Fast 500 (Easy English Stories)

Short stories approximately 500 words in length.

A Movie

/ italkyoutalk

“I’m leaving now!” Rina calls out to her mother.

“Where are you going,” asks her mother.  Rina’s mother comes to the front door to talk to Rina.

“I’m meeting a friend.  We are going to the movies,” says Rina.

“Who is the friend?” asks Rina’s mother.

“Just a friend.  You don’t know her.  She is new at my school,” says Rina.

“Where is the movie?” asks Rina’s mother.

“Just at the local movie theatre.  I will be home by 10 p.m.”

“That’s a long time.  When does the movie start?” asks Rina’s mother.

“It starts at 8 o’clock.  We will go shopping and then go for a hamburger before the movie.”

“OK.  Have a nice time and don’t come home later than 10 o’clock.”

Rina meets her new friend at the railway station.  They do not plan to go to the movies.  They are going to Shinjuku.  Rina’s new friend is called Nano.  She is very smart. She came to Rina’s school at the beginning of April. She came from Roppongi. Rina is proud because Nano is her friend.

Nano thinks that Hotsuka is a very boring town.

“Come into Tokyo with me,” she said to Rina.  “We will have a great time.  It will be fun.”

Nano and Rina take the train to Yokohama.  Then they take a train to Shinjuku.  Nano sees some young men sitting at the end of the train car.  Nano pulls Rina towards the young men.  She sits down near them.  The young men start talking to them.  Rina looks at the floor. Nano is talking very loudly.

The young men are drinking.  One of the men gives a bottle to Nano – she drinks some beer.  Another young man gives his bottle to Rina.

Rina shakes her head.  She does not want to drink. She is very unhappy.  Nano talks and talks.  She drinks a lot.

At Shinjuku station, Rina and Nano leave the train with the young men. Nano is holding the arm of one of the young men.

“Where shall we go?” Nano asks the young man.

“How about Kabuki-cho?  I know some good bars there,” he says.

“Great,” Nano laughs loudly.  Rina thinks she might be drunk.

“ Nano!” says Rina.  “I don’t like it.  I don’t want to go to a bar.  I want to go back!”

“Rina! Don’t be a baby!  It will be fun!” answers Nano.

“No,” says Rina.  “You go.  I am going back.  See you later.”

Rina goes back into Shinjuku Station.  She finds a train for Yokohama.  On the train she sits next to an old lady.  Rina is very tired.

When Rina gets to her house, her mother is surprised.

“You are home early, “ she says.  “Look!  It is only 8.30!”

“How was the movie?”

“I didn’t like it.  So I left early,” Rina says.  “I won’t go to that kind of movie again.”

A Good Day

/ italkyoutalk

 

Hiro sleeps on a futon. He takes the futon from the closet and puts it on the floor. He lies down. He thinks about the girl from the bread shop. Hiro likes her very much. Every day, he passes the bread shop and he looks for her. She is very pretty. Hiro wants to be friends with her, but he is too shy. Hiro thinks about her all the time.

Hiro goes to sleep. He dreams about the girl in the bread shop.

Hiro wakes up. The room is very bright.

 

What is the time?

He looks for his glasses. He can’t see them. He looks for his mobile phone. He can’t see it.

 

I must be late! he thinks.

He jumps up from the floor.

 

I must hurry.

He finds his clothes. He gets dressed. He runs to the bathroom. He runs to the kitchen. His mother is not there. She has gone to work. His breakfast is on the table.

Hiro eats quickly.

Where is my phone? Where are my glasses?

Hiro goes back to his bedroom. He looks everywhere.

 

Where is my phone? Where are my glasses?

Hiro opens the window. Hiro’s apartment is on the third floor.

Outside the window is a bar to hang the futon. He picks up his futon and puts it on the bar. Something falls from the futon.

Hiro looks down.

Down on the ground Hiro can see his glasses and his mobile phone. They were inside the futon!

Hiro runs down the stairs. He goes outside. His mobile phone is broken. His glasses are broken. Hiro cannot see well. He goes back up to his apartment. He finds some tape. He can fix his glasses a little. His glasses look strange, because they have tape on them, but now Hiro can see.

He picks up his bag and runs outside. He runs to the train station. Hiro falls over. His knee hurts. It is bleeding. Everything has fallen out of his bag.

“Can I help you?”

Hiro looks up. It is the girl from the bread shop! She kneels down and picks up Hiro’s books. She gives him some tissues for his knee.

“Thank you!” says Hiro.

“You’re welcome. You should hurry, or you will be late for school!” says the girl from the bread shop.

Hiro stands up. He runs down the road. He gets on a train. He sits down. He will be very late for school. His glasses are broken. His mobile phone is broken. But Hiro is happy. He has met the girl from the bread shop. He will go into the bread shop on the way home from school. He will say “Thank you for helping me this morning.”

It will be a very good day!