#Person1#: Jim, thank goodness you've arrived. The class report started half an hour ago. And I was just beginning to worry.
#Person2#: I'm sorry I'm late, Ellen. This morning has been a real mess. I didn't think I was going to make it here at all.
#Person1#: Why are you late? Our whole report depends on those drawings you're holding.
#Person2#: Yes, I know. I'll tell you about it later. First, let's see how we're doing for time. Two groups are still ahead of us, aren't they? The re- port on the rights of the consumer and the analysis of the stock market. That means I've got about 20 minutes to warm up.
#Person1#: You do look cold. What happened?
#Person2#: I've been standing outside in cold temperatures for over an hour waiting for a bus.
#Person1#: Over an hour? But I thought your apartment was only a ten-minute bus ride to campus.
#Person2#: Under normal conditions, but the bus was delayed because of the weather. And when I stepped into a drugstore to call home for a ride, the bus went by. As luck would have it, there was no one home so I had to wait for another 45 minutes for the next bus.
#Person1#: That's Murphy's law, isn't it? What was it said? 'If anything can go wrong, it will.' Well, we've still got 20 minutes to gather our wits together.
#Person2#: We'd better stop talking. People are turning around and looking at us
#Person1# and Jim are going to make a class report but Jim's late because he missed the bus and waited for over an hour. They'll gather their wits for the report.
reasons for lateness