Hello! Here is a new Learn English Short Story for you to improve your English speaking skills. Watch the video and listen to it several times. Make sure to use each of the 7 steps from the Integrated Learning System to develop each of your core skills. Then practice your English speaking by retelling the story to your friends.
There was a man from India who went to live in the USA. He was a researcher and university teacher. His name was Bryan Gupta.
One day, he woke up in hotel bed at 7:40 a.m. He didn’t know why he was there and his head was pounding. After a bit, he did remember that he had an important interview that day. So, he got up to take a shower.
Then he got dressed and had continental breakfast down in the hotel cafeteria. He noticed that the hotel employees were looking at him strangely. But he ignored them.
After breakfast, Bryan caught a taxi to the interview. When he arrived at the building, he told the secretary who he was and why he was there.
She looked surprised and asked him several questions. She wanted to know how to spell his name and then wanted him to confirm his address.
Finally, the secretary asked him to have a seat while she made some calls. A man arrived and broke some terribly shocking news.
Bryan had come to his interview a week after it had been scheduled. But what was even stranger was the fact that the man told Bryan that he had already come in for the interview one week earlier.
He felt very embarrassed over his behavior. Why had he forgotten about the previous interview? And why had he forgotten about everything that had happened the previous week.
Bryan asked how the interview had gone. The man told him that it had gone very well and had even been hired. But then Bryan had never showed up again. Someone had told the company that Bryan had died.
Bryan felt like he was in an episode from the Twilight Zone. He had the strangest feeling of Deja Vu.
The man told Bryan that he was very sorry, but someone else had been hired for the position. Bryan was very sad. Now he would have to find another job.
Bryan’s Interview – Q&A Mini Story
Listen carefully each question and then pause the video to answer it in your own words before hearing me tell you the answer.
Here are the questions from the video below. I did not add the answers because that would make things to easy for you. Right? But you can see them in the video above or see the answers in the PDF.
#1) Where did Bryan wake up?
#2) Did he go back to sleep?
#3) What time did Bryan wake up in the hotel?
#4) Where did he have to go that morning?
#5) What did he do after waking up?
#6) Who was looking at him strangely?
#7) How did he get to the building where his job interview was scheduled?
#8) When was Bryan’s interview scheduled for?
#9) Was Bryan able to talk with Mr. Grant?
#10) Why wasn’t Bryan able to talk with Mr. Grant?
Learn English Mini-Story Dialogue from Bryan’s Interview
Here is a short dialogue between Bryan and Mr. Grant’s secretary. Listen and repeat along with me to practice your English speaking skills.
Bryan: Well, I’m here to see Mr. Grant.
Secretary: Who are you exactly?
Bryan: Bryan. Bryan Gupta.
Secretary: And how do you spell that?
Bryan: G-U-P-T-A
Secretary: No, I mean your first name. Do you spell it with an I or with a Y?
Bryan: Oh, yes. B-R-Y-A-N. Like the singer, Bryan Adams.
Secretary: Did you say your name was Bryan Gupta?
Bryan: Well, my first name is actually Mandeep. That maybe the name you have in the system. But Bryan is actually my middle name, and it’s the name I go by here in America.
Secretary: Could you just confirm your address for me?
Bryan: Sure. It’s 4409 Rosemont Avenue. Could you please hurry. My interview with Mr. Grant is at 9:00 a.m. It’s 9:05 already. I’m sure he’s expecting me by now.
Secretary: Right. Sure, I’m…well, actually, the truth is that Mr. Grant won’t be able to see you today. I don’t have anything on his agenda with your name on it.
Bryan: Please, check again. I’m sure there’s been a mix-up. I called to confirm this appointment a few days ago.
Secretary: Well, I do apologize, sir. But Mr. Grant really won’t be able to see you today.
Bryan: Oh, c’mon. For crying out loud. You have got to be kidding me. What a total disrespect of my time. Why didn’t he just let me know in advance?
Secretary: If I may ask, Mr. Gupta, what day do you think this is?
Bryan: Monday, July first.
Secretary: It is Monday, sir, but it’s not the first of July. Would you like me to try to reschedule a meeting for you?
Bryan: Well, what day is it exactly.
Secretary: Monday, July eighth. I’m afraid there has been some sort of mistake. I do see you name here for an appointment last week.
Bryan: What am I going to do now?
Secretary: Well, have a seat and let me make some phone calls to see when I can reschedule you.
10 ESL Vocabulary Words from Bryan’s Interview
Here are 10 vocabulary phrases that I selected from the mini-story to explain the definitions. You’ll notice that most of them are in the past tense. Listen and repeat along with me to improve your English vocabulary skills.
Woke Up – To Stop Sleeping And Become Aware And Active Again
Got Dressed – Put Clothes On Your Body
Had Breakfast – Eat In The Morning For Your First Meal Of The Day
Caught A Taxi – Raise Your Hand To Signal To A Taxi Driver That You Need A Ride
Told Her – Communicate Information, Facts, Or News To Someone
Looked Surprised – To Appear Astonished Or In Shock At What Has Been Seen Or Heard
Have A Seat – A Polite Directive For Someone To Sit Down And Wait
Made Some Calls – To Use The Telephone To Talk To People
Arrived – To Reach Your Desired Destination Or Place You Need To Be
Broke The News – To Share Some Important Information With Someone
35 English Phrases To Ask Someone’s Name From Bryan’s Interview
Listen to these 35 question and answer phrases about how to ask someone’s name in English. These are not in order. They are just different ways of ask the same question so you can understand native speakers who talk with you.
Repeat and practice your pronunciation with me as many times as you need.
Hello! And welcome to Z4 Technologies Inc.
How can I help you?
What can I do for you?
I have an appointment this morning.
I have a meeting with Mr. Grant
I have an interview scheduled for 9:00 a.m.
Okay. What’s your name?
And you are?
Could you please tell me your full name?
What’s your first name?
Tell me your last name please?
My name is Bryan Gupta
I’m Bryan. That’s Bryan Gupta.
It’s Gupta. Bryan Gupta.
Do you spell that with an I or a Y, Bryan?
How do you spell that, Mr. Gupta?
Is that spelled with a TH or just a T, Mr. Gupta?
I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch your last name.
Could you please repeat that for me?
Hm. I don’t see any interviews on his schedule.
Sorry, I don’t see your name on his agenda.
That’s strange. Mr. Grant doesn’t have any interviews scheduled for today.
Are you sure your interview was scheduled for today?
Yes, I’m absolutely positive.
I even called to confirm it yesterday before 6 p.m.
Could you please double-check his schedule?
Sure. Oh here it is. I must have missed it.
Yes. I do see that you have an interview scheduled with Mr. Grant this morning.
Unfortunately, Mr. Grant is running late though.
His pilot is running about 30 minutes behind.
There was a 25 minute delay at the airport because of the rain.
He asked us to push your meeting back 30 minutes.
Mr. Grant apologized and asked to reschedule your meeting for this afternoon
Would it be possible for you to return at 4:30 p.m.
I also have an opening for 5:45 p.m. if you prefer.
Or would you rather reschedule for tomorrow at 9:45 a.m.?
So, today was one of those days where I just didn’t feel like writing. Kept pushing it off. Wrote a little at lunchtime. Then a bit more in the afternoon, but once I got home from work…I started writing like a madman. Managed to crank out 5,017 words today for Kobe & Katrina.
It’s an amazing story. I was shocked when I discovered who one of Kobe’s clients was and how his family got involved in this whole mess. Katrina still hasn’t figured out a way to get them out of this mess.
And we’re already in over 20,000 words for a short story that was supposed to be a quick 1,000-word short story. But this is too interesting of a story to stop now.
Yes, I know! We left old Art hanging back in the middle of Edge 1.4 which I don’t really like doing. But he is just going to have to hang on until we can get back to him. Especially since he is looking for Kobe, at least now we know where the old geezer is hiding and why.
Wow! All I can say is wow! So, let’s get to it. Eh? I don’t want to give away any spoilers of course. But I can’t wait till you get to read this story. I think you are going to love it.
Meantime, I’ve got to go get some shut-eye here. It’s way past my bedtime, and I’ve been hanging onto my desk here for the past hour or so, just to get these character worksheets up that I created today.
And whatever you do kids, don’t go out trying any of these Radical Road Rolls that kids are doing these days.
Doing a little research here on relationships ending badly for a couple. I’ve been writing a short story about a couple called Kobe & Katrina.
Katrina is a small-time mob boss/hit woman who likes what she does. Learned the trade from her daddy. Took over to avenge his death when her brother was too weak to do anything.
So, she often gets into trouble and needs the help and advice of her lawyer. That would be Kobe. She falls in love with him, but he’s married.
Long story short, he gets himself in a real pickle and needs her help to clean up the mess after someone kills his family for a mistake he made.
Update: This was supposed to be a short story of about 1000 words to get some background on Kobe who pops up in Edge of the Universe – On the Run – Episode 4. But I’m already up over 12,000 now on this backstory. This could become its own book. I’m finding the whole relationship between them really interesting. Hope you enjoy reading it when it’s complete.
Anyway, I was looking for articles about things going bad relationships and how narcissists and selfish lovers feel about getting dumped or put in the friend zone.
Got me to wondering about any interesting experiences that you may have had with crazy, narcissistic, selfish lovers that broke up with you or mistreated you for no reason. Feel free to share in the comments below.
What Happens When An Entire Town Gets Tired of A Young Prankster And Decides To Give Him A Taste Of His Own Medicine? Read the newest short story that I wrote for my English students. You can listen to the audio through Gumroad or Patreon.
Read The Boy Who Pulled A Fast One
There was a boy who loved to play games. He was sneaky and played a lot of pranks on his family and neighbors. They didn’t like it. They didn’t like the things he did. They called him ‘the prankster,’ and they didn’t like him. They found him ornery and irritating. They were very upset at him and the pranks he pulled.
So, one day, they got together at the city hall and decided to pull a fast one on him. “What are we going to do to get him to stop this foolishness?” one of them asked.
“We need to find a way to teach him a lesson, so maybe then he’ll stop,” another cried.
They put their heads together and brainstormed up many ideas. They laughed and had a really good time. Some of their ideas were really crazy and far out, but they didn’t discard a single one. They continued coming up with more and more crazy ideas that became ever zanier and weirder.
Finally, his mother came up with the strangest idea of all. She wanted to fake the disappearance of everyone in town. It wasn’t hard to pull off because they lived in a small town near the top of a mountain that was completely surrounded by the forest.
It took them three days straight of planning and plotting to prepare everything. They did a lot of research and organized everything just right. When everything was ready, they all gathered once again in the city hall to hash out the final details and make sure they were all in agreement.
They had a big party with lots of food. It was a huge celebration. They couldn’t wait to teach this little brat a lesson.
The next day, they all woke up at 3:00 a.m. and headed out into the woods. They made strange noises to terrify the boy and wake him up. They all had a good laugh as they imagined his fear at waking up all alone.
It was true. Everything went just as they had planned. The boy sat up in bed terrified. He lay back down and hid his head under the pillow to drown out the noise. But the sounds got louder and louder.
The prankster jumped out of bed and screamed for his mother, but of course, she didn’t come. The boy went running through the house looking for her, but she was gone. No one from his family was in the house, so he cowered behind the sofa and cried like a little girl.
Some of the people felt sorry for him and wanted to go comfort him, but his mother wouldn’t let them.
“No way,” she said. “He needs to learn his lesson, and we’re going to see this through to the very end.”
Everyone stopped screaming and making noises now that the boy was awake. They all went back into the woods to wait for morning. A deathly silence covered the town. The boy became even more afraid of the silence than he had been with all the noise. It was eerie and strange.
He walked outside and looked around under the light of the moon, but no one was around. The boy ran over to his neighbor’s house and knocked on the door, but of course, no one answered. He went inside and saw that everything was a mess. There were strange symbols painted on the walls and floors in bright red paint that looked like blood.
“They are here!” some of the messages said.
“They are coming for you,” other messages said.
This happened in every house that boy entered, and he went to almost every house. The messages became weirder and uglier with each house he visited. The boy became more and more terrified. His heart was filled with dread.
If they were coming for him, he decided to play the ultimate prank. He wouldn’t let them have his town, nor his house, nor even him.
So, he went back through every house, setting it on fire. Then he jumped in his mother’s car and drove out of town vowing to never return.
When the people returned to the town, all the houses had burned to the ground. They looked around for the boy, but he was nowhere to be found. Everyone was horrified because their perfectly planned prank had backfired on them.
“Well, look on the bright side,” the boy’s mother said. “At least you don’t have to put up with his pranks anymore now that he’s gone.”
But the people were sad without the boy around. They slowly rebuilt their homes and lives, but they missed having someone around to pull pranks on them. Even though it irritated them, they still missed having something to liven up their day.
“We need to find the boy,” they said.
“We need to bring him back to play pranks on us,” others said.
What none of them really wanted to admit was that they secretly enjoyed playing that prank on the boy. Well, not playing the prank so much. But what they did enjoy was the time they spent together laughing while planning the prank. They all agreed that it was the best time they had ever had and decided to make it a yearly event.
Meantime, they sent out several search parties to surrounding towns and villages. Others swept through the forest to find out what had happened to the boy.
They finally found him holed up in a cave on the other side of the mountain. He had fled there to hide from whoever was coming. The entire village went together to bring him back.
He laughed and laughed when he learned that it had all been a prank.
“That’s the best prank ever. The joke’s on me because you learned from the best,” he said.
They all laughed and laughed while they planned future pranks to pull on each other. They changed the name of the city to Pranksterville, and tourists would come from miles around to get pranked and have a good time laughing at each other.
Of course, the boy grew up to become the mayor, and they all lived happily ever after. His mother was amazed and always expressed her shock and awe.
“That’s the best prank he ever pulled on me because I never thought he would grow up to amount to much,” she said with a huge smile and tears in her eyes as she gave an interview on a national network.
He just smiled back and said, “No, it’s not. One of these days, I’m going to come up with a prank to end all pranks. Just you wait and see.”
But no one ever came up with a better prank than the one they pulled the night he burned their homes all to the ground.
Listen To This Short Story About The Boy Who Pulled A Fast One
Thank you for reading my latest short story ‘The Boy Who Pulled A Fast One‘. I hope you enjoyed it. You can listen to the audio by clicking on the button below that says “I want this!’. You can also listen to more audios on my Patreon page.
Hey! Here’s a list of the 81+ books, short stories, and flash fiction that Dave has written to date. Find a title that looks interesting and enjoy reading them.
Short Stories
26 short stories available for you to read here on the blog or any of our other book hosting sites scattered around the web. These short stories typically range from 4,000 – 15, 000 words and can be read in a single sitting
Rune Cubes– A girl being chased through the woods by two bullies receives a fantastic weapon and an invitation to a curious adventure
Firebirds– When a teenage villager discovers someone is trying to kill her grandfather to take an artifact that he recently discovered, she helps him escape from the hospital only to discover that someone she trusts is part of the plot
Squire of Sarsuit – Jorgen awakens to the sound of something evil destroying his town and in the process of stopping it, discovers the truth about his past from the very person who set up the attack
Knight of Fire – After witnessing the assassination of the king, Emillian is given an invisible sword and sent on a dangerous mission to deliver it to the one who can tell him what his next step is
Clara of Cesfati: The Slayer of Kings – When her entire team is poisoned off, only Clara is left to protect her patron and the kingdom from their enemy’s surprise attack using her wits and swords
Broozer The Barbarian Knight Mage– Alone in the night, Broozer is attacked in the woods, but saved by an old crone who tells him where to find the men the king is looking for. Now, all he has to do is defeat the blind giant of Wandermere to get them back
Skeleton Huntress: Feast of Fire – While searching for her mentor, Norah discovers that everything she believed about their world is a lie, and she is attacked by the truth like a giant, shrieking skeleton
Dragon Rider of Agardi: The King Is Dead– The king is dead and the princess is missing. Leyla wants to help, but doesn’t think she has what it takes…until she gets a little help from a completely unexpected source…with wings.
Uduack The Time Stopper – A dustdevil with tentacles wipes out his entire village in less than 15 minutes. It’s not like Uduak didn’t try to warn them. Now, everyone he loves is dead, but the crone gives him the key to revenge which will allow him to rise from the ashes to rule the world
Cursed Loot In Yokonagawa – Cursed loot kills off his companions one by one until only Ren is left to face their mortal enemy, but you can’t always win. Sometimes, you just have to live to fight another day.
Field of a Thousand Swords – A sword so sharp it can cut through rocks like warm butter in the summer. The only thing Ami from finding this legendary weapon is the giant orc threatening to kill her friends
Gage the Aixtron – When Muhammad finds an AIX-49 in the junkyard, little do he and his friends know that this is the legendary warrior that can save them from their enemies
The Portal to Nemderia – You should never open your door for strangers, especially when the claim to be from the future and their message sounds too good to be true (as Deloris is about to find out)
Warblade of Ballara – After finding the horned monster guarding the weapon he seeks, Strogoben comes prepared to fight it to the death. But things don’t turn out quite like the former dragon hunter expects
In The Land of Giants – The job of his dreams is yanked out of his hands by the person he loves. Carl never would have guessed that his feelings for someone could change so quickly and drastically
Dragon Troll– A dark, ugly duckling tale about a small boy who is mistreated and misunderstood, until they find out what he can really do. Currently enrolled in Kindle Unlimited
Rooftop Rage – Old tensions flare after finding his nemesis dead in a tub and now Igor has to do whatever it takes to stay alive long enough to find out who killed the old man and why
Scorpion Sparks – Family dealings are always shady and Tom is constantly on the move, until he finds a way to finally settle down. All he has to do is one simple job for the family
Train Wreck – Can Alecks escape the prison, stop the train, and save the woman he loves? It seems some things aren’t impossible after surviving whatever slaughtered his troop and allowed him to survive (or at least brought him back to life)
Floor 47– Sector Seven houses something sinister, and April will pay for the discovery of these secrets with her life. Sometimes its best to let sleeping secrets lie
Cloud Eater – When her cloud city comes under attack, only two will survive and one will live to tell the tale. The tale behind the Bermuda Triangle that you never heard before
End of the Beginning – What happens when people fight until there is no one left to fight?
Flash Fiction
Here you’ll find a list of 52 really short stories about 1000 words or less that we call flash fiction. You can read through them and enjoy them in a snap
That Must Be Momma – Two men in suits search a junkyard for the creature that attacked them. One of them seems overly talkative and the other remains silent until the very end.
Goldfish – A routine flyover through a new portal and the crew gets shot down. Two dead and the status of the other three are unknown. This is the last known recording of Lieutenant Theudhar Osborne
Portal Hunter – A good deed never goes unpunished. This small group gets punished for something they never did…and simply for keeping a portal open
This Zombie’s On Fire – Blowing up a building full of zombies isn’t the best way to deal with them…especially if they aren’t immune to fire
Dragon Rider: Making of a Warrior – Sent on a mission they never expected him to complete, they now refuse to let the cloud rider return home with his dragon and he has a decision to make
Legend of the Burning Mountain Man – You may have heard the stories about the burning man running around on the mountain at night. Only Avery knows who it really is…
The Thirty-Third Dimension-When you jump through strange portals, make sure you know how to find your way back home
Facing Mael’s Giant-Natalie found Mael’s giant and isn’t about to let him get away
Blaze– Never mess with an angry woman holding a chainsaw, especially when your surrounded by fire and can’t escape
Feeling Cross – Keep your mutants at home kids, and don’t let them escape on their own
Dragon Slayer– Some days you never know if a single deed will brand you as a heroine or a traitor for breaking a taboo
Invisible Ship – Sometimes the thing that you’ve been looking for has been hiding right there in front of you the entire time
Unstoppable Fire – That moment of deja vu when you learn where those flashes of premonition come from
Black Rain & Grey Smog – This wasn’t how they told me that the world would end, but the one thing I know for sure is that nothing will ever be the same again
Sword of Alamorth – Making the right choice can be hard because you never know what could have been if you had made a different decision
Deception – Things aren’t always what they seem and people aren’t always who you think they are
I Love You Baby – You never know which person around you could actually be a superhero and save your life
I’m Not Your Papa – Strange worlds could exist all around us that we aren’t even aware of…yet
SkyEater Down – Just another routine day training new pilots over the quarantined city…until a random shot knocked them out of the sky
In The End, We All Die– But we will never go down without a fight. We will never give up…
Maxamed’s Epiphany– Sometimes your epiphanies come too late to do you any good
The Dragon Mage’s Staff – And in the end, the weapon you thought you used to control others was actually being used to control you?
City Monster – He had done what they sent him to do, but it almost seemed to easy
Apocalypse Warrior – If you react too quickly, you might not discover the secrets that you’ve been searching for all this time
Subject 239 – Seeing someone you love after six months is great, unless they no longer recognize you and are beyond help
Evil Comes From The Darkness – Running around with pitchforks at night and burning down homes is a dangerous game. Sometimes you burn down the wrong house
Take Over the World – That moment when you discover who you are and what you were created for…only to realize its not what you want
How Dong Became King – Given a mission that he had almost completed, until Dong realized he was better off not following through with them
Brothebit Girl– That moment you realize why you are so different from your family and everyone around you
The Gunman – Seven years seeking his revenge, but before he can see it through, something completely unexpected happens
Crow Scare – That moment when you realize your enemy is such a strategic planner that you need to have them on your side
Raining Fire– Giving up your life so that the one next to you can bring about a greater evil than you ever could
Night Fight – Rainer is sent on a suicide mission, only to discover that it was impossible from the start. And now your only hope is to successfully complete it before its too late
What Goes Around Comes Around – When an evil general takes over the president’s body, Jenny has to do whatever it takes to get him out and bring the president back
Borg Wars -What happens when a child’s family is killed and he confronts the borgs responsible?
Street Smart -Learning to be grateful for the little things…even when you don’t have a lot
Rain And Hair Don’t Mix – Hair all done up and headed to a party, when the unthinkable happens
Joe Goes Home – What happens when an alley cat finds a new home, but doesn’t have his freedom?
The Hole – A man wakes up in a lab with no memory of who he is or where he came from
Immersion – Do you ever wonder who might be watching you?
The Girl Who Lived Alone – After growing up a lone in the forest for years, a young girl is returned to the city where she must learn to adapt and survive
Conversation with Death – How would your life change if you could have a quick chat with death?
Time Machine Man – Did you ever wonder what you would do if you could go back in time and change a few things?
Books & Novels
Here are a few of the books that I wrote when I first started putting words down on the screen. Some were mentioned previously above. These were all originally published on Amazon. Read and enjoy…
Edge of the Universe
This is the series of stories that I’m currently writing. Episode 1 is complete and several more are in the works. I spend several years planning and outlining this. So, I’m really excited to be able to be finally writing this. Read on Gumroad (PDF, epub, or mobi) >>
Art: Final Battle – with Audiobook
I was playing around with possible endings for Art on the Edge of the Universe series that I’m currently working on. It will probably change by the time I finish writing the series, but it will give you an idea of where the story could be going. Read on Amazon Kindle >> or Listen on Audible >>
Lost! In The Spider Caves of Knulkforrest
I started to write this as a short story, but it just kept growing and growing. Thorgaut demanded a complete story, and more are planned, so stay tuned for him to tell you more about his adventures. Read on Amazon Kindle >>
The Fall Of Myxol
Elijolf Hranfastsson is one of the major characters in Art on the Edge of the Universe series, and this is part of his backstory which will help you understand the feud between the Myxolians and Locrylians. Read on Amazon Kindle >>
My First Death: The Coming of Age of Smokey Swallow
If you die near Area 51, you may just live to tell the tale. When a young orphan girl runs away from home and gets into a trucking accident, she assumes this is the end of the line for her. Until she’s resurrected by an alien being who wants to use her body to stay alive. Read My First Death on Amazon >>
Dragon Troll: 15-Minute Short Read
Read Dragon Troll, a dark, ugly duckling tale of a boy mistreated and misunderstood until people find out exactly how powerful he is and what he is capable of doing.
When Ray McGown starts spontaneously combusting and bursting into flames in the most inconvenient places. He attracts the attention of some very unpleasant characters and discovers he carries an ancient gene that was thought to have been lost to the age. Now, he must set out on a journey to find Venomshank, the Warblade of Ballara to save himself and the Dragon Queen before it’s too late.
Hey there! Kicking of this space here to keep you up-to-date with what’s going on around here. Mostly just writing fun and inspiring sci-fi and fantasy stories. Reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary, and I also record the audios for my English students.
So if you are learning English as a second language, make sure to download the audios to improve your listening skills. You can also practice with me to reduce your accent and improve you speaking fluency too.
Feel free to follow us on any of these social media sites for updates:
