After the Applause

Text 1: Storage from Monday, by Rowan Mercer

An original short story extract.

When the last audience member had gone, Leila stayed on the stage with her violin beneath her chin. The hall’s rows of seats were empty now, each one holding a folded programme. She played the opening of the piece again, softly, and stopped where the second movement should have begun. The music teacher had said the hall would be used for storage from Monday. Leila had nodded, as if the news concerned somebody else.

She lowered the bow and ran a finger along the pale scratch on the music stand. It had been there since her first rehearsal, when her hands shook so badly that the pages slid to the floor. She could still remember the teacher’s quiet laugh, and the scrape of chairs as the other players made room for her. Now the stand was bare. Even the small pencil marks that had guided her through the difficult passages were gone.

A caretaker appeared at the doorway with a ring of keys. “Ready?” he asked. Leila put the violin into its case, but did not close the lid. From the corridor came the clatter of a trolley stacked with boxes. She fastened the case at last and stepped outside. The door swung slowly towards its frame; just before it shut, a thin line of light lay across the floor, and then there was only the corridor.

How does Rowan Mercer use language and structure to convey Leila’s emotional attachment to the hall as her departure approaches?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.