An afternoon in the launderette

Source A: an original contemporary non-fiction-style account.

Rain pressed against the launderette window until the street looked rubbed out. Inside, the machines turned with a patient, heavy rhythm. A red sock appeared at a round window, vanished and returned, travelling nowhere with complete commitment. I sat on a plastic chair beside a woman reading a magazine whose cover had lost one corner. We had both brought enough washing to make leaving impossible for the next hour.

At home I would have filled the waiting with something useful, or something that could wear that name. Here there was a reassuring limit to my authority. I could neither hurry the rinse nor negotiate with the spin. The machine displayed twenty-seven minutes and meant it. Coins rattled into a drawer behind the counter. Warm air carried the clean, powdery smell of detergent, while the dryers gave off a deeper note, like a distant engine heard through a wall.

The woman turned a page. I watched a shirt sleeve unfold against the glass as though offering a slow wave. Nothing required an answer. By the time the final cycle stopped, the rain had weakened and the street had returned in separate shapes. I folded the warm clothes more carefully than usual. The hour had not been empty; it had simply refused to let me fill it in my normal way.

Refer to the whole of Source A. Analyse how the writer uses language to convey the atmosphere of waiting in the launderette. Explain the effects of specific words, phrases and language choices, using evidence from the passage.