need to work on today. More than your

guests! ” said Dell quickly running

upstairs.

“Hey, Boss, I’ve heard that your son 8

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is going to Princeton University, “said one

of the old guests of Boss.

“Yes, he is. And he is always very

busy,” said Rick Boss, the owner of the

Boss Pizza House, disappointed.

“Isn’t that good? I just envy you

having such an excellent son!”

“Well, I am not sure.”

“I just envy you having such an excellent son!”

“Well, I am not sure.” said Rick, the owner of the

Boss Pizza House

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Chapter 2

Daily Life

Dell is an 18-year-old young man,

who is going to Princeton University and

gets excellent grades in every subject. He

is smart and studies hard to win many

contests and has earned many

scholarships.

“Hey! Mac! What’s wrong with you

today? You look so weird,” said Dell to

his best friend and classmate. 11

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“I feel worried.”

“About what?”

“About my tuition for next semester,”

“I thought you had a part-time job,

don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. But that’s not enough. I

need more money. You know I’m a

foreign student. There are so many extra

things I need to pay for.”

“Oh, yes. That’s really a big

problem,” said Dell, “Wait a minute! How

about working in my Dad’s Pizza House?

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I think he needs some help.”

“Can I? But I don’t know anything

about making pizza.”

“That’s not a problem. You can just

help my Dad doing delivery.”

“Really? That’s a wonderful idea,

thanks, buddy!”

Chapter 3

Reasons

“Mac, could you deliver these pizzas

to the Hans on the next block?”

“Sure, and anything else?”

“Well, just come back soon. Here

needs your help,” said Rick with big

smile.

“Ok!”

Mac is now working in the Boss Pizza

House every day after school. He always 14

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works hard and effectively. Rick knew

about his situation and paid him well to

encourage and help him.

One day, Rick went out around

closing time, and Mac was told to clean up

the Pizza House. While he was cleaning,

Dell came downstairs.

“Hey, Mac! How’s it going?” asked

Dell.

“Tiring,” said Mac, “but it’s good to

learn how to make pizza.”

“Good for you, buddy,” said Dell,

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“you must be a good helper for my dad.”

“Well, he’s really a nice guy. I think

he helps me a lot,” said Mac, “maybe you

can teach me more.”

“Me? No, no, no. I don’t know

anything about pizza.”

“What? That’s not true. Your Dad has

been doing this for 20 years.”

“I know, but not me.”

“You never help or learn from him?”

“Never.”

“Never? But he is always busy and

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hard-working. And I think he hopes the

pizza house can stay opening,” said Mac

with a confused looking on his face, “and

he works hard to pay your tuition and ….”

“Mac, listen. I do know he works hard

and he raised me up by himself,” said Dell

unhappily, “so I am now studying hard to

get good grades and scholarships. And I

want to work as high position at the best

company and earn a lot of money. Then I

can help him live comfortable the rest of

his life. He wouldn’t have to work so hard

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anymore and I will definitely take good

care of him.”

“What about the Pizza House?”

“First, I am really, really not

interested in making pizza. Second, if I

can earn a lot of money, I can enlarge his

pizza house. Then the Pizza House will

not only stay open, but also become a

franchise organization,” said Dell

indignantly.

“Oh, yes. Maybe you are right. I’m

not arguing with you anyway. I’ve done

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my work and I am leaving now,” said

Mac.

“All right,” said Dell as he went

upstairs.

Chapter 4

The Next Day

The alarm clock went off. Dell woke

up, then washed his face, brushed his teeth

and got ready for school as usual. He went

downstairs to have breakfast, but there

was no body and also no breakfast had

been prepared for him.

“Dad? Dad?” he tried to call,

wondering where his father was. The

pizza house usually opened at 10:30 a.m., 20

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but Rick usually woke up early to prepare

for the opening and also to make

breakfast.

“Hasn’t Dad come back?” said Dell to

himself, “but he said he would be back at

2 a.m. this morning.” Dell started to feel

worried.

“Hey! Who are you, buddy? Why are

you here and how did you come in? The

pizza house hasn’t opened yet!” said Rick

when he came out from the kitchen.

“Dad, you’re here!” said Dell with

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surprise.

“Dad? Who’s your dad? Have you

stolen anything? Get out of here!” said

Rick.

