Numbers in the Paper Jam- 適合中級的英語短篇故事

Warm air drifted from the ceiling vent, mixing with the faint ink smell; white light bounced off metal shelves and the silent printer.

Mia placed a fresh stack of pages beside the printer. She needed a complete sales report before the afternoon training workshop that Leo prepared across the room. Her desk already held colored clips, a stapler that leaned against the monitor, and a calculator that had been humming quietly. Leo hurried over with a box of office supplies, bumped the stack, and several sheets slid away. One loose page, which had served as the office supplies list, slipped into the printer tray without notice.

When Mia pressed PRINT, the machine rattled, groaned, then stopped. Its tray was left open, and half-printed pages emerged at odd angles. She has already checked the numbers twice, so a delay tightened her grip on the stapler. Together they lifted the tray; the jammed sheet came free. On its back appeared faded pencil marks that neither of them had seen before. The marks filled a gap that the sales report had been missing all morning. Leo tilted the sheet; the final totals now stood clear. Mia clipped the fresh information onto the corrected report, tucked everything under her arm, and walked toward the glass door while the printer lights settled into a steady glow.

暖空氣從天花板的通風口吹下來，混著淡淡的墨水味；白色燈光在金屬層架和靜止的印表機上閃耀。

米雅把一疊新的紙放到印表機旁邊。她需要在下午的訓練工作坊前完成整份銷售報告。她的書桌上已經放著彩色夾子、靠著螢幕的釘書機，以及持續輕震的計算機。里歐帶著一盒辦公用品匆匆走來，不小心撞到那疊紙；幾張紙滑了出去。其中一張正是之前的辦公用品清單，沒被察覺地滑進了印表機托盤。

當米雅按下列印鍵，機器嘎嘎作響後停住。托盤半開，印出的紙歪歪斜斜地卡在裡面。她已經核對過數字兩次，所以這個延誤讓她捏緊了釘書機。他們一起抬起托盤，將卡紙拉出。那張紙的背面出現了褪色的鉛筆筆跡，之前誰也沒看見。這些筆跡補上了早上銷售報告一直缺的最後總額。里歐傾斜著紙張，最終的數字清晰呈現。米雅把新資訊夾到修正後的報告上，夾在腋下，走向玻璃門，而印表機的指示燈穩穩亮著。