(man) Susan, what happened to your arm?
(woman) It’s my wrist, actually. I sprained it last weekend and I am kind of upset about it because I’m supposed to play the violin in my string quartet’s big concert next week. We’ve been practicing for weeks and we’ve already sold a bunch of tickets.
(man) Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. What are you gonna do?
(woman) Well, I was thinking about trying to play anyway, I mean, I really don’t want to let the other three group members down. Plus the doctor said my wrist should be feeling better by then.
(man) Oh, OK, so problem solved, right?
(woman) Not exactly. I’m worried I’m gonna be out of practice, like I haven’t been able to play the violin since I sprained my wrist. What if I don’t play well? I’d make the rest of the group sound bad.
(man) Why don’t you get somebody else to take your place?
(woman) Well, there’s only one other person I know who could do it and that’s Jim.He’s a great violinist and I’m sure he’d say yes. The thing is he’s not very reliable. I mean, I’m in the orchestra with him and he’s always showing up late for rehearsals.
(man) Oh, so you’re not sure you can depend on him.
(woman) Exactly, and we have less than a week left to rehearse for the concert. We’d really need him to show up on time for all our rehearsals.