The bell ropes

Source: an original fiction extract.

At six on Tuesday evening, Hamish arrived at the church hall for an introductory bell-ringing session. The instructor, Mrs Lane, met the group beside the staircase and asked everyone to leave bags on the bench. There were five beginners, and each received a printed sheet showing the names of the bells. Hamish put his red backpack beneath the bench and followed Mrs Lane upstairs. The first part of the session would be a demonstration, beginning at quarter past six. Through the narrow window he could see rain gathering on the roofs across the square.

In the ringing room, ropes hung from the ceiling with bright woollen grips partway down. Hamish had imagined pulling one as though opening a heavy curtain. Mrs Lane explained that the bells moved above them and that nobody should touch a rope until instructed. She demonstrated with the experienced ringers while the beginners watched from marked places beside the wall. The sound reached Hamish through his feet as well as his ears. The room seemed smaller once the ropes began moving, each following a rhythm he could not yet read.

Afterwards, Mrs Lane showed them a photograph of the bells while stationary. One had a chipped inscription around its shoulder. Hamish could make out a date and part of a name. He asked whether the chip affected its sound. She said the damaged lettering was on the surface, but the bell had been checked carefully before being used. She pointed to repairs in the supporting frame and explained that looking after the whole arrangement mattered as much as hearing the notes from the square below.

His first supervised attempt was brief and awkward. He concentrated so hard on Mrs Lane's instructions that he barely registered the sound. When she took over, he felt both disappointed and relieved. Another beginner, a woman who taught music, admitted that she had expected her sense of rhythm to make the task easier. They laughed, and Hamish stopped trying to look as though he had understood everything at once. He asked Mrs Lane to explain one part again, this time watching her hands instead of the rope above his head.

Later, from the square, he listened to the experienced group finish their practice. The notes travelled over the shops in a pattern that sounded effortless at a distance. He knew now that it was not. Beneath his coat, the printed sheet had folded into an uncomfortable ridge against his arm. He took it out and smoothed it on the dry patch of wall beneath the noticeboard. The bell names were still difficult to remember, but he could put a few of them in order. Before leaving, he checked the date of the next beginners' session.

Refer only to the first paragraph. Choose one answer for each item. Write the four letters in order, labelling them 1 to 4.