Sakura worked at a small food stall in a busy night market. She sold noodles and drinks every evening. The market was always loud and bright. One night, her boss said, "We have a very important meeting tonight." Sakura was surprised. She did not know about the meeting. The meeting started at ten o'clock at night. All the stall owners sat around a big table. The room was small and warm. There were no windows. Sakura sat down and put her bag on the floor. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was already very late. She felt a little tired. She drank some water and tried to listen. Her boss started to talk about the market rules. The meeting went on for a long time. Sakura listened carefully at first.

The boss talked about prices and working hours. Then another man talked about cleaning the market. His voice was very slow and quiet. Sakura felt her eyes getting heavy. She blinked many times. She looked around the table. Some people were writing notes. One old man was already asleep! Sakura did not want to fall asleep. She sat up straight in her chair. She pinched her arm to wake herself up. "Ow!" she said quietly. The woman next to her looked at her. Sakura smiled and said, "Sorry, I am fine." She tried to focus again. But the room was so warm and the voices were so soft. Sakura picked up her pen and started to write notes. Writing helped her stay awake.

She wrote down every word she heard. Her hand moved fast across the paper. After a long time, the boss said, "We are almost finished." Sakura felt very happy. Then the last person stood up to speak. He talked for thirty more minutes! Sakura drank more water. She tapped her foot on the floor quietly. She counted the lights on the ceiling. There were twelve lights. Finally, the boss said, "Thank you, everyone. The meeting is finished." Sakura stood up quickly. She walked outside into the cool night air. The market was still busy and bright. Sakura took a deep breath and smiled. She was very happy the meeting was over.