Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Three: Classmate

"Yeah, sure, but you don't have to show me round if you don't want to, I'm not that hopeless," Robin attempted, more for his benefit than hers, because surely he didn't want to spend his day showing some stranger about.

"Nah, it's no bother, plus you're new," he shook his head, leading her out of the admin office and down the corridor off towards one of the classrooms. "I'll introduce you to my mates as well, it's no good you getting lost or lonely on your first day,"

Robin really wanted to object to that. She liked her own company, and she wasn't clueless enough to get lost that badly in one building. She didn't feel like she needed a guide, and she definitely didn't feel like she wanted said guide feeling sorry for her and bringing her into his friendship group. If she was back at home and someone tried liked Stuart was to be friends with her, she'd walk the other way, but she remembered just how lonely it had felt in the days after her father's death. Her mother barely speaking, no friends calling by the flat to offer condolences or company, Robin had never felt so alone, and she had been left regretting every opportunity she had passed by to make a friend. There was a perfect opportunity right in front of her, and so before she could allow herself to settle into her old ways, she offered Stuart what she thought was a friendly enough nod before telling him that it sounded great.

If she was going to make friends with anyone, at least it was with Stuart who was more than friendly enough. He didn't ask her any personal questions like why she had moved to Liverpool, he didn't mention her strong accent, hs own accent being surprisingly bearable too. The two spent the walk to first class talking about art and in the hours that followed as they went to their lessons she found out he was actually a really skilled artist, specialising in abstract and expressionism, some of his paintings seeming rather dark and moody, but Robin loved them, having seen nothing like it in her old college. His style was nothing like hers though, not as she favoured realism.

"Some of your sketches are like looking at photographs," Stuart mused as she flicked through her sketchbook.

"Yeah, I wanted go into photography but couldn't afford a camera," Robin explained with a shrug. "So I just taught myself to draw stuff lifelike,"

It was a simple explanation to her, but it was one that made Stuart laugh as if she was telling a joke. He thought she was funny, and Robin found herself surprisingly grateful for that. She liked his company, and to think the first friend she'd made in Liverpool liked her too was a relief. The relief continued up until the end of the first half of the day, and as they were dismissed from class for their lunch break, Stuart suggested they go and find his mates, which was when Robin felt her shields go up once again.

"Honestly, it's fine if you just wanna go and find them," she said as they headed in the direction of the cafeteria lunch hall, not wanting him to feel like he had to take her. "My next class after lunch is lettering anyway, and you don't do that so I don't mind finding my way on my own from here,"

"Rob, quit being daft and let me introduce you to everybody," Stuart laughed simply, gesturing over to a table in the corner where there were two lads and two girls already sat laughing about something. "Besides, me mate John does lettering, so at least this way you'll know someone in class,"

As it turned out, it was impossible for scousers to call someone their proper name, and so Stuart had taken to calling Robin Rob. Not that she cared, actually quite liking the nickname since it meant she actually had a friend for once. She just hoped that his other mates liked her too, because whilst the idea of being in a large friend group had never appealed to her, she had started coming round to the idea of Liverpool being a fresh start. So much had happened in Sheffield, and now she had the perfect opportunity to form distractions from the memories of her past.