Dale works in a 24-hour gas station.
He doesn’t like his job. In fact, he hates it.
The late nights, the difficult customers, the same things to do every day.
And tonight is just one of those nights. When a man comes in demanding to buy some sushi.
This is an odd late-night tale about a man working in a gas station. And the kind of customers he has to deal with.
All compiled into one full and complete English lesson plan that you can use in your English or ESL class today.
It comes complete with:
- intro questions
- a short story
- reading comprehension questions
- essential vocabulary
- discussion questions
- some vocabulary exercises
- a role play
- a writing exercise
Download the lesson for free in easy-to-use pdf format and use at your leisure!
Leave me a comment – or drop me a line – to let me know what you think…
Gas Station Sushi
Dale’s eyes focused on the man marching across the gas station forecourt.
He breathed in, pulled himself back into the here and now. The job was so mind-numbingly dull that he found himself drifting off into some other netherworld countless times during his shift.
And the night shifts were the worst.
The minutes moved like treacle off a dirty stick.
The man shoved the door open and came into the store. Dale stood upright, trying to appear awake.
Outside, the night air wrapped itself around the station. Like the lights were on under a huge dark blanket. Maybe the outside world beyond that was in full, brilliant light.
It could all be just an illusion.
“Got any sushi?”
Dale turned his head towards the voice.
Where was he? He was here just a second ago.
Then his head popped up from behind the aisle of chocolate bars and fruit-flavoured candy.
“Sushi? Er, sure. Right over there. In the frozen section.”
Dale nodded at the large shelf to the side. That’s where they kept the stuff that could go bad.
That was all he could remember in his training.
Anything that can go bad in two days, shove it in the frozen section.
But not bread. That goes on the bread shelf.
The bread shelf was made of wood to make it look more organic. Make it appear that the bread had been baked in an oven that morning out in the back.
The man rushed to the shelf and started to rummage around the items. His longish hair lay greasy and unkempt over the dirty collar of his shirt.
Maybe a bum. Who else would buy sushi at a gas station?
Of all the food to buy at a gas station, what would you buy?
If you were really hungry at three in the morning and your only choice was a gas station, what meal would you prepare for yourself?
Dale pondered these questions in quick succession as the man selected three or four packs of sushi.
He brought them to the counter and slammed them in front of Dale.
“How much for all of these? Can I get a discount?”
Dale liked the man’s way of questioning.
When he studied advertising at college, professors often presented lines of questions to the students to test which ones worked best.
They were the kind of questions that he and his classmates would spend twenty minutes deconstructing, trying to see the psychological value of each one to the average consumer.
“Ahh, let’s see.”
He picked up the first one and beeped it with the little scanner.
“This is $3.99. So around sixteen bucks for all of them.”
The man nodded, his dark eyes on Dale all the time.
“And the discount price?”
Dale smiled and shook his head.
“I can’t give you a discount, man. I just work here.”
That’s all he had done. Just worked there.
He had graduated from college two years before and applied for some jobs in the city. Got no replies and then had to find a job — any job — and got this.
For the hundredth time that week, Dale did a quick assessment of how happy he was.
He never scored more than four out of ten.
“No discount? Come on, man, I’m buying —” the man tapped each of the sushi containers and counted under his breath “— four of these damn things.”
“I just told you. I only work here. I don’t own the place.”
The man stared at Dale as if he were trying to evaluate Dale’s position in life.
“I think we can do a lot better than this,” said the man with a low growl.
He scurried around the store, picking up items as he darted from left to right.
Soon, he was holding a pile of things that he had collected from different parts of the store.
Dale noticed that the man was only wearing flip-flops on his feet. It was not exactly the right weather for wearing flip-flops.
“Are you gonna pay for all of this?” asked Dale.
“Sure I am!” said the man. “You think I ain’t got money?”
He pulled out a fistful of notes, all scrunched up in one big pile. Dale realised they could all be singles. He might only be holding about fifteen bucks.
Not enough for all the items he had bundled on the counter.
Dale began to ring them all up in the till. He noticed one thing that the man wanted to buy was a small bag of charcoal.
“You planning to have a barbecue?”
“What else would I do with charcoal? Eat it?”
Dale shook his head. He was past caring.
He finished ringing everything up, but the man was already taking the things to the door.
“Where you going?” said Dale. “You have to pay for all of that.”
But the man was already outside.
He watched as the man emptied out all the charcoal on the gas station forecourt. Took all the items of food and placed them carefully on the charcoal.
What the hell was he doing? thought Dale.
Then he casually walked to one of the gas pumps, pulled it out, and started to pour gasoline all over the pile of charcoal.
Dale looked on in horror. This can’t be happening…
He shifted himself from behind the counter and ran for the door. He yanked it open.
“Wait!” he yelled out at the man. “Stop!”
The man looked up, a grin on his face, and in his hand, a lighter he had just taken from the store.
He clicked it.
“No discount, huh?”
He clicked the lighter again, and a small flame appeared.
Dale clenched his teeth, frozen in the spot by the door.
