A door that needed knocking

Text C: an original fiction extract.

On the first evening at his aunt's house, Leo was shown half a wardrobe and a bed beneath a shelf of model cars. His cousin Tomas said he could move the cars if Leo thought they might fall. Leo said they were fine. The water from a burst pipe had made his family's flat unliveable for several weeks. He had brought a bag of clothes, his school things and the notebook which had stayed dry because it was in his coat.

Everyone was being kind. That was part of the difficulty. His aunt had cooked his favourite meal, and Tomas had put fresh paper inside one desk drawer. Whenever Leo began to explain what he missed, someone reminded him that the flat could be repaired. He knew that. He also knew the exact mark his old window left on the wall when the afternoon sun reached it. There was nowhere in the borrowed room to put that information.

Tomas went to football practice on Thursday. Alone, Leo arranged his books on the desk and moved two model cars to make space for a photograph. When Tomas returned, he stopped at the door. Leo explained that he had only moved them along the shelf. Tomas said one belonged in front of the other because they were arranged by the year they were made. Leo had thought they were simply standing there. He put them back too quickly and knocked one against the wall. Nothing broke. Both boys checked anyway.

They ate supper without mentioning it. Later, Leo heard his aunt tell Tomas to remember that his cousin had lost the use of his own room. Through the half-open door, Tomas replied that he remembered every time he went in. Leo closed his notebook. Until then, he had counted kindnesses offered to him, not changes being made around him. Tomas had not lost his room entirely, but he no longer had it to himself.

Before bed, Tomas asked whether Leo could knock when the door was closed. Leo answered that it was his room now too. The words sounded larger than he had intended. Tomas said he only wanted to finish a telephone call without somebody arriving halfway through. Leo had spent all week asking permission to use things; he disliked discovering another permission he apparently needed. They went to bed without agreeing on a rule.

The following afternoon, Leo rang his mother from the bedroom. She had been at the flat with the plumber and described the lifted floorboards. Leo asked whether the mark beside his window was still there. As she answered, the door moved slightly, then stopped. Tomas's shadow remained beneath it. Leo finished the call and opened the door himself. Tomas asked if he could get his football boots. He had knocked; Leo had not heard through his headphones.

Leo apologised, then asked whether they could agree that a closed door meant knock and wait for an answer, whichever of them was inside. Tomas said yes, but that they should not keep the room unavailable for a whole evening. They would warn each other about long calls. At breakfast the next day, they argued about who had finished the cereal. Leo still missed his flat. For once, the argument in front of him was not about why he was there.

You are Leo. Write your journal entry after the first week in your cousin’s room.

In your response:

• explain why accepting the family’s kindness has been complicated
• reflect on the disagreement with Tomas and what you learned about his experience
• consider how you can share the room while still acknowledging what you miss

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.