The case in three lines. On the first Saturday of her last year at home, Tara nearly ticks the terms box for a climbing-wall membership. Renewal points to the auto-renewal clause, whose cancellation deadline falls in the August she leaves; Fee prices the early-exit fee and the pay-as-you-go alternative; Cancel argues, fairly, that the contract is ordinary and the exit is fair. With the ledger written on a napkin and her friend waiting, Tara decides, and the case stops there.

One question to ask. "What did Tara put on the form?" Then: "Was the climbing wall being unfair?" There is more than one good answer.

One thing to do at the table. Pick one thing the family pays for every month, a phone, a streaming service, a club, and find together when it renews, what it costs to leave, and how you would actually cancel. Write the date on the calendar.

The grown-up layer. The case is about reading the exit before you sign: automatic renewal, early-termination fees, and the difference between an ordinary minimum term and a trap. It is the first month of Last Year on the Green, a strand in which each month turns on one document and ends on a cost ledger, never a verdict. Laws on renewals and cancelling differ between countries, so the case avoids naming any.

The case leaves Tara's choice blank on purpose. Ask for it before you offer yours.