Short Stories in English for Beginners

incident
. She has a university
education. She lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is an
administrative assistant
with a sales management team. She often leaves
work very late. She never speaks badly of her company. She is a model
employee and a perfect professional.
Laura loves where she lives. At the weekend, she likes spending time
with friends and family. They often go to sports clubs, the movies or even a
stage performance. And just last week, she and her husband saw a great
film series. But sometimes, Laura wants quiet time. That’s why some
weekends she goes out of the city.
Today Laura is driving to the country with her friends, Raj and Sophie.
The friends plan to have a 
barbecue
.
Laura stops her car at a park outside of Edinburgh. It’s a beautiful area
with several trees. Sophie looks around. ‘This is a great place for a
barbecue!’
‘I agree,’ says Raj. ‘Do we have enough food?´
‘Of course,’ answers Laura. ‘I know how much you like to eat!’ They all
laugh. Then Laura adds, ‘Let’s start 
cooking
!’
Laura, Raj and Sophie take the food out of the car. They turn on some
music and prepare for the barbecue. Laura finds some sticks and makes a
fire. She waits for it to get hot. As she waits, Laura checks her messages.
‘Oh no!’ says Laura. She has a message from the 
director
 at her office.
She forgot to post something for the production department. They need it

---

right now! Laura just applied for a new job in the production department.
She has an interview on Monday. She has to fix this right away!
Laura looks at her friends. She holds up her 
mobile
. ‘Hey, guys,’ she
says, ‘I’ll be right back. I need to make a work call.’
‘Oh, come on, Laura,’ says Raj. ‘you’re always working …’
Raj is right, Laura,’ Sophie adds.
‘I know – I know …’ says Laura. ‘But I got a message from the director.
And she’s not happy.’
Laura goes over to some nearby trees. It is evening and it’s getting dark.
The trees are very tall. She can hardly see anything.
Laura calls her office. She speaks with another administrative assistant.
The assistant asks her to wait for the director.
While she is waiting, Laura looks around. Suddenly she notices
something. Among the trees, there is a strange light! Laura puts away her
mobile as she goes over to the light.
The light is coming from a beautiful 
metal ball
. Laura has never seen
anything like it! The ball is covered with patterns. She reaches out to touch
it. The metal is cold. It actually feels nice.
Laura picks up the ball. Then, as suddenly as it started, the light 
goes out
.
The ball feels very strange in her hand. It’s almost too cold. Laura doesn’t
like the feeling. She drops the ball. Then she goes back to the barbecue.
Laura approaches her friends. They are talking about her. ‘Laura should
turn her mobile off at the weekend,’ Raj says.
‘I agree,’ Sophie adds. ‘It’s not good to work so much. The body and
mind need quiet. She needs to 
relax
 sometimes.’
Laura walks up. ‘Are you guys talking about me?’ she says, laughing.
‘OK! OK! I’m ready to relax!’
Raj and Sophie say nothing. Raj checks a problem with the barbecue.
Laura’s friends