Episode 8: Exchanging Contact Information — 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 eight. Exchanging phone numbers.

It is Monday morning. Ryan had a wonderful evening on Saturday, but he made one big error. He said good night to Emma and drove away without asking for her number.

Listen to how he tries to find her online, how his everyday technology fails him, and how two people finally exchange their contact details.

Simon: Good morning. So? How was Saturday?

Ryan: It was great. It was the best night I've had in years. And I have a problem.

Simon: What problem?

Ryan: I don't have her number. I didn't ask. I just said good night and left.

Simon: Ryan. You are a smart, capable man. You manage a cloud computing team. How is that possible?

Ryan: I don't know. It's my fault. Can you give it to me?

Simon: I would, but I replaced my cellphone on Friday and the contacts didn't save. Most of my data is lost. My wife has the number, but she's at the doctor all morning. She's pregnant, remember?

Ryan: Then I'll search for her. It's the digital century. Everyone is on the Internet.

Simon: Go ahead. Open your laptop.

Ryan: Okay. I enter her name in the search engine and click. Nothing. No social media. No photos.

Simon: Try the school website. Scroll downwards. There should be a page for the teachers.

Ryan: Here it is. There's an image of her classroom, and a comment from a parent, but no email. Wait, there's an article. A reporter from the local paper wrote about the theater. It says she's a skilled actress.

Simon: That doesn't help you call her.

Ryan: No. And now the screen is frozen. The whole system is dead. I'll have to restart the computer. It's a slow process.

Simon: Press that button and keep it down. No, the other one. Unlike you, I read the user guide.

Ryan: It's a feature of my life. Every device I touch stops working.

At noon, the phone on Ryan's desk rings. It is the front desk. There is a visitor waiting for him by the exit.

Emma: Hi. I'm sorry to come to your office like this.

Ryan: Emma! No, please. I'm so happy to see you. What are you doing here?

Emma: I think I left my tablet in your car. It has a presentation on it for my class today. I had no way to reach you, so I asked Simon's wife where you work.

Ryan: It must have fallen on the carpet under the seat. Come on, the car is right outside. Here, let me take those. Your arms are full.

Emma: Thank you. They're dictionaries. Thirty of them. My students still use paper.

Ryan: Here it is. One tablet, safe in its case. The battery is somewhat low, but it's alive.

Emma: You saved my day. I created that file last night, and I don't have a copy. If I lost it, I think I would die.

Ryan: I know the feeling. Last year I put a whole program in the bin by accident. Two months of work.

Emma: What happened?

Ryan: Simon found it. He's good at that. I'm good at breaking things.

Ryan: Emma, I tried to find you online this morning. Are you on Instagram?

Emma: No. I closed my account. It affected my sleep.

Ryan: Facebook?

Emma: I deleted it years ago. People compete over who has the best life, and I didn't want to play.

Ryan: Do you check your email?

Emma: About once a week. I know, I know. I live like it's a different century. I still listen to CDs.

Ryan: Okay. Then can I just get your number?

Emma: Yes. I thought you'd never ask. Are you ready?

Ryan: Let me open my contacts. New contact. Go ahead.

Emma: It's 454-893-2077.

Ryan: Let me read that back. 454-893-2077.

Emma: That's it.

Ryan: And how do you spell your last name?

Emma: C-A-R-T-E-R. Carter.

Ryan: Got it. I'll text you right now, so you have mine. Just tap on the message and save it.

Emma: My phone is at the bottom of this bag. One second. Oh no. The screen just blackened. The battery is dead.

Ryan: Do you need a charger? I have a spare cable at my desk. And a mouse, a keyboard, and a note pad, if you need those too.

Emma: Just the cable. Ryan, I have to ask. Who invented all of this? Codes, passwords, mobile phones that die at noon?

Ryan: People like me, the software people. I'm sorry. It's my community. We design the things that make you crazy.

Emma: Well, your community owes me a coffee. And a chat.

Ten minutes later, Emma's phone is charging on Ryan's desk. It makes a small sound, like a tiny cheer.

Emma: Something just came in. Is it from you?

Ryan: Did you get it? What does it say?

Emma: It says, "This is Ryan. I am the man who lost his car, his cash, and almost your number." That's a little cheesy.

Ryan: I thought about it for a long time.

Emma: I can tell. I'm going to save you as "Ryan, parking garage."

Ryan: That's fair. And I'll save you as "Emma, soup."

Emma: Perfect. Now you can call me. Or send me a message. Or put a letter in the mail, since I'm so old-fashioned.

Ryan: Can I call you soon? Today?

Emma: Not today. I'm busy until late. The theater people are camping in the mountains this weekend, and I have to shop for a tent, and a camera, and bottles of water for twelve people. Call me this week.

Ryan: I will. I promise. As a result of this morning, I'll never forget to ask again.

Emma: Good. I have to run. Thank you for the tablet. And for the cable.

Ryan: Keep it. It's yours.

Emma: No, it's yours. But mine is the number, and now you have it. I think this is the start of a friendship, at least.

Ryan: At least. Bye, Emma.

That is the end of chapter eight. Ryan could not find Emma online, but she found him, and now his number is in her phone, and hers is in his.

Keep these with you: "Can I get your number?" "Let me read that back." "How do you spell your last name?" "I'll text you, so you have mine."

In the next chapter, Ryan picks up the phone and calls her, and they meet for coffee at the Bluebird Cafe.

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