Le premier jour de Clara

Story

Ce matin, Clara a son premier jour de travail. Elle est tres heureuse. Elle a un nouveau boulot dans un grand bureau. Elle veut bien faire. Elle veut donner une bonne impression.

This morning, Clara has her first day of work. She is very happy. She has a new job in a large office. She wants to do well. She wants to give a good impression.

Mais ce matin, rien ne va. D'abord, elle perd son telephone dans la maison. Elle le cherche partout. Enfin, elle le trouve dans le lit. Elle sort vite de chez elle.

But this morning, nothing is going right. First, she loses her phone in the house. She looks for it everywhere. Finally, she finds it in the bed. She rushes out of her place.

Dans la rue, il fait froid. Clara veut prendre le train. Mais le train part sans elle. Elle attend dix minutes le train suivant. Elle pense au temps qu'elle perd.

In the street, it is cold. Clara wants to take the train. But the train leaves without her. She waits ten minutes for the next train. She thinks about the time she is losing.

Quand elle arrive au bureau, elle est en retard de dix minutes. Son nouveau chef, monsieur Dubois, attend a la porte. Il a l'air mauvais. Il ne dit pas bonjour.

When she arrives at the office, she is ten minutes late. Her new boss, Mr Dubois, is waiting at the door. He looks unhappy. He does not say hello.

"Bonjour, Clara," dit-il enfin. "Vous etes en retard." Clara veut expliquer. Elle veut parler du train. Mais elle ne dit rien. Elle dit juste pardon.

"Hello, Clara," he says at last. "You are late." Clara wants to explain. She wants to talk about the train. But she says nothing. She just says sorry.

Clara suit monsieur Dubois dans une grande salle. Il y a cinq personnes autour d'une table. Tout le monde regarde Clara. Elle a le visage rouge. Elle prend une place pres de la porte.

Clara follows Mr Dubois into a big room. There are five people around a table. Everyone looks at Clara. Her face is red. She takes a seat near the door.

Le chef commence a parler. Il parle vite. Il parle de l'equipe, du travail de la semaine, des dossiers importants. Clara essaie d'ecouter. Mais elle pense au train, au telephone, a son retard. Elle ne comprend pas tout.

The boss starts to speak. He speaks fast. He talks about the team, the week's work, the important files. Clara tries to listen. But she is thinking about the train, the phone, her lateness. She does not understand everything.

Apres une heure, monsieur Dubois donne a Clara un gros dossier. "Lisez ca," dit-il. "C'est important. Je veux votre avis avant la fin de la journee." Clara prend le dossier. Elle a peur.

After an hour, Mr Dubois gives Clara a big file. "Read this," he says. "It's important. I want your view before the end of the day." Clara takes the file. She is afraid.

Clara rentre dans son petit bureau. Elle commence a lire. Mais les mots sont difficiles. Il y a beaucoup de mots qu'elle ne connait pas. Elle a chaud. Elle veut boire de l'eau. Elle veut juste rentrer chez elle.

Clara goes into her small office. She starts to read. But the words are hard. There are a lot of words she does not know. She is hot. She wants to drink some water. She just wants to go back home.

Elle sort de son bureau pour aller a la cuisine. Dans la cuisine, il y a un homme. Il est jeune. Il a un cafe a la main. "Bonjour," dit-il. "Tu es nouvelle?" Clara dit oui.

She leaves her office to go to the kitchen. In the kitchen, there is a man. He is young. He has a coffee in his hand. "Hello," he says. "Are you new?" Clara says yes.

"Moi, c'est Lucas," dit le jeune homme. "Je travaille ici depuis deux ans. Le chef, il est dur, mais il est juste. Ne sois pas triste. Le premier jour est toujours mauvais."

"I'm Lucas," says the young man. "I have worked here for two years. The boss is tough, but he is fair. Don't be sad. The first day is always bad."

Clara veut etre forte. Lucas lui donne un cafe. Clara prend le cafe avec sa main. Mais la main de Clara n'est pas calme. Le cafe tombe par terre. Clara regarde le cafe. Elle ne dit rien.

Clara wants to be strong. Lucas gives her a coffee. Clara takes the coffee in her hand. But Clara's hand is not steady. The coffee falls on the floor. Clara looks at the coffee. She says nothing.

Clara veut partir. Tout va mal aujourd'hui. Lucas voit son visage. "Ce n'est rien," dit-il. "Ce n'est qu'un peu de cafe. Viens, on va tout faire propre."

Clara wants to leave. Everything is going badly today. Lucas sees her face. "It's nothing," he says. "It's just a bit of coffee. Come, we'll clean it all up."

Lucas prend quelque chose dans la cuisine. Ils font tout propre ensemble. Clara dit merci. Pour la premiere fois ce matin, elle est un peu heureuse. Lucas est gentil. Le boulot est peut-etre dur, mais les gens sont bons.

Lucas grabs something in the kitchen. They clean it all up together. Clara says thank you. For the first time this morning, she is a little happy. Lucas is kind. The job might be tough, but the people are good.

Quand elle rentre dans son bureau, il y a un message sur sa table. C'est un mot du chef. "Clara, je dois sortir. Une affaire de famille. Le dossier peut attendre. On parle demain. Bonne journee."

When she comes back into her office, there is a message on her table. It is a note from the boss. "Clara, I have to leave. A family matter. The file can wait. We'll talk tomorrow. Have a good day."

Clara lit le mot deux fois. Le chef n'est pas la. Le dossier peut attendre. Elle pense a son matin: le telephone perdu, le train manque, le cafe par terre. Et maintenant, ca. La vie est vraiment drole.

Clara reads the note twice. The boss isn't there. The file can wait. She thinks about her morning: the lost phone, the missed train, the coffee on the floor. And now, this. Life is really funny.

Elle prend son sac. Elle va voir Lucas dans la cuisine. "Tu veux prendre un cafe?" demande-t-elle. "Le vrai, cette fois. Pas par terre." Lucas est heureux. "Avec plaisir," dit-il.

She takes her bag. She goes to see Lucas in the kitchen. "Do you want to have a coffee?" she asks. "The real one, this time. Not on the floor." Lucas is pleased. "With pleasure," he says.

Le premier jour de Clara n'a pas ete facile. Mais peut-etre que ce n'est pas un mauvais debut. Elle a un nouveau travail. Elle a un nouvel ami. Et demain, elle prendra le train plus tot.

Clara's first day was not easy. But maybe it's not a bad start. She has a new job. She has a new friend. And tomorrow, she will take the train earlier.