Waiting for the last bus

An original descriptive account set in an invented bus station.

At first, the waiting room was noisy. People dragged cases across the tiles, the ticket machine beeped and buses growled outside the glass doors. Then the final crowd left, and the room became so quiet that I noticed the electric light buzzing above my head.

A loose timetable tapped against the wall. Tap. Pause. Tap. Each time it stopped, I found myself waiting for it to begin again. Somewhere beyond the closed ticket office, a telephone rang. Nobody answered it. The ringing went on until it suddenly cut off.

The loudspeaker crackled into life. I looked up, expecting an announcement, but there was only a faint hiss. For a moment, it sounded like someone breathing into the microphone. Then a metal bin scraped across the floor behind me. I turned quickly and saw the cleaner pulling it towards the doors, but my hands were still gripping the edge of the bench.

How does the writer's description of the sounds suggest that the narrator becomes increasingly uneasy?

In your answer, you should write about:

• how the sounds change as the waiting room empties;
• particular words and details used to describe the sounds.