The final place

Source: an original fiction extract.

There was one place left in the minibus. The walking club had expected nine people, but ten stood outside the leisure centre with packed lunches and waterproof jackets. Fran held the attendance sheet. She had organised the trip, checked the route and persuaded the driver to start early enough for them to reach the ridge before noon. Now everyone was looking at her. Her friend Joel stood beside the open door, one foot already on the step. 'Last in, first out?' he suggested. He smiled, but nobody answered.

The person who had arrived last was Mrs Price. She had taken two buses to get there and was still catching her breath. Fran checked the list again. Mrs Price's name was not on it. Then she remembered the message on Tuesday evening, the one she had read while paying for groceries and intended to add later. Beside the neat column of names, the empty margin looked accusingly large. She could say that there had been a misunderstanding. Nobody else had seen the message, and Mrs Price was apologising already.

Fran said that the mistake was hers. Joel stepped back from the door. The driver checked the time and explained that they could not carry an extra passenger. Fran knew that. She also knew the next train would arrive too late to meet the group at the start. She put down her own bag. 'I'll stay.' Several people protested, with a relief she could hear beneath their words. Mrs Price said she would not take Fran's place. Fran told her that the place had been hers since Tuesday. This time the words came easily because they were exact.

She gave Joel the route notes and pointed out the turn where the path left the stream. He asked whether she was sure. She was not sure she would enjoy watching them leave. She had wanted this walk for months, had imagined the wind on the ridge and the first view beyond it. But that was not what he was asking. She nodded. Mrs Price climbed in carrying Fran's spare map. Through the window she lifted a hand. Fran waved back, then watched the minibus turn into the road and disappear behind a delivery lorry.

At home she left her packed lunch on the counter. For an hour she resented all nine of them, including Mrs Price, who had done nothing wrong. Then she put on her boots and walked to the small wood behind the estate. It was not a substitute for the ridge. She refused to pretend that it was. In the afternoon Joel sent a photograph of the view and a message saying they had found the turning. Fran enlarged the picture, felt the old disappointment rise, and wrote back that she was glad. Before eating, she added Mrs Price's name to the club's booking record.

Consider the whole source. A reader said: “Fran’s decision to stay behind is responsible, and her continuing disappointment makes it more convincing rather than less generous.” Evaluate how far you agree. Support your judgement with detailed references to the text and the writer’s methods.