Scared by 5B
A shared writing suspense story
“Mum,” demanded Ahmed “I’ve got to leave now!”
Mrs Ali attempted to give a small spoonful of broth to her younger
daughter, but Areeda would not sit still and she exploded like a volcano.
First, she let out a piercing scream; then she snatched the spoon out
of
her mother’s hand and then flung the bowl of soup
across the room like a frisbee.
“Enough! That’s it! Ahmed you can see what I have to deal with here. Go by
yourself,” said Mrs Ali in a harassed tone.
Ahmed watched as his mother attempted to clear up. Should he remind her
how scared he was to walk to the mosque by himself? Should he remind her
that the graveyard on Temple Street scared the living daylights out of
him? Should he remind her that everyone said it was haunted? ………..No.
Ten minutes later, Ahmed found himself standing in Temple Street.
Just then heavy rain fell from the sky; lightning lit up the burial ground
like an explosion and the thunder roared like an untamed beast.
Ahmed sheltered under a large oak tree and watched the scene. Thoughts
raced through his head. How am I supposed to walk through there he
thought as he looked across the road and into the churchyard that was
about to become his short-cut? He remembered the haunted stories he’d
heard about St.Augustine’s church yard.
The rain stopped and Ahmed paused for a few seconds, swallowed his fear
and made his way to the footpath that would take him through the
graveyard and onto Mortimer Street.
No sooner was he on the path, than the cold night air seemed to hug him
more tightly. He shivered. As he walked towards the centre of the graveyard,
a shadow appeared. It moved quickly along the path. Suddenly, the shadow
turned into a man. He was carrying something silver in his hands. The blades
were clicking quickly together. Ahmed froze.
“Hello Son,“ said the man “It’s a bit nippy tonight in’t it?”
“ Er…yes….,” said Ahmed relief engulfing him when he realised that the man
was in fact the church gardener and that he had been snipping away at the
thicket with his secateurs.
Ahmed carried on along the meandering path.
Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. The path ahead appeared to be
pulsating with intermittent bursts of light. First there was darkness and then
an orange hazy light. Ahmed paused. He wondered if he should turn
back. Tentatively, he walked around the corner only to see that the street
light in the graveyard was faulty; it was flickering on and off. He smiled at
his own stupidity.
Seeing the gate to Mortimer Street just ahead, he broke into a brisk pace.
Nearly there he thought, I don’t know what I was thinking………. Without
warning, a shuffling sound brought him to a hault. Ahead of him a silhouetted
figure approached. It was breathing heavily and its line of attack was slow
and lingering. It was coming for Ahmed.
“Assālam 'alaykum Ahmed,” said Mrs Khan, Ahmed’s elderly neighbour. Her
large frame wobbled towards him. She was huffing and puffing and pulling
her shopping trolley behind her and in her hand she gripped her asthma
inhaler.
“Wālaikum assalām Auntie,” said Ahmed respectfully.
“Are you off to the mosque?” she enquired.
“Yes Auntie,” he said quickly, relived he was having the conversation.
“You’re a good boy!” she said as she wheeled her trolley past him “say hello
to your Mummy and your lovely sister.”
With a big grin, Ahmed stepped onto Mortimer Street. He could see his
friend Rehan waiting for him by the doors of the mosque....he wasn’t scared
anymore.
Q
Type of
questions
1
Referent
questions
2
Denotation
questions
3
Explanation
questions
4
Paraphrase
question
5
Summarise
questions
6.
Delineation
question
7.
Finite
questions
Questions
“First, she let out a piercing scream; then she snatched the spoon out of her
mother’s hand and then flung the bowl of soup across the room like a Frisbee.” Who
does the pronoun refer to?
The pronoun….
Which of these words a synonym is for harassed?
1.
jealous
B) Worn-out
c) happy
d) determined
The word …… is a synonym for harassed
Why doesn’t Ahmed tell his mother he is scared? Refer to the text in your answer.
Ahmed does not ………because ……………. The authors suggested this when they wrote…….
What does ‘swallowed his fear’ mean?
‘Swallowed his fear’ means …….
Explain what happens in the story in five sentences.
The bare bones of the story are: 1) …… 2) …..3) ….. 4)……..5)…….
This story is a suspense story. How do you know?
I know this is a suspense story because the authors………., ………….. and …………….
Both the gardener and Mrs Khan are not hostile characters. What clues does the author give you
to show you this?
The authors tells us that Mrs Khan and the gardener are friendly because they wrote: “…….”
Which suggests that ……….. and “ …..” which suggests that …..