“Watch this,” said the man.
And he moved the lighter towards the pile of charcoal.
Reading Comprehension Questions
What is Dale’s job?
How does Dale feel about working night shifts?
Who does Dale see walking across the forecourt of the station?
What is the weather like during the story?
What does the man ask for when he enters the store?
How does Dale react to the man’s question?
Where is the man standing?
Where does Dale say the sushi is located?
What was Dale told in his training about where to put food that could go bad?
Where is the bread kept?
Why is the bread shelf made of wood?
What detail does Dale notice about the man’s appearance?
What assumption does Dale make about the man?
What does Dale think about people who buy sushi at a gas station?
What does the man ask for?
How does Dale feel about the way the man asks this question?
What did Dale study in college?
What can Dale remember doing in class at college?
How much is one pack of sushi?
What does Dale use to check the price?
How much does Dale say all the sushi will cost?
What does the man ask Dale about?
Why can’t Dale give a discount on the sushi?
How long has it been since Dale graduated from college?
Had he applied for other jobs before?
Did he receive any replies from his job applications?
How many times this week has Dale thought about his happiness?
What does Dale think about his happiness level?
How does the man react when he hears there is no discount?
What does the man do after Dale tells him there is no discount?
Does he get many things from the store?
What kind of shoes is the man wearing?
Why does Dale think these are not the right kind of shoes to wear?
What does Dale ask the man?
How does the man respond?
How does the man keep his money in his pocket?
How much money does Dale think the man has?
Is this enough money to pay for all the man’s purchases?
What item surprises Dale when ringing up purchases?
What does Dale ask the man about this item?
How does the man respond?
Does the man pay for his items?
As Dale is cashing up the items, where does the man go?
What does Dale ask the man?
What does the man do outside?
What does the man do with one of the gas pumps?
How does Dale react when he sees what is happening outside?
What does Dale call out to the man?
What item does the man pull out after pouring gasoline?
What does the man do with the lighter?
Does it light the first time?
What does Dale feel when confronted with what might happen next?
How does the story end?
Essential Vocabulary
Look at the table of vocabulary from the story above.
How many of these words do you know?
rummaging
clenched
sushi
professors
frozen section
evaluate
forecourt
mind-numbingly
advertising
scurried
darted
counter
gasoline
till
yanked
bundled
nodded
fruit-flavoured candy
fistful
charcoal
grinned
scrunched up
drifting off
chocolate bars
shoved
illusion
unkempt
scanner
ring them up
average consumer
treacle
darted
selected
Exercise
Write down all the words and phrases in your vocabulary notebook. Look in your dictionary and find the meaning of each word. Write the definition next to each word.
Then make up your own sentences using each word or phrase.
For example:
Rummaging — Searching through something in a hurried or careless way, often looking for a specific item.
Professors — Teachers of the highest academic rank at a college or university.
Then write a sentence of your own that uses the new word or phrase correctly.
He started rummaging through his backpack, trying to find his lost notebook.
She sought advice from her professors on which graduate program to pursue.
Do this with all the vocabulary and, over time, this will help improve all your English skills — reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Discussion Questions
Read all the following questions and answer them.
Try to discuss them with other classmates or a study partner.
What is sushi? Where does it come from?
Have you ever tried sushi? Was it delicious?
What about gas station sushi? Is this the same kind of food?
What were your initial thoughts when you read about a character buying sushi at a gas station?
Does sushi bought at a gas station have a negative reputation?
Why do you think gas station sushi has a negative reputation?
How does the setting of the gas station contribute to the mood and atmosphere of the story? What emotions does it evoke for you?
Why do you think Dale finds his job so boring? How does this affect his interactions with the customer? Have you ever had a similar job? How did you cope?
What do Dale’s reflections on his college experience and life satisfaction reveal about his character?
How would you describe the man’s personality? What evidence from the story supports your opinion?
What do you think motivates the man’s actions throughout the story? Is he truly desperate, or do you think there’s another explanation?
Why does the man make a fire at the end of the story? What is the reasoning behind this?
Why does the man insist on a discount?
Discuss the man’s request for a discount. What does it reveal about his situation and personality?
Why does the man use the phrase “No discount, huh?” before setting the charcoal on fire? What does this suggest about his mindset?
How does the story use imagery and sensory details, such as descriptions of the frozen section and bread shelf, to create a vivid setting?
If you were in Dale’s position when the man began pouring gasoline, how would you have reacted? Would you have tried to stop him? Why or why not?
Have you ever had a challenging or unusual experience while working in customer service? How does it compare to Dale’s situation?
What responsibility do businesses have to protect employees and customers from potentially dangerous situations like the one in the story?
What lessons can we learn from Dale’s experience with this customer? How might these lessons apply to real-life situations?
How does this story challenge or reinforce stereotypes about people who shop at gas stations late at night? Is this accurate? Is it fair to describe people like this?
If you were to write an alternative ending for this story, what would happen after the man lights the charcoal? Why would you choose that direction?
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