The fruit stall
An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.
Nora had accompanied her father to market many times, but until that morning she had never stood beside him as his assistant. He arranged the apples in neat green rows and polished the brass pan of the weighing scales with his sleeve. Whenever he announced a price, his voice travelled beyond the neighbouring stalls. Nora repeated the same words under her breath, keeping herself in the strip of shade behind the baskets.
Shortly before noon, a wheel came loose from a handcart in the road. Its owner called for help, and Nora’s father hurried across the square. “Attend to anyone who comes,” he told her. Nora nodded, although she had hoped he would give her more exact instructions. The noise of the market seemed to close around her as soon as he left.
The first customer asked for three pears. Nora reached for the weighing pan too quickly and knocked the scoop onto the stones. Two boys near the stall laughed. She retrieved it with a hot face, then heard the customer, Mrs Lane, quietly repeat her request. Nora knew Mrs Lane from the bakery and found that this made the task smaller. She selected the pears, balanced the weights and named the price clearly enough for Mrs Lane to hear.
By then, four more customers were waiting. A gentleman at the front wanted a small pear but objected to paying the same price as those buying larger ones. Nora examined the fruit rather than looking towards the road for her father. She suggested weighing it separately, and the gentleman agreed. When another customer began calling an order over his shoulder, Nora raised her hand. “One at a time, if you please,” she said. To her surprise, the man stopped speaking.
Nora worked steadily through the waiting customers. She wrapped soft plums in paper, counted coins twice and moved the empty baskets beneath the stall. Each completed order left a little more space in front of her. Soon she was answering questions before they had to be repeated.
Her father returned carrying the broken wheel beneath his arm. He placed it beside the stall and reached for the apron Nora was wearing. “I can manage again now,” he said.
Nora was still aware of the warmth in her face, but she did not step aside. She asked him to wait while she finished weighing a basket of apples. Then she carried it around the stall herself and placed it in the customer’s hands. When she returned, she remained on the market side of the baskets, where her father usually stood.
Evaluate the writer’s presentation of Nora as someone whose confidence develops when she is left in charge.
In your response, you should consider:
Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.