A Room for Friday

Marta arrived at a small guesthouse on Friday afternoon. She had a ticket for a concert that evening and a booking for one night. At reception, she gave her name and showed the email on her phone.

The receptionist looked at the screen. “Your booking is for Saturday,” he said. Marta checked the date. He was right. She had chosen the wrong day. “Do you have a room for tonight?” she asked. “We have no rooms here, but I can call my sister. She has a guesthouse near the station.”

His sister had one room left. It cost ten pounds more, but breakfast was included. Marta could walk from there to the concert in fifteen minutes. She agreed, and the receptionist wrote the address on a card.

Before leaving, Marta asked about her Saturday booking. The receptionist cancelled it without charging her. “Thank you for helping,” she said. This time, she read the new confirmation carefully: Friday, one night, breakfast included.

At the second guesthouse, Marta put the card next to her concert ticket. She still had an hour before the concert. She sent her brother a message: “I have a room now. Next time, please check my dates before I pay!” He replied, “Only if you check mine.”