The Crowded Canteen

Text 1: A Place at the Table, by Mariam Fenwick

An original short story extract.

Leila hovered outside the canteen until the doors swung back and carried her in. Noise hit her all at once: chairs scraping, trays clattering, voices leaping over one another. She held her lunch with both hands, though the tray was not heavy. It seemed to have widened since she picked it up.

She took one step. Then another. The room broke into pieces: a red jumper, a spill of water, somebody laughing with their head thrown back. Every table looked complete. She searched for a gap and found only shoulders. Behind her, the doors sighed shut.

A hand lifted near the windows. Sam was standing now, waving so hard that his sleeve had fallen over his wrist. ‘Leila! Here!’ Her name travelled cleanly through the muddle. The canteen was still crowded, still loud, but a path opened between the tables. Leila shifted the tray onto one hand. By the time she reached Sam, she was laughing too.

How does Mariam Fenwick use language and structure to present Leila’s experience of lunchtime?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.

In your answer, you could consider:

• the words and images used to present the canteen at the beginning
• how the focus of the extract and Leila’s movements change after Sam notices her.