The inspection

At eight o'clock, the head gardener told Ravi that an inspector was coming. The glasshouse had to be ready by ten. Ravi had worked there for six weeks, long enough to know which paths flooded and which taps needed a second turn, but not long enough to recognise every plant. He began with the labels, rubbing soil from the white plastic with his sleeve. Behind the glass, the morning was bright and cold. Inside, condensation gathered on the roof and fell at irregular intervals, like a clock that could not quite keep time.

The head gardener moved between the benches without seeming to look at them. She straightened one pot, removed a brown leaf and found a snail beneath a tray. Ravi tried to work at the same speed. When she went to fetch the inspection folder, he saw the pale plant at the end of the bench. Its leaves had curled into narrow fists. He recognised the pot: he had watered it the previous afternoon. He put a finger into the soil. It was wet enough for water to rise around his nail.

He carried the pot behind a stack of empty trays. From the path, the gap in the row was almost invisible. For a moment the bench looked better. Then he noticed a loose label on the floor, its neat black lettering partly hidden under his boot. He picked it up and tried to remember whether the instruction had said water daily or check daily. The clock above the door clicked towards nine. He could still say that he had found the plant like this. He held the label so tightly that its edge pressed a white line into his thumb.

When the head gardener returned, Ravi stepped into the path before she reached the bench. ‘I think I've done something wrong,’ he said. His voice sounded louder than he intended beneath the glass roof. He fetched the pot from behind the trays and placed the label beside it. She did not answer immediately. She tipped the plant into her hand, and the roots emerged in a dark, clotted mass. Ravi waited for her to ask why he had moved it. Instead she asked him to bring fresh compost and a clean pot. He brought both, then admitted where he had hidden it.

They worked together at the bench. She showed him which roots were still firm and which had begun to soften. Ravi wanted a simple assurance that the plant would recover, but she gave none. ‘We'll see,’ she said. At ten, when the inspector entered, the repotted plant stood in its original place. Ravi had written the date and the treatment on a new label. The inspector paused beside it. Ravi felt the familiar urge to step away, but remained where he was. When she asked what had happened, he began with the previous afternoon.

Focus on the final three paragraphs, from ‘He carried the pot’ to the end.

A reader said: ‘Ravi’s actions make him increasingly worthy of trust, although the writer does not present him as completely confident or blameless.’

To what extent do you agree and/or disagree? Evaluate how the writer presents Ravi in these paragraphs, using evidence and analysis of the writer’s methods.