The Car That Wouldn't Start
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in English, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Derek's car refuses to start one morning, so he catches the bus and still makes it to work on time.
Derek wakes up early and gets ready for work. He grabs his coffee and walks out to his car. He turns the key, but nothing happens.
He tries again. The engine makes a strange clicking sound, but it does not start. Derek looks at his watch. He has thirty minutes before his meeting.
"Not today," he says to himself. He gets out of the car and closes the door.
Derek checks the bus schedule on his phone. A bus stops near his house every fifteen minutes. He grabs his bag and walks quickly to the bus stop.
At the stop, a few other people wait too. A woman with a big umbrella smiles at him. "Car trouble?" she asks.
"Yes," Derek says. "It just will not start."
"That happened to me last winter," she says. "It's always at the worst time."
The bus arrives, and Derek gets on. He finds a seat by the window. He watches the city go by. He checks the time again. He still has twenty minutes.
The bus stops two blocks from his office. Derek steps off and walks fast down the street. He reaches the building five minutes early.
His coworker looks up. "You're here early today," she says.
"Not exactly," Derek says with a small smile. "My car did not want to start today."
He sits down at his desk and turns on his computer. The meeting is about to begin. He arrived right on time.