“Hey, Dad, what’s wrong with you? I

am …….” said Dell confused. Suddenly,

he couldn’t say his name.

“If you don’t get out of my home now,

I’ll call the police!” Rick shouted at him.

“Wait, wait ….I am……”

“I said, GET OUT OF HERE!” Rick

yelled, grabbing Dell’s shirt and pushing

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him out of the house.

Dell is now standing on the street in

front of The Boss Pizza House.

“I am……” Dell still couldn’t say his

name. He didn’t feel sick, but couldn’t

remember his name.

“Who am I?” he wondered, feeling

weird and not knowing what had

happened. He looked at his watch and

then quickly went to school. The first

class had already begun, so he went into

the classroom quietly. He soon found Mac

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and took the seat next to him.

“Mac, I want to tell you

something…something very weird,”

whispered Dell. Mac was surprise,

bending his brows. “How do you know

my name?” asked Mac.

“What? Please! Be serious!” said

Dell.

“I am serious. Who are you? Is this

your first time taking his class? I’ve never

seen you.”

“What are you talking about? What do

you mean you don’t know me?”

“What do you mean you don’t know me?” said

Dell to Mac.

“Excuse me, young man. Could you

please stop talking?” the professor

responded somewhat annoyed. 25

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“Sorry! Mr. White. I am just asking

Mac something,” said Dell.

“Are you new here? I’ve never seen

you before. Welcome to my class, but you

should know some rules in my class

before you begin,” said Professor White.

“What? Excuse me, Professor White,

but… are you kidding? Don’t you know

me? I’ve been in your class the whole

semester.”

“The last question, boy. I have to

continue my lecture. What’s your name?”

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“My name is……is……I don’t

know.”

Everybody sits in class was silent and

watching Dell.

“Don’t waste my time, or you can

leave here now,” said Professor White

impatiently. “Whatever, I am going to

continue my lecture.” So he started to

continue his lecture.

Dell still couldn’t remember his name,

and he started to realize that everyone

around him didn’t recognize him either.

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He had no idea what had happened. These

strange things started from this morning

after he woke up. He still knows and

remembers all the things such as his father,

his friends and his reports, but he couldn’t

remember his own name.

He left school and walked on the

street. He tried to find someone to help

him and tell him what was going on. He

even wondered if he had some mental

problems. He continued to walk along the

street and think of his name. He didn’t

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notice the traffic light and walked across

the road when the light had turned red. A

car almost hit him. Fortunately, he didn’t

get hurt, but the driver hit the trees on the

sidewalk while dodging him. The driver

was angry and called the police to cope

with the accident. Finally, Dell was taken

to the police station and took down in

writing. The police asked him to write

something, but he couldn’t explain

anything and actually didn’t know his

name. The police started to search and

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check his ID, but there wasn’t any data

about him in the police computer.

“Excuse me, sir. We suspect that you

are a illegal immigrant,” said one of the

policeman.

“What? That’s absurd! I am a real

American and I live on the William Street.

The Boss Pizza House is my home.”

“Sorry, we couldn’t find any of that.”

“That sucks!”

“Sir, we need more time to recheck

and find your ID, but you should stay here

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while we are checking on this matter.”

“That may be a good idea and hope

you can solve my problems and find out

what has happened!” Dell started to feel

very annoyed and impatient.

While Dell was waiting in the police

station, he fell asleep.

Chapter 5

A New Life

The alarm clock went off. Dell

opened his eyes and found that he was

lying on a king-size bed. He was staying

in a room which he had never seen before.

And he was absolutely sure that it was not

his room. He woke up and went

downstairs. He was surprised because

everything in front of his eyes was so

luxurious. Then a woman came to him and 32

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said politely to him, “Mr. Boss, this is

your schedule for today. Please look over

it after you finish your breakfast.”

“Wait, who are you?” asked Dell.

“I am your secretary. No kidding, sir.

We don’t have much time. There is a

meeting at 9 o’clock.”

“What meeting? I’m not kidding.

Please tell me what happened and who I

am.”

“You’re the CEO of the Dell

Computer Company,”

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Suddenly, Dell remembered his name.

“Dell, yes, Dell, that’s my name!” said

Dell very excited, “but, where am I?”

“Sir, you are now in No Name Town,”

answered the secretary.

