Episode 10: Planning a Future Sushi Lunch — 5,000 Core English Words

📖 This lesson is part of the comprehensive series 5,000 Common English Words Through 46 Real-Life Conversations by Echo Stories English.

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Chapter ten. Planning the next date.

Ryan and Emma are still at the Bluebird Cafe. The coffee is finished, and neither of them wants to leave. They both want to meet again soon, but their calendars are full.

Listen to how two busy people compare their weeks, talk about the things they love to do, and finally find a time for lunch.

Ryan: I don't want this to be the end of the afternoon. When can I see you again? Are you free tomorrow night?

Emma: I wish I were. I have rehearsal tomorrow. And on Sunday. And every evening next week.

Ryan: Every evening? What are you rehearsing?

Emma: A musical comedy. It's the big event of the year for our theater club. We perform it in three weeks, in the old concert hall, and nothing is ready.

Ryan: What part do you play?

Emma: I play a piano teacher who falls in love with a jazz musician. My character is a little childish, and she has to sing, dance, and climb onto a table.

Ryan: Can you play the piano?

Emma: Not really. I move my fingers, and someone behind the curtain plays the real instrument. It's a kind of magic.

Ryan: I'd love to see that. What about Saturday afternoon?

Emma: I'm free on Saturday afternoon. Are you?

Ryan: No. I can't make it. I have a football match. I play for a team from the office, and we haven't won a game all year.

Emma: Not one?

Ryan: Not one. Last week we lost five to zero. I didn't score, I didn't catch the ball, and I hurt my foot. But it's fun, and I respect the effort.

Emma: So no victory yet. What position do you play?

Ryan: I'm the goalkeeper. I stand in the goal and watch things happen.

Emma: What else do you do, when you're not losing?

Ryan: I listen to a lot of music. Mostly pop, and some old western songs that my dad likes. I go to a concert when I can. And I run a little, around the lake.

Emma: Do you play anything?

Ryan: I had an electric guitar when I was sixteen. I wanted to be in a band. The equipment is still at my parents' house, in the background of every family photo.

Emma: I'd pay to hear that.

Ryan: You'd pay me to stop. What about you? Besides drama and drawing?

Emma: I love film, and cooking shows. Old movies, mostly. I go to the film festival every summer, and I watch three movies a day until my head hurts.

Ryan: What's your favorite kind of story?

Emma: Anything with a good ending. I don't like it when everybody loses. I also draw, of course. I always have a pencil in my hand. And I used to go riding, when I lived near the mountains.

Ryan: Horses?

Emma: Horses. I was not very good, but I liked the smell of the place, and the sound in the morning. My aunt thought boxing would be safer.

Ryan: Boxing?

Emma: She had her own style. She wanted me to be strong. I did it for one short year, and I won a silver cup. It's the only thing I've ever won. It's not valuable, but I keep it.

Ryan: I'm a little afraid of you now.

Emma: Good. You should be.

Ryan: I guess we're different. I'm a fan of loud games on the ground, and you're an artist who knows about culture.

Emma: That's not a problem. I think it's lovely. You can teach me the rules of football, and I'll show you the statue in the museum that everybody walks past.

Ryan: Okay. Let's look at this again. Evenings are bad for you, and Saturday is bad for me. What about lunch?

Emma: Lunch could work. I have a spare hour on Tuesdays. I finish my morning class at twelve, and the afternoon one starts at one thirty.

Ryan: Does twelve fifteen on Tuesday work for you?

Emma: Let me check my calendar. Tuesday. Yes. Twelve fifteen works.

Ryan: Is there anything good near your school?

Emma: There's a little sushi place on the left side of the square, with a chart of fish on the wall. It's small, and you have to wear clean socks, because you leave your shoes at the door.

Ryan: I'll wear my best ones. Should I wear a tie? Do they take reservations?

Emma: No. It's first come, first served. If I'm a few minutes late, will you wait?

Ryan: Of course. I'll get a table and order some tea.

Emma: Then it's official. Tuesday, twelve fifteen, sushi.

Ryan: It's a date. Should I repeat it, so I don't make a mistake? Tuesday, twelve fifteen, the sushi place on the square.

Emma: Perfect. And if something comes up, just text me. I'll understand.

Ryan: Nothing will come up. This is the high point of my week.

Emma: I have to leave now. I need to rest before rehearsal, and I have some additional lines to learn.

Ryan: Can I walk you to the corner?

Emma: Yes, please. It's my turn to say something personal.

Ryan: Go ahead.

Emma: I had a really happy afternoon. I didn't think about school, or the show, or the color of the costumes. Not once.

Ryan: Me too. Everything else stopped.

Emma: Good. Now go home and practice. I want you to win on Saturday. Just one goal.

Ryan: For you, I'll try. And you, don't fall off that table.

Emma: I'll do my best. See you Tuesday.

Ryan: See you Tuesday. I'll be the one with too many questions about fish.

That is the end of chapter ten. Emma has a show to rehearse, Ryan has a match to lose, and both of them have a lunch date on Tuesday.

Keep these with you: "Are you free on Saturday?" "I can't make it." "Does twelve fifteen work for you?" "Let me check my calendar." "It's a date."

In the next chapter, several weeks have passed. They see each other often now, and Ryan has an important question.

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