The cake stand

Source: an original fiction extract.

The cake stood in the centre of the table, leaning slightly towards the window. Oliver had hidden the uneven side with strawberries, but one had already rolled onto the cloth. His sister Mae was due home in twenty minutes. She had finished her final examination, and he had decided that there should be something waiting. He had not decided this until noon, which explained the warm icing and the flour on the cupboard handles. Their father looked into the kitchen. 'We could still get one from the bakery,' he said.

Oliver shook his head. The recipe had promised a light sponge, but the layers felt as heavy as damp towels. He had used a mug instead of scales and forgotten that the oven door did not close properly unless pushed hard. Buying a replacement would solve several problems at once. It would also remove the one thing he could point to and say he had made. He scraped icing from the worktop and spread it over the gap between the layers. His father found a clean plate for the fallen strawberry.

When Mae arrived, she put her bag down and stared. Oliver began explaining before she had taken off her coat: the oven, the measurements, the fact that it would have looked better if he had started earlier. She asked whether she could have some water. He fetched it and kept talking. Their father cut three slices. The knife met the lower layer with a resistance that made everyone briefly quiet. Mae took a bite. Oliver watched her face so closely that she turned towards the window while she chewed.

'It's very sweet,' she said. He heard everything the sentence did not contain. He reached for her plate, saying she did not have to finish it. Mae held on. 'I know.' She took another small bite, then asked how he had made the icing. He told her. She said that next time she would show him how to weigh the flour. The word next sounded unexpectedly important. For the first time since she entered, Oliver asked how the exam had gone. Mae put down her fork and began describing the question she had least expected.

They stayed at the table until the light moved off the cake. Mae ate half her slice and left the rest. Oliver did not remove it until she stood up. Later, he put the remaining cake in a tin. He considered throwing it away, then cut a small piece for himself and tried it without watching anybody else's face. It was too dense, and the icing hurt his teeth. On the recipe he wrote: use scales; check door; less sugar. Beneath that he added: ask Mae about the exam first.

Consider the whole source. A reader said: “Oliver’s wish to do something kind is genuine, but his anxiety about the cake initially prevents him from giving Mae the attention she needs.” Evaluate how far you agree. Support your judgement with detailed references to the text and the writer’s methods.