illustrated Everyday Expressions with Stories 2 » Lesson 27 - On a bus
Man: You don't have to stand, Miss. I can you here. I'll just put my briefcase on the floor.
Woman: That's very kind of you.
Man: It's not every day a beautiful woman sits next to me on the bus!
Woman: Thank you, but I'm not usually talking to strangers on the bus.
Man: Yes, this is a special day! I want to make a poem about you. What do you think?
Woman: You don't have to the conversation for my sake. I prefer to ride in silence.
Man: It's no trouble. I can create a poem .
Woman: Well you're on me. I don't want to hear your poem!
Man: You certainly tell it like it is, Miss. You're a very straightforward person.
Woman: I am! Excuse me, but I see an open seat up front. I'm moving.
Man: Nice talking to you!
I had a hard time dating my wife when I was in high school. In fact, she didn't want to have anything to do with me at first. She sat behind me in history class. The first time I saw her, I asked her out on the spot. But she turned me down.
I wasn't discouraged, though. The next time I asked her to go out with me, she told me, "Get lost." But I asked her the next day too. Then she said, "You're wasting your breath. I'm not going to go out with you." I even asked her friends to fix us up, but they all told me, "Forget it. She doesn't want to date you."
Although my friends were in favor of me quitting, I kept up my pursuit of her. At lunch, I made a point of trying to sit at the same table with her. If none of her friends made room for me, I tried to sit at the table behind her. Still, I had no luck.
Then one day, I fell asleep in class. The teacher was calling on students at random to answer questions, and he called on me while I was sleeping. My future wife noticed I was sleeping and tried to wake me up by shaking my shoulder. I must have jumped when she touched my shoulder because I fell out of my chair. Of course everyone laughed at me. I guess she must have felt a little sorry for me because after class, she told me, "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard. I guess I didn't know my own strength!"
"No problem," I replied. "As a matter of fact, I like strong women."
She laughed and asked, "Do you want to go to the dance this weekend with me?"
Of course I said, "You bet!"
And, to sum up, we have been together ever since.
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