Page 36 of Ethan & Grace

I gave my mum’s hand a comforting squeeze. She tried to smile back at me, but managed only a wobbly twitch of her lips. She looked as if she might burst into tears again at any moment.

The courtroom door opened as a woman in a red suit and a man in a dark-blue one entered, followed by three women. I recognised their faces, partly from the press and partly from the hotel—Miranda McCloud, Chloe Lawrence, and Amiyah Marsh, the three plaintiffs. The murmurs in the room grew louder, and the clicking of the cameras became more frenzied. My dad glanced over his shoulder and then immediately turned away again, as if these women weren’t worth his attention.

Beside me, my mum gave a whimper and pressed her free hand to her mouth to stifle the sound. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom,” she whispered.

“Want me to come with you and wait in the corridor?”

“No, I’ll manage.”

She grabbed her handbag and hurried from the courtroom briskly, her head lowered.

I leant back against the hard bench with a sigh. I should be sitting in a lecture right now, being bored to death by Professor Sattler. If I was honest, I would have much preferred to be there, despite the fact that Professor Sattler had given my deliberately bad paper an even worse grade than it deserved. But he clearly just couldn’t stand me, and it would probably be smart not to take any of his courses next term.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and messaged James to distract myself. He’d offered to come from Cambridge to the hearing for moral support, but the spring term was drawing to a close, and I didn’t want him risking his grades on my account. I would get through this. Somehow.

Me:

We’re in the courtroom.

It’s absolute mayhem here. I hope this whole thing is over soon.

James:

I read that some of these cases can take weeks or even months.

Me:

Shoot me now.

James:

You’re my best friend. So no.

Me:

If I really were your best friend, you’d do me that favour.

James:

You can do this!

Me:

We’ll see . . .

James:

You can leave the courtroom anytime.

Me:

I don’t want to leave my mum in the lurch.

James:

I get that. But you also have to look out for yourself.

The atmosphere around me shifted, conversations growing quieter until they stopped altogether. When I looked up from my phone, I saw people at the front of the courtroom who hadn’t been there before. The hearing was about to begin.