The mirror maze

Text C: an original fiction extract.

On his first afternoon at the fairground, Ben was given a red waistcoat and a map of the mirror maze. From outside, the attraction looked small: a painted entrance, a narrow exit and a cheerful sign promising that nobody stayed lost for long. Ben had expected to sell tickets. Instead, his supervisor, Celia, asked him to learn the route and watch the entrance while she checked the lights. He folded the map into his pocket without opening it properly.

Inside, the passage divided almost immediately. Ben saw three versions of himself and followed the one which appeared to be standing in an opening. His shoulder met cold glass. He laughed, although nobody was with him, and tried the passage on the left. That brought him to a reflection of the entrance, convincingly close until he noticed that the lettering on the sign was backwards. Celia found him after several minutes and took him through the correct route slowly. She made him point to each turn on the map rather than merely follow her heels.

At three, a father and daughter arrived. The child, Iris, asked whether the mirrors could move. Ben said no and showed her the map. Her father said she would not need it: they could find their way together. Ben watched them disappear around the first turn. Shortly afterwards, he heard the father laughing. Then Iris called for him. Her voice had become small and sharp. Ben stepped towards the entrance, ready to announce that everything was fine, but Celia held out a hand and asked what he actually knew.

He knew that Iris was upset. He did not know where she was or whether her father was still beside her. Celia told him to keep the entrance clear while she went in. Ben moved the next family back from the doorway and explained that there would be a short wait. One man asked whether this happened often. Ben wanted to say never. He said instead that the supervisor was helping a visitor. His own reflected face waited inside the doorway, looking much more confident than he felt.

When Celia brought them out, Iris was holding her father’s hand with both of hers. He had stepped round a corner while she stopped to count her reflections. She had followed what she thought was his coat and found another sheet of glass. Her father apologised to Ben for delaying the queue. Iris kept watching the entrance. Ben crouched beside the ticket desk and asked which reflection had been most confusing. She described a red stripe which looked like an opening. On the map, he could see exactly where it was.

Before closing, Celia asked Ben to walk the route again. This time he noticed where a small child’s view would differ from his own. He suggested that the entrance explanation include staying together and stopping to call a staff member rather than chasing a reflected figure. Celia asked him to practise the explanation aloud. Ben looked at the cheerful sign. Nobody stayed lost for long, it promised. He no longer thought that meant nobody could be frightened while they were there.

You are Ben. Write a letter to a friend about your first afternoon working at the mirror maze.

In your response:

• explain what you had expected and what you discovered about the maze
• describe the incident with Iris and explain what it showed you about helping visitors
• explain how you would approach your work differently in future

Base your response on Text C, developing its ideas in your own words. Write about 250 to 300 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 10 marks for writing.