Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Four: Settling In

So, she tried to avoid her mother's questions wherever possible, until one morning it became unavoidable when she came running down the stairs, portfolio in hand, ready to head off to college. For late September the weather was still unusually warm, and so she was making the most of it as she dressed in a black shoulderless blouse and a red flared skirt, though she had put on a pair of tan tights just in case the autumnal English weather turned as it inevitably would. With her dark hair pulled into a neat bun on top of her head and her usual dark eye liner, there was something that was apparently quite shocking about her appearance to her mother as she looked up from the breakfast table, her eyes widened.

"Alreyt?" Robin called, propping her portfolio up against the wall as she went further into the kitchen, feeling an odd sense of satisfaction knowing her appearance made her mother uncomfortable, putting on her accent even stronger than usual just because she knew it annoyed her.

"Do you talk like an old Yorkshire man to your new friends?" Rita asked, looking up from her plate of toast to see Robin roll her eyes at the question. "Uncle Al's had to head to the restaurant early