Waiting in the Wings

Text 1: The Red Curtain, by Nadiya Fletcher

An original short story extract.

Leah was next.

From behind the curtain came a burst of applause. It rolled through the wooden floor and into the soles of her shoes. On stage, Ben was taking his final bow. Leah rubbed her damp palms against her skirt, then checked the tuning pegs for the third time. They were tight. Of course they were tight.

Beyond the curtain, the audience shifted and whispered. A cough cracked through the hall. A programme rustled. Each small sound seemed to lean towards her, listening and waiting. Leah tried to remember the opening notes, but they scattered as soon as she reached for them.

She pictured her bedroom at home: the music stand by the window, the patient tick of the metronome, her brother calling through the wall for her to stop playing the same tune. She had performed it hundreds of times there. Here, the violin felt as heavy as a suitcase packed with stones.

The applause faded.

Not yet, Leah thought. Not yet.

The stage manager lifted one finger. The curtain opened a narrow red mouth, and a stripe of white light fell across the floor.

“Now.”

Leah tightened her grip on the violin’s neck and stepped into the light.

In this extract, how are language and structure used to convey Leah’s anxiety before she performs?

In your answer, you could consider:

• the words and images used to describe sounds and Leah’s physical reactions
• how the focus and sentence lengths change as Leah is called on stage.

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.