Late Again!

Irene was late for her class. It started at nine, and the kitchen clock was already pointing at ten to. The one thing standing between her and the front door was a set of keys that had vanished. Her bag was packed and her coat was on, yet she had spent ten minutes circling the flat like someone looking for a lost cat.

She searched the table, then crawled around under the sofa. “I can’t find them!” she groaned. Just as she was losing hope, her phone rang. It was her friend Joe, but the line was so crackly that she could hardly make out a word. “Hello? I can’t hear you!” she shouted.

A knock at the door interrupted her. It was Mr Lee, her neighbour from the floor below, holding up a bunch of keys. “Irene, are these your keys?” he asked. “I found them on the stairs.” “Yes! Thank you so much!” she cried, snatching them gratefully.

“You can’t leave your keys on the stairs,” Mr Lee said, with more kindness than reproach. Irene laughed, a little sheepishly. “I know! I can’t be late again today. I have already been late twice this week.” She grabbed her bag and hurried out.

She sprinted all the way to the bus stop. The doors were already closed, but the driver caught sight of her frantic waving and opened them with a sigh. “Thank you!” Irene gasped. “Now I can finally go to my class!” Her heart was pounding, but she was smiling.