The Car That Wouldn't Start

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.

Derek se despierta temprano y se prepara para el trabajo. Toma su café y sale hacia su auto. Da vuelta la llave, pero no pasa nada.

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.

Lo intenta de nuevo. El motor hace un extraño sonido de clic, pero no arranca. Derek mira su reloj. Tiene treinta minutos antes de su reunión.

"Not today," he says to himself. He gets out of the car and closes the door.

«Hoy no», se dice a sí mismo. Se baja del auto y cierra la puerta.

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.

Derek revisa el horario de autobuses en su celular. Un autobús pasa cerca de su casa cada quince minutos. Toma su bolso y camina rápido hacia la parada de autobús.

At the stop, a few other people wait too. A woman with a big umbrella smiles at him. "Car trouble?" she asks.

En la parada, algunas otras personas también esperan. Una mujer con un paraguas grande le sonríe. «¿Problemas con el auto?», le pregunta.

"Yes," Derek says. "It just will not start."

«Sí», dice Derek. «Simplemente no quiere arrancar».

"That happened to me last winter," she says. "It's always at the worst time."

«Eso me pasó a mí el invierno pasado», dice ella. «Siempre es en el peor momento».

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.

El autobús llega, y Derek sube. Encuentra un asiento junto a la ventana. Observa la ciudad pasar. Revisa la hora otra vez. Todavía tiene veinte minutos.

The bus stops two blocks from his office. Derek steps off and walks fast down the street. He reaches the building five minutes early.

El autobús se detiene a dos cuadras de su oficina. Derek se baja y camina rápido por la calle. Llega al edificio cinco minutos antes.

His coworker looks up. "You're here early today," she says.

Su compañera de trabajo levanta la vista. «Hoy llegaste temprano», dice.

"Not exactly," Derek says with a small smile. "My car did not want to start today."

«No exactamente», dice Derek con una pequeña sonrisa. «Mi auto no quiso arrancar hoy».

He sits down at his desk and turns on his computer. The meeting is about to begin. He arrived right on time.

Se sienta en su escritorio y enciende su computadora. La reunión está a punto de comenzar. Llegó justo a tiempo.