Nicki's balanced precariously atop a stepladder, absently chasing a trickle of white gloss paint down the doorframe with a paintbrush when Lorraine informs her that she's going to be Sian's replacement as deputy head. Somehow, Nicki's not surprised. Not that she saw this coming, precisely, but there's been something in the air - something about to happen - ever since Lorraine turned up on her doorstep an hour ago, though whether it was work or something else that Lorraine had come to see her about, so urgently, on this Thursday afternoon in the holidays, Nicki hadn't been quite sure.
And so when Lorraine (now wearing an old - and very recently paint-spattered - tshirt and tracksuit bottoms of Nicki's instead of the expensive dress she'd arrived in) returns from the kitchen with two mugs of tea, and settles herself on the dust-cover-clad armchair, and gazes up at Nicki and tells her she's just been promoted, somehow Nicki's not surprised.