2015-10-22
1069
IN THE WAITING ROOM
I (enter) the dentist's waiting room which (be) full. Like any other waiting room, it (have) an atmosphere of its own. A small table (be covered) with very old magazines; the curtains (be) of indefinite colour and the armchairs definitely unclean. There (be) dusty pictures on the wall. I (take) my seat and (decide) to pass the time watching the people around me.
A little man beside me (turn) over the pages of a magazine quickly and nervously. It (be) hard to understand what he (look) at; from time to time he (throw) the magazine on the table and (pick up) another. Opposite me there (be) a young mother who (try) hard to quiet her son. The boy (make) aeroplane-noises as he (move) an ashtray on the floor. Near him an old man (sleep) and the boy's mother (be) afraid that sooner or later her son (wake up) him. I myself (be) sleepy. The boy (be) quiet now in his mother's arms. There (be) a deathly silence in the room and just at this moment the loud speaker (call) out the name of the next lucky person.
(After "Sixty Steps to Précis" by L. Q. Alexander)
