The lift I could not repay
Text: an original contemporary personal-essay-style practice extract.
While my bicycle was being repaired, Nadiya offered to drive me home after our evening shifts. She always said that my street was almost on her way. The map on her dashboard suggested otherwise: dropping me off added eighteen minutes to her journey. Twice, I offered money for fuel. Twice, she waved the suggestion away before I had finished speaking.
On the final Friday, Nadiya asked whether I could help her move some boxes at the community hall the next morning. “Only if you’re free,” she said, placing her car key in the ignition. I had planned to rest because my shoulder had been aching all week, but I heard myself agree. At the hall, the organiser called me a dependable volunteer. I smiled, said my shoulder was fine and picked up one of the heavier boxes.
Nadiya thanked me repeatedly. She never mentioned the lifts, and I knew that I could have refused. That was what made the obligation difficult to explain. There had been no demand and no bargain, only a kindness that I had been unable to leave unanswered.
The writer aims to show that receiving a generous favour can make it difficult to refuse a later request.
Evaluate how successfully this idea is presented.
In your answer, you could consider:
Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.