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Anna's New Start · Episode 14: The Early Bus October 13, 2026 · 4:40 · With Narrator, Anna, and Sam
Anna and Sam check whether Anna can reach the Harbor Lane Hotel by bus before a 5:30 a.m. shift.
Transcript Tap a sentence to hear it from there.
Narrator You’re hearing Anna’s New Start, a fictional continuing story about Anna building a new life in a new city and looking for work. Anna has moved into a room at 18 Pine Street and interviewed for a hotel job. Today, she and Sam check whether an early bus can get her there on time. Anna Sam, can you help me read this bus schedule? I found it online, but I’m not sure which time is the one I need. Sam Sure. You mean the trip from your street to the Harbor Lane Hotel, right? The job may start at five thirty in the morning. Anna Yes. Ms. Lopez said the breakfast shift begins at five thirty. I don’t know if that means I need to be there exactly at five thirty, or a little earlier. Sam It’s safer to arrive early. You might need time to put your things away and hear what you should do first. Let’s look for a bus that gets you there by five fifteen. Anna The first bus from Pine Street is at five twelve. It says it reaches the hotel area at five forty-two. That would be too late. Sam Right. What about the next stop on the route? Sometimes the bus starts earlier from a stop farther along the line. Anna Here’s a stop on Grand Avenue. It’s about a fifteen-minute walk from my room. The schedule shows a bus at four fifty-eight. Sam And when does it reach the hotel area? Make sure you’re reading the time for the right direction. Anna It says five twenty-one. The route number is four, and it goes toward the waterfront. The hotel is near the waterfront, so I think this is the right direction. Sam That looks promising. Do you have to change buses, or does route four take you all the way there? Anna It goes all the way. There’s a stop called Harbor Street, two blocks from the hotel. I could walk from there in a few minutes. Sam Then you might get there around five twenty-five. That gives you a few minutes before five thirty, but not much room for a delay. Anna I don’t want to start my first day by running in late. Maybe I should leave home even earlier and walk to Grand Avenue before the bus comes. Sam That’s a good idea. You could aim to reach the stop by four forty-five. Then you have time if the walk takes longer than you expect. Anna The walk is fifteen minutes on the map. But I haven’t walked that way before, and it will be dark at that hour. Sam We can look at the route together. It stays on Pine Street until Grand Avenue, and the map shows sidewalks along the way. Would you feel better trying it in daylight first? Anna Yes. I could walk it tomorrow afternoon. Then I’ll know where the stop is and how long it really takes. I can also check which side of the street I need. Sam Good thinking. The schedule lists stops in both directions. You want the stop heading toward the waterfront, not the one across the street going back toward downtown. Anna I’ll write that down. Route four, Grand Avenue, toward the waterfront, four fifty-eight. I should also check whether the bus runs that early on weekdays. Sam This page says the early trip runs Monday through Friday. It doesn’t run on Sunday. Since Ms. Lopez plans to call Monday, you’ll have time to ask about the likely start date if she offers you the job. Anna That helps. I don’t want to assume I have the job before I hear from her. But now I can ask a clear question about the schedule and tell her I’ve checked the bus. Sam Exactly. You’ll be ready to talk about a real plan, and you can still ask what time she expects you to arrive before a shift. Anna Thanks, Sam. Tomorrow I’ll walk to Grand Avenue and find the right stop. If Ms. Lopez calls Monday, I’ll know what to ask. That makes the waiting feel a little easier.
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