“What? Did you say No Name?”

asked Dell confusedly, “I have never

heard such a place.”

“Every successful man comes here,

sir,” said the secretary, “you can always

reach your goal here.” “Whatever, Sir,

please have your breakfast first,” she

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added.

Dell didn’t know what the secretary

was talking about. He didn’t recognize

this place nor the people here. But he

finally remembered his name.

After breakfast, Dell had a meeting

with his staff. And then he was

interviewed and reported for the

newspapers, TV shows and magazines. He

was famous and everybody here knew

him.

Afterwards he discovered that he was

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already a successful businessman. He

established the Dell Computer Company.

He was a CEO and earned a lot of money.

He had reached his goal. He was happy at

first and enjoyed his wonderful life.

There were many people cheering for

him, but not his father, his friends, his

professors or any other people he knew. In

this place, no one was familiar with him.

He had no friends and no parents. He

started to recall the memory of the time

before he became successful.

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Chapter 6

The Truth

One day Dell had a meeting with the

mayor of No Name Town

“It’s so good to have such well-known

successful businessman living in our

town,” said the mayor.

“Thanks, mayor. I appreciate that,”

said Dell,” but could you please tell me,

am I really the CEO?”

“Of course you are.”

“But why do I feel all of this is just

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fake?” “I actually don’t know why I am

here. The place I’ve never been and seen,”

said Dell.

“So where were you before you were

here?” asked mayor.

“I just can’t remember. But I knew

that I was a university student. My dad

owned the pizza house and I had a good

friend named Mac. One day I woke up and

these strange things started to happen- my

dad, my friend, my professor and all of

my classmates didn’t know me. And I

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couldn’t remember my name either.”

“So, do you like our town?” asked the

mayor, looking at his brochure.

“Yeh…of course. Your town is really

incredible; I mean that, everything is so

attractive here, and the town is amazingly

developed.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m glad to hear that,

but there must be something you don’t

like. I wonder?”

“Well, yes. I have to say that it is lack

of something here.”

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“Sure, what is it?”

“I am not sure, maybe…the

happiness?”

“Well, that is really important,” the

mayor nodded his head, silence for a

couple of seconds and said, “Everyone

that forgot their name will come to my

town, so they can remember their name,”

“just like you,” he added. “As you said,

my town is amazingly advanced; you can

have your dream come true here because

of the magic in this town.”

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Dell listened carefully, without saying

a word.

“But, you have to exchange one thing

to make your dream come true, and for

you, it is happiness,” said the mayor.

“But why did I forget my name?”

“It’s your ambition, Dell.”

“What?”

“Your ambition makes you blind to

focus only on how to reach your dream.

And you ignore the other things around

you,” said the mayor, “just like now

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you’ve reached your goal, but you are not

happy because you had lost your mind and

other valuable things,” continued the

mayor, “So I made you lost your name

because I wanted to warn you that you

were going to lose your mind.”

Dell was a kind of shocked after

hearing what the mayor had said.

“Don’t be scared,” said the mayor,

smiling at him, “I want you to be aware

that if you are still going like this, finally

you may get what you want, but you

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might have changed to another kind of

person that your friends and family would

not recognize you anymore,” “just like the

situation you said a while ago,” he

explained.

Dell breathed deeply and nodded, “So

even though I find my name here, it’s not

meaningful anymore because of

disappearance of happiness.”

“Here you realize and learn pretty

well,” said the mayor very happily, “I’m

going to cancel your name on my list of

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the town residents!”

Chapter 7

Back Home

“Wake up, Dell!” Rick yelled at his

son.

“What? Have you guys finished

checking my ID yet?”

“What are you talking about? Wake

up now, or you will be late for your first

class.”

“Dad? Are you my Dad? Do you

know me?” 45

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“You must be sick!”

Suddenly, Dell realized that the mayor

had sent him back.

“Dad! I am not going to school today.

I want to stay at home, I mean the pizza

house, to help you. Is that ok?”

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely!”

Dell is the smart young man who

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wants to be a successful man in the

future. One day he woke up early as

usual, he didn’t feel sick but couldn’t

remember his name. All the people

around him, even his father didn’t

recognize him. Finally, he found that he

was in the place, “no name town”, which

he had never seen. However, the people

here all recognize him, although he

didn’t know anyone of them...........