I was allowed help in moving the beds but not polishing the floor. Another boy and myself moved two rows of beds to one side of the dormitory before he left me alone. I got the tin of wax polish and, with a piece of wood that was with it, splattered lumps of wax onto the floor at intervals of a few feet, before spreading the orange-coloured paste with pieces of an old sheet, too worn to be used on a bed and barely adequate for polishing a floor. Spreading the wax was difficult. First I covered the area and, when I had finished, went back to where I had started and began polishing. It was hard, heavy work, demanding a lot of energy. I used a polishing block which was a large piece of wood, with felt tacked to its base. By pushing this back and forth and leaning heavily on it the floor began to shine. It took me many hours to finish the entire dormitory and by the time I had I was exhausted and sweating heavily. I got help to put the beds back, ensuring they were in a straight line, and sat down on the edge of my own, waiting for Mother Paul to inspect my work.
