The last cycle
Text: an original contemporary personal-account-style practice extract.
When I arrived, the washing machine’s display showed twelve minutes remaining. I checked the time on my phone and worked out when I would be able to leave. The numbers seemed to make the wait a simple calculation: stay here, watch them fall, go home.
Then the dryer behind me gave a sharp squeak. A washer started its spin, paused, and began again with a low shudder. From the row by the window came a steady tapping, as a loose button struck the glass of a drum. Each machine seemed to be keeping a different kind of time. I stopped checking my phone and found myself waiting for the squeak to return. It did, just after the tapping had faded.
The display reached zero. The machine chimed, and its drum slowed until the shirts inside settled into a heap. I took out my clothes without looking at my phone. Outside, the afternoon had moved on by twelve minutes. Inside, I had spent them listening for what would happen next.
Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.
In your answer, consider:
Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.