14

All kinds of thoughts race through your head as, after a moment, she goes back to her papers, and for an instant you feel something like a taut knot winding itself up in your stomach—but only a second later, you hear an electronic crackle as somebody switches a microphone on, and with that the whole room falls quiet.

There's a moment in which Dina looks out over the hall, surveying the scene in front of her with a watchful eye. Then, after clearing her throat, she opens her mouth to speak.

"Hello everyone," she begins, in a voice that sounds as if it would carry well even without a microphone. As she addresses the hall, she puts on a much calmer, controlled expression than you noticed before. "I apologize for the delay. Thank you all for coming, even on—such short notice."

There are a few rumbling murmurs from the seated crowd. Whether or not Dina notices it herself, she doesn't falter in her speech.

"I think it's only right that we start by addressing what is probably the main concern for many of you here: the Alberobello Developments."

You shiver slightly as the murmurs grow in volume, and all around you there is a ripple of sternly nodding heads. On the stage, Dina looks briefly at her papers before filling the hall with her voice.

"When the plans for these developments were announced last week, there was an immediate response from a lot of residents. It's fair to say people were taken aback by the proposal. Some were confused at the sudden announcement; some were worried about how they would be affected—and more than a few of you came to us to voice your anger and your displeasure. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge those feelings, to apologize for the lapse in communication between ourselves and you as residents, and to offer a sincere promise that we, the Town Council, will listen to anyone who wishes to be heard. We will take every person's individual and collective concerns into account before the council votes next Friday to either continue or do away with the plans for the developments. That vote won't finish until we reach a unanimous decision—so if we're ever going to agree, we need to hear from you all first."

You almost expect the hall to break out into shouts, but instead there are a few moments of stark silence. The mound of hair in front of you shifts about and briefly obscures Dina's face, but from the way the other members of the Town Council glance questioningly towards her, you can imagine they might have been expecting the same reaction as you did.

After hearing her speak, your first impression of Dina is that she's: