Freya Explains the Machine

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Freya sat in the waiting area at the job center. There were many chairs in the room. Some chairs were blue and some were gray. Freya had a number. The number was on a small piece of paper. She looked at the screen on the wall. The screen showed numbers. People waited for their number to appear. An old man sat next to Freya. He looked confused. He was holding a piece of paper. He did not know what to do. He looked at a big machine near the door. "Excuse me," he said. "What is that machine for?" Freya smiled at him. "I can help you," she said. Freya stood up and walked to the machine. The old man followed her slowly.

"This machine gives you a number," Freya said. "You press this button here." She pointed to a green button. The machine made a small noise. A ticket came out of the machine. "Take the ticket," Freya said. The man took the ticket carefully. "Now you wait," Freya said. "When your number appears on the screen, you go to the desk." The man looked at the screen. He looked at his ticket. He smiled. "That is easy!" he said. "Yes," said Freya. "It is not difficult." The man sat down again. He felt happy now. He understood the machine. A young woman came into the waiting area. She also looked confused. She did not have a ticket.

She looked at Freya. "Sorry," the woman said. "How does this work?" Freya walked to the machine again. "First, you press the green button," Freya said. "Then a ticket comes out. You take the ticket and sit down. Then you watch the screen. When your number comes up, you go to the desk and speak to someone." The woman nodded her head. "Thank you so much," she said. "You are welcome," said Freya. Freya went back to her chair. She looked at her ticket. Her number was not on the screen yet. She waited. She felt good because she helped two people. She smiled and looked around the room.