An experience that is nerve-wracking is one that causes stress or anxiety in a person. The word is commonly misspelled as ‘nerve-wrecking’. The correct spelling is either ‘nerve-wracking‘ or ‘nerve-racking‘. This composition is written by one of our Primary 4 Writing Academy students. Many of our students started off with weak or average writing skills. It is delightful to see their progress over the months and years of consistent writing.
A Nerve-Wracking Experience
Daniel and his friends had just finished playing at the arcade in a mall. “That was a brilliant game!” Daniel exclaimed. Before going home, they said goodbye to one another. After that, Daniel crossed the road and entered the familiar, deserted alley that he always took to get home.
Houses could be seen along the alley but they always looked deserted. As Daniel walked deeper into the alley, the sound of the traffic soon became faint and then it was all silent. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. Trembling with fear, he quickened his pace but the footsteps quickened too. Daniel turned around to see who was following him. Oddly, there was no one behind him.
To Daniel’s horror, after turning his head back, he saw a hooded man who was carrying a small bag and was pointing a sharp knife at his face. The man demanded him to surrender all his money and valuables. Paralysed with fear, Daniel took out his ten-dollar note. He gingerly handed it to the man. However, the man glared at him with dagger-like eyes and hissed, “Is that all you’ve got? Turn out your pockets! Now!”
Hands trembling, Daniel turned out his pockets. His house keys, mobile phone and identification card fell out. The man picked up all the things that fell out of Daniel’s pocket and put them in a bag. He started running away but Daniel chased him and met Miss Atasha, his neighbour along the way. He told her to call the police.
Minutes later, the police arrived and surrounded the man with guns pointing at him. The man stood rooted to the ground, horror-struck as he dropped his knife. The police arrested him and sent Daniel safely home. One of the police officers told his worried mother what had happened. She was grateful towards Miss Atasha for calling the police and thanked her profusely for helping.
An hour later, Daniel sat on his bed and thought about what had happened that evening. He felt grateful to have such a helpful neighbour. He promised his mother to take another safer way home next time. That day was indelibly etched in his mind as it was the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever had.
~ by Sarah Ariana (Primary 4)
