(Esther' Point of View)
The light in the hallway above us kept flickering as if it couldn't make up its mind about whether to stay on or go out.
Rebecca stood in front of me with her shoulders straight and her bag in front of her like a shield. Matthew's mum stood next to me, holding her hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The air smelt like old paper and dust, and my head felt full, like someone had poured noise into it and left.
I looked at Rebecca and tried to keep my voice steady.
She had said, "It's with the board chairman." "And he's going to meet Matthew's dad tonight."
Nobody said anything for a few seconds.
My throat got dry, then dry again, as if my body was trying to swallow fear.
Matthew's mum was the first to break.
"Tonight?" she whispered, putting one ha
