1. The third-year students were told to choose their subjects before the end of spring break. Most of the class treated the form like another piece of boring school paperwork, but Nora read every line twice and covered the margins with little notes. “This isn’t just a timetable,” she said. “One wrong choice could everything I do next.” Ben looked at the list and sighed. “I only want to get rid of chemistry.” “You can’t,” said Nora. “That’s the problem.”

2. I used to say that nobody pushed me towards college. That was not quite true. My grandmother never gave speeches, never used the word “future”, and never asked for promises. She simply kept the light on in the kitchen while I studied and put tea beside my books without a word. Of all the people in my life, she me most.

3. “Why do you always go quiet when Mrs Vale comes in?” Daniel asked. Laura shut the drawer a little too hard. “Because she does something to people. She doesn’t ask, she doesn’t order, she just looks at you until your own opinion begins to sound foolish.” “So you dislike her?” “No,” Laura said. “That’s worse. She me.”

4. The court accepted that Mr Hale had paid for the leaflets, the hall and the railway tickets. That alone was not illegal. The question was whether the money had been used to buy silence, loyalty or votes. No witness could prove that he had tried to the voters by bribing them, but everyone agreed that the timing of the payments looked unfortunate.

5. Mr Blake went to bed late, but he did not sleep. He kept thinking about the strange cars in the street, the lights in the empty house next door and the people whispering by the gate. At last he told himself that none of it had anything to do with him. Whatever was happening, it belonged to other people, other houses, other problems. He turned off the lamp and closed his eyes. It couldn’t possibly him.