El chat que se leyó tarde
The chat that was read late
1 · Spanish Story
La historia
El viernes en la tarde, Tomás salió del trabajo cansado pero contento. Su amiga Javiera le había escrito en el grupo: "¿Nos vemos hoy?". Él respondió que sí, pero no vio el resto del chat porque iba apurado. Pensó que el plan era tomar un café cerca del metro. Hacía varias semanas que no veía a sus amigos. Tenía muchas ganas de contarles cómo le iba en su nuevo trabajo.
Cuando llegó al café, miró la hora y no vio a nadie. Llamó a Javiera por celular. Ella contestó al tiro y dijo: "Estamos acá, en la mesa del fondo. Te esperamos hace veinte minutos". Tomás se quedó quieto. Había confundido el lugar porque no leyó bien el mensaje. Javiera le explicó que estaban en otro café de la misma calle. El de siempre cerraba temprano los viernes.
Salió rápido y caminó hasta el otro café, a pocos metros. Al entrar, sus amigos lo miraron con cara de sorpresa y después se rieron. "Pensé que me habían cambiado el plan", dijo él. "No", respondió Nico. "Solo mandamos la dirección nueva y tú no la viste". Javiera movió la cabeza y le pasó una taza de café. Tomás se sentó y pidió disculpas por el retraso.
Tomás sacó su computador de la mochila, revisó el chat y vio el mensaje perdido. Se sintió un poco tonto, pero también aliviado. Había pasado un rato preocupado por nada. "La próxima vez voy a leer todo", dijo. "Sí, por favor", dijo Javiera. "Así llegas al tiro". Todos rieron otra vez y siguieron conversando sobre la semana. Tomás guardó el computador. Ahora quería escuchar a sus amigos.
2 · Key Phrases
Language to keep
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salió del trabajo cansado pero contento
left work tired but happyThis describes someone leaving work with two contrasting feelings.
Después de una jornada larga, salió del trabajo cansado pero contento.
After a long day, he left work tired but happy.
no vio el resto del chat
did not see the rest of the chatThis describes missing the remaining messages in a conversation.
No vio el resto del chat y se perdió el cambio de hora.
He did not see the rest of the chat and missed the time change.
al tiro
right awayThis expression describes something happening immediately.
Usage: Conversational; common in relaxed speech. In Chile, al tiro is an informal way to say immediately. Broadly understood equivalents are de inmediato and enseguida.
Te respondo al tiro cuando termine la reunión.
I will reply right away when the meeting ends.
se quedó quieto
he frozeThis describes someone suddenly stopping movement, here because of confusion.
Cuando escuchó el ruido, se quedó quieto por un segundo.
When he heard the noise, he froze for a second.
con cara de sorpresa
with a surprised lookThis describes an expression of surprise on someone's face.
Me miró con cara de sorpresa cuando le conté la noticia.
He looked at me with a surprised look when I told him the news.
preocupado por nada
worried about nothingThis describes a concern that turns out to be unnecessary.
Pensó que había perdido la llave, pero estaba preocupado por nada.
He thought he had lost the key, but he was worried about nothing.
3 · English Translation
The full story in English
On Friday afternoon, Tomás left work tired but happy. His friend Javiera had written in the group: "Are we meeting today?" He answered yes, but he did not see the rest of the chat because he was in a hurry. He thought the plan was to have coffee near the metro. He had not seen his friends for several weeks. He really wanted to tell them how things were going at his new job.
When he arrived at the café, he looked at the time and saw nobody. He called Javiera on his cell phone. She answered right away and said: "We are here, at the back table. We have been waiting for you for twenty minutes." Tomás froze. He had confused the place because he did not read the message well. Javiera explained that they were at another café on the same street. Their usual café closed early on Fridays.
He went out quickly and walked to the other café, a few meters away. When he entered, his friends looked at him with a surprised look and then laughed. "I thought you had changed the plan," he said. "No," Nico answered. "We only sent the new address and you did not see it." Javiera shook her head and handed him a cup of coffee. Tomás sat down and apologized for being late.
Tomás took his computer out of his backpack, checked the chat, and saw the missed message. He felt a little silly, but also relieved. He had spent a while worried about nothing. "Next time I am going to read everything," he said. "Yes, please," said Javiera. "That way you arrive right away." Everyone laughed again and kept talking about the week. Tomás put his computer away. Now he wanted to listen to his friends.