Transcript

EXTRACT ONE [LUCY]: Did the gym finally stop taking payments? You've been trying to cancel for weeks. [ETHAN]: They have now. I'd filled in the online form twice, but the confirmation messages were going to an old email address. The gym thought I'd received them and hadn't completed the final step. Once the receptionist checked my account, she changed the address and cancelled it with me at the desk. [LUCY]: Did they refund the extra month, and are you joining somewhere else? [ETHAN]: Yeah, they refunded it without any argument. I won't join another gym straight away. I barely used the machines, and the classes I liked were always full after work. I'm going to run with a friend for a few weeks and see whether I keep it up. If I miss the gym, there's a smaller one near the station where you can pay monthly. I'm definitely not signing another year-long contract without reading every line. Actually, I might try one of the free outdoor sessions in the park first. Oh, and my friend says she'll come even if it rains. EXTRACT TWO [HANNAH]: How was the language exchange? You said you nearly turned round at the door. [RAVI]: I did nearly leave. The room was packed, and everyone seemed to be speaking quickly. Then a woman at the entrance gave me a card with 'English' on one side and 'Italian' on the other. You put the language you want to practise facing up, so people know how to start. [HANNAH]: That's clever. Did you get much Italian practice? [RAVI]: Enough. I spoke to three people, but the best conversation was with an older man who wanted to practise English for a family wedding. We both kept forgetting words and drawing things on a napkin. It was much less serious than a class. [HANNAH]: Will you go back next week? [RAVI]: Yeah, though I'll arrive earlier. By the time I got there, the quieter tables were full and I could barely hear. They also have a short beginners' session before the main evening, which I hadn't noticed on the website. I might try that first, then stay for a drink. I'm still nervous, but at least now I know nobody expects perfect sentences. EXTRACT THREE [CHLOE]: Is that your own laptop again, or are you still using the ancient one from the office? [DAN]: It's mine. The repair shop called yesterday. I thought the battery had died because it kept switching off, but the problem was a loose connection inside. They fixed that and cleaned the fan, which had apparently collected half my kitchen table. [CHLOE]: So it wasn't as expensive as you expected? [DAN]: Much cheaper. The embarrassing part was the borrowed laptop. I saved everything on the desktop, then realised the office resets it every Friday. I had to copy my files onto a drive in a hurry. Nothing was lost, but I won't do that again. [CHLOE]: Have you changed anything on your own laptop now? [DAN]: I've set it to back up automatically, and I'm keeping it off the table when I eat. The repairer said crumbs don't help the fan. I'm also going to replace the charger soon because the cable is beginning to split. It still works, but I'd rather buy one calmly than discover it's finished when I'm trying to join a meeting.