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Anna's New Start · Season 2, Episode 3: Enough for the Tables October 31, 2026 · 5:46 · With Narrator, Ms. Lopez, and Anna
Anna and Ms. Lopez prepare a breakfast-service station at the Harbor Lane Hotel and discover they are short on napkins.
Transcript Narrator You’re listening to Anna’s New Start, a fictional continuing story about Anna building a new life in a new city and finding her place there. Anna works as a breakfast assistant at the Harbor Lane Hotel. After asking Ms. Lopez to clarify a task on her last shift, Anna is back at the hotel to prepare the breakfast station. Ms. Lopez Good morning, Anna. Can you help me get this breakfast station ready before the first guests arrive? We can set out the trays and cups first, then check the napkins. That way, we know what is ready and what we still need. Anna Good morning, Ms. Lopez. Yes. Should I start with the tables or the serving station? I want to make sure I put things in the right place before we begin. Ms. Lopez Let’s start here. We need trays, cups, and napkins. The trays go at the end of the counter, and the cups go beside them. We can count each item as we set it out. Anna All right. I’ll put the trays here. How many should I bring over? I can count them as I carry them, then check the number once they’re at the counter. Ms. Lopez We need four. Please count them as you bring them, so we know we have enough. There’s no need to bring more than we need for this station. Anna One, two, three, four. There are four trays. I’ll set them at the end of the counter, with a little space between them so they are easy to reach. Ms. Lopez Good. Now check the cups. There are two stacks. We need twelve cups for this station. Please count both stacks before you move them. Anna There are six in each stack, so that makes twelve. I’ll put them beside the trays. The two stacks give us enough cups. Do we need anything else here? Ms. Lopez Napkins. There should be a full package in that cabinet. Could you check? We need enough for the morning, so look inside before you bring it to the counter. Anna I see one package, but it’s almost empty. There are only a few napkins inside. Should I leave it open so we can use those, or do you want me to bring it over first? Ms. Lopez Leave that package here, please. We can use it for a few tables. It won’t be enough for the morning, though, so we need another package before service starts. Anna I can bring one from the supply room. Should I take the package that’s here with me? I don’t want to mix the open one with the replacement or put either one in the wrong place. Ms. Lopez Leave the open package here, please. The new package can stay on the lower shelf until we need it. Then we can use the open one first and take the new one when it is needed. Anna Okay. I’ll get another package, then put it on the lower shelf. Is the supply room down the hall? I’ll bring only what we need back to the station. Ms. Lopez Yes. It’s the door beside the staff room. Bring one package, not a whole box. We only need enough for today’s service, and the other supplies can stay there. Anna I understand. One package from the supply room. I’ll check the labels, take the napkins, and come right back. Narrator Anna returns to the breakfast station from the supply room with a package of napkins for Ms. Lopez. Anna I found the napkins. There were several boxes, so I checked the labels before I took a package. The labels showed what was inside each box, so I could choose the right one. Ms. Lopez Good choice. Those labels show what is inside each box. Did you bring one package, not a whole box? Anna Yes, one package. It’s here. I’ll put it on the lower shelf, and leave the open package on the counter. That keeps the replacement ready without opening it now. Ms. Lopez That works. Now we have four trays, twelve cups, and a new package of napkins ready. The open package can serve a few tables, and the new one is there when we need it. Anna You’re welcome. I almost thought the open package was enough, but I checked before we started. I’m glad I noticed it while we still had time to get another one. Ms. Lopez So am I. The trays and cups are in place, and the napkin packages are easy to find. Thank you for checking the amounts and bringing just one package from the supply room. Anna You’re welcome. I’ll remember where the new package is. We can use the open one first, and the replacement is on the lower shelf if we need it during service. Ms. Lopez Exactly. The station is ready now. Let’s finish the tables before the guests come in. We can use the table list as we check each one. Anna All right. I’ll take the table list and check each one as I finish. The station is ready, and I know what to look for next time.