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.

Sakura ran a popular noodle stall in a lively night market, where the smell of sizzling food and the sound of laughter usually kept her energized until the early hours of the morning. One evening, however, her manager announced that all stall holders were required to attend a compulsory meeting at ten o'clock sharp. The meeting room, tucked behind a storage area at the back of the market, was small, stuffy, and entirely cut off from the cheerful noise outside. As the room slowly filled with tired traders clutching notebooks and paper cups, Sakura chose a seat near the back and told herself firmly, "I will pay attention, no matter how long this takes." The manager began speaking in a steady, unhurried voice about updated regulations, pricing structures, and hygiene standards, and within twenty minutes, Sakura could already feel her concentration beginning to slip. She tried a number of strategies to keep herself alert.

She sat up as straight as she could, pressed her pen hard into her palm when her eyelids drooped, and downed the last of her lukewarm tea in a single gulp. At one point, she glanced across the table and noticed that the elderly stall holder opposite her had given up entirely, his chin resting gently on his chest. "At least I'm still fighting," she thought to herself, suppressing a smile. Each time a new speaker took the floor, Sakura's hopes rose briefly, only to fall again when the talk stretched on for another ten or fifteen minutes. She scribbled notes furiously, not always because the information was useful, but because the physical act of writing was the only thing stopping her from drifting off completely.

When the manager finally announced, "We are nearly done, just one more item on the agenda," Sakura exhaled slowly and gripped her pen with renewed determination. The final speaker, a meticulous man who clearly enjoyed the sound of his own voice, proceeded to speak for a further half hour about the correct way to arrange signage. By the time the meeting was officially closed, Sakura's notes covered three full pages, her back ached from sitting upright for so long, and the market outside had grown noticeably quieter. She pushed open the door and stepped into the cool, open air, feeling the gentle night breeze on her face like a reward for her endurance. "Never again," she muttered to herself, and then laughed quietly, knowing that next month's meeting was already on the calendar.