English

News in English

 

We would like to recognise one of our talented Year 11 English students, Harriet Vella.

Harriett submitted a foreshadowing story that she began in class to an Upper Beaconsfield writing competition and won! 

Congratulations Harriet, we are proud of you!

Have a read of the story below:

 

Bustling through the stained-glass door and hearing the familiar jovial ring of the doorbell behind me, my bags filled with clothes and toothbrushes and a pillow sticking half out of the unclosed zipper, I greeted the Lewis’. I heaved my bag to the ground, hearing it thud against the dark stained floorboards by the door. Pairs of shoes in all different sizes lined the wall messily. There were lines etched into the doorframe, with numbers written in blue and black pen up the height of the door. Lamps lit the rooms warmly, the corners projecting light to the middle of the kitchen where the table was set, plates and glasses and cutlery lined invitingly around the table. I’d been to the Lewis’ house many times, and this cutlery I had never seen before. It was fancy and well-polished, almost unused, contrary to the rest of the house which was well-lived in and had a sense of gentle familiarity seeping from every corner. There was a warm, homely smell drifting through the hallway. The Lewis’ house was comfortably lived in, complete with a whole novel of stories woven between the panels of peeling wallpaper and the uneven floorboards.

My eyes flitted around the room looking for the ecstatic wag of a golden curly tail, Bailey the family’s retriever. He must have been out in the yard, chewing playfully at their white picket fence. This inquisition must have been noticeable as Chloe’s mum hesitated, leaning towards Chloe’s younger brother Sam, grazing her gilded fingers across his shoulders maternally. She craned her head back towards the stairs, looking in the direction of Chloe’s dad.

“Mark,” she called, “Dinner!”

There was a muffled reply from upstairs. Moments later, footsteps travelled through the house and Mr Lewis bounded down the stairs, grinning widely. He stopped at the base of the stairs, faltered, and settled down at the kitchen table. Chloe and I took our seats beside each other, while Sam and Chloe’s parents positioned themselves around the rest of the table. Mrs Lewis got up suddenly, her expression unchanging and indiscernible. She opened the oven and pulled out a perfectly cooked roast surrounded by charred vegetables and garnished with sprigs of golden rosemary from their garden. My stomach growled with anticipation.

“This tastes amazing Mrs Lewis, is this lamb?” I asked, still savouring the mouthful of roast settled comfortably in my stomach. Mrs Lewis glanced to her husband and gave me a tentative smile.

“Sure is,” she said with a look I couldn’t quite place.

I felt a piece of gristle slide between my teeth. Picking it out shyly, I turned away to see if Bailey was patiently waiting for a scrap of my dinner. My glance was met with darkness under the tablecloth. I’d forgotten, Bailey was probably still outside.

After dinner, I retrieved my bag from the hallway, passing through the kitchen to get set up in Chloe’s room for our long-awaited movie marathon. As I hauled my bag to the stairs, my eye caught something shiny sitting on the kitchen bench. My stomach lurched, the evening’s roast doing cartwheels in my small intestine.

I leaned in, reading the word ‘Bailey’ engraved carefully on a bone-shaped piece of metal attached to a light blue collar.

 

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