"The Exercise", by Bernard MacLaverty, is the story of Kevin, a boy that starts Grammar School and feels closer to his father when doing his Latin homework.
The author uses common words spelled differently to give insight that the story is not taking place in the contemporary United States. For example, the use of sixpence instead of dollars, and pyjama instead of pajama when Kevin referring to his father by saying "loved to smell his pyjama jacket and the shirts."