“It's me that's bothering me.”
Why it's great
A single emphatic line turns the blame inward and explains everything.
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Use it yourself
It's me that's holding this team back.
00:00 / 04:41
00:00 / 04:41
Sabrina Cooks Dinner in Linus's Office, Explained
Sabrina · 1954
Chapter 15 of 18 · 4'41"
She came to say she couldn't see him, and stayed to cook. Sabrina confesses she can't make sense of herself — "I've been in love with David all my life" — then begs Linus to send her home before she makes a fool of herself, and in the same breath: "But don't let me go home."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:46–2:51
Dinner From Miss McCardle's Cans
65s - 3:14–4:19
❝ Monologue · 5 lines Sabrina Confesses Her Confusion
65s
Sabrina Cooks Dinner in Linus's Office, explained
What happens
Sabrina comes to Linus's office determined not to go out with him, and then doesn't leave. He offers a drink, she refuses; he suggests dinner and digs out Miss McCardle's hoarded cans — tomato juice, sardines, crackers. Sabrina, a trained cook, starts to improvise, and her real reason for coming finally surfaces.
What's really going on
The dinner is a pretext, and both of them know it. Sabrina keeps announcing she shouldn't be there — "I've spoiled your evening, haven't I?" — and Linus keeps making it easy to stay, offering drinks, aprons, and a stove. Her confession is the scene's heart: she can name her old love for David but not her new confusion, and she asks Linus to lie to her — "Tell me I'm imagining things" — while also refusing the exit: "But don't let me go home. I couldn't bear it." For a man who plans everything, being the one trusted with this mess is a new position, and he answers with dinner instead of an answer.
Key lines & what they mean
- “It's me that's bothering me.”
- Her answer to "what's bothering you?": the problem isn't David or Linus, it's her own confused feelings. The line puts the whole muddle on herself.
- “I'm a graduate cook, you know. I have a diploma.”
- A comic bit of self-defence as she faces Miss McCardle's canned food: whatever she improvises, she insists she's professionally trained.
- “I've known you only a few days, just a few days, really, and I've been in love with David all my life.”
- The confession in one sentence: a few days with Linus have unsettled a lifetime of loving David. The contrast of "a few days" and "all my life" is the point.
- “Tell me to put on my coat and go home before I make a complete fool of myself.”
- She asks Linus to protect her from herself — to send her away before she says or does something she'll regret in front of him.
- “But don't let me go home. I couldn't bear it.”
- The reversal, in the same breath: she wants the escape route named, not taken. It's the most honest thing she says all evening.
Theme
- Romance — Sabrina can't name what she feels, but she keeps choosing Linus's office over the door, and he keeps giving her reasons to stay.
- Identity — She went away to grow up and admits she hasn't: "I just got myself a new hairdo, that's all."
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level2/6
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“I'm a graduate cook, you know. I have a diploma.”
Why it's great
She defends a hopeless kitchen with a diploma, and the pride makes it funny and sad.
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Use it yourself
I'm a certified diver, you know. I can handle a little water.
“I've known you only a few days, just a few days, really, and I've been in love with David all my life.”
Why it's great
A few days crash into a whole life, and both loyalty and desire are exposed at once.
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Neutral
Use it yourself
I've worked here only a month, but I've wanted this job all my life.
“Tell me to put on my coat and go home before I make a complete fool of myself.”
Why it's great
She asks to be sent away as a way of asking to be kept, and the twist is the pain.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Tell me to leave now before I buy the whole shop.
“But don't let me go home. I couldn't bear it.”
Why it's great
One line reverses the last, and the reversal is where the truth lives.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Don't let me quit tonight. I'd regret it by morning.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Sabrina begs to be sent away
I don't know. Tell me I'm imagining things. Tell me you never even thought of taking me on the boat to Paris with you. Tell me to put on my coat and go home before I make a complete fool of myself. But don't let me go home. I couldn't bear it. This is the last time we're going to see each other.
Five Tell me lines in a row plead to be sent away and confess the wish to stay.
Up next · 16get in the wayThe scene: Linus Admits He Was Sending Her AwayTakeaways
What you walk away with- Sabrina's plea to be sent home is really a plea to be kept.
- She defends a hopeless dinner with a cooking diploma.
- Linus answers emotion with jokes and groceries.
- The scene hides its confession inside list after list.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Sabrina come to Linus's office?
She wants to tell him she can't see him, because she's confused about her feelings. But once she's there she can't bring herself to leave, and the evening turns into dinner.
Why does Linus cook with her instead of sending her home?
He keeps offering her reasons to stay — a drink, an apron, the office stove — and lets the confession happen rather than cutting it off. It's a softer Linus than his usual business manner.
What is Sabrina confused about?
She's loved David her whole life, yet a few days with Linus have her doubting herself. She can't tell whether her new feelings are real or she's imagining them.
What does Sabrina ask Linus to tell her?
She asks him to say she's imagining things and to send her home before she makes a fool of herself — then immediately asks him not to let her go home.
What food do they find in the office?
Miss McCardle's stash: tomato juice, puffed rice, sardines, and stale crackers. Linus jokes that it will take a diploma to make a meal out of it, which Sabrina has.