The Wi-Fi Names War
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 4 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Two neighbors argue through their Wi-Fi network names until Gemma invites them to talk in the lobby.
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When Gemma moved into the building, she never expected to follow a quarrel on her phone. One Monday, two strange networks appeared in her Wi-Fi list. The first was called "StopTakingMyParkingSpot". The second was called "ItIsNotYourSpot".
By Wednesday, the names had changed. "ThirdTimeThisWeek" had replaced the first, and the second now said "ThenParkSomewhereElse". Gemma checked the list every morning, like someone reading the news. It was funny, but it was also a little sad. Two neighbors who could not speak to each other were shouting through their routers.
She had a guess about who they were. One was probably Sabine, who lived above her and always carried a bag of oranges. The other might be the quiet man from the second floor. But Gemma had no proof, and she did not want to accuse anyone.
"If nobody does anything, this could go on for months," she told herself. On Friday, she renamed her own network "LetsJustTalkOnThursday". Then she taped a note to the lobby mailboxes. It read: "Whoever owns the parking networks, please come here on Thursday at seven. I will bring tea. Nobody has to bring a router."
On Thursday evening, Gemma sat in the lobby with a thermos and three paper cups. For ten minutes, nothing happened. She was starting to feel silly when the elevator opened and Sabine stepped out, holding her oranges. At the same moment, the man from the second floor came down the stairs. Both of them stopped.
"You," said the man. "You are the one who keeps parking in my spot."
"Your spot?" Sabine said. "I have had spot fourteen for three years."
"So have I. Spot fourteen."
Gemma poured the tea slowly. "Could you both check your parking cards?"
Sabine pulled a card from her bag. The man took one from his wallet. They held them side by side under the lobby light. Hers said fourteen. His said forty-one.
"Forty-one is at the far end, by the bins," Sabine said. "You have been parking in mine."
The man stared at his card, then at his shoes. "The paint on the wall has faded. It always looked like fourteen to me. So I have been angry at you for two months, and I was the one in the wrong."
"Two months and one week," Sabine said. "I counted."
Gemma handed each of them a cup. "Tea?"
"Yes, please," the man said. "And I need a new network name. Any ideas?"
"Try 'SorryAboutSpotFourteen'," Sabine said.
