The Same Order Every Morning
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in English, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Two coffee shop regulars who always order the same drinks finally share a table on a rainy morning.
Every morning, Dahlia stopped at the same coffee shop before work. She always ordered a small tea with honey. She sat at the corner table.
A man came in most mornings too. He always ordered the same strange drink. It was coffee with a little cinnamon and no sugar. He usually sat near the window.
For weeks, they nodded at each other but never spoke.
One rainy Tuesday, the corner table was taken. Dahlia looked around. The only free seat was across from the man by the window.
"Is this seat free?" she asked.
"Yes, please sit," he said. He smiled and moved his bag off the chair. "I'm Zane."
"Dahlia," she said. She sat down and looked at his cup. "Coffee with cinnamon, right? I noticed it before."
Zane laughed. "And you always get tea with honey," he said. "I noticed too."
They talked for twenty minutes about small, ordinary things.
When it was time to go, Zane asked, "Same time tomorrow?"
"Same table, if it's free," Dahlia said with a smile.
The next morning, the corner table sat empty. Dahlia walked past it anyway. She sat by the window instead.
