💬 Conversation

SEE the present simple in the conversation:

Michelle walked into the office kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Jake was there, heating up his breakfast.

“Morning,” he said. “You look tired.”

“I am,” Michelle replied. “I usually go to bed early, but my neighbors were having a party last night.”

Jake laughed. “That happens all the time in my apartment building. My upstairs neighbor plays loud music almost every weekend.”

“Really? My neighbors don’t have parties very often, but when they do, nobody sleeps.”

Jake sat down at the table. “So what time do you get up in the morning?”

“I usually wake up around six,” Michelle said. “I don’t drink coffee at home because I’m always in a hurry, so I get it here.”

Jake nodded. “I’m the opposite. I always make coffee before work.”

“When does your day start?”

“Well, my wife gets up at five-thirty to go running, so I usually wake up when she leaves. Then we eat breakfast together if we have time.”

Michelle smiled. “That sounds nice. My husband doesn’t often eat breakfast – he typically oversleeps and then has to rush out the door.”

Jake opened his lunch bag. “What about weekends? Do you work on Saturdays too?”

“Sometimes,” Michelle said. “My manager occasionally sends me emails on the weekend, but I usually ignore them.”

Jake grinned. “Good idea. My boss doesn’t expect us to answer emails after work, thankfully.”

At that moment, another coworker walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, guys,” Priya said. “Why are you both here so early today?”

Jake pointed at Michelle. “She likes arriving before everyone else.”

“That’s not true,” Michelle replied. “I just hate traffic. The highway near my house gets really crowded at rush hour.”

Priya laughed. “I understand. That’s why I take the subway – it doesn’t get stuck in traffic jams.”

Jake packed up his breakfast container. “Well, I need to get back to work. I always check my email before nine, and my clients don’t like waiting for replies.”

Michelle grabbed her coffee. “Same here. My first meeting usually starts at eight-thirty.”

As they left the kitchen together, Priya smiled and said, “Looks like all three of us need coffee to survive the mornings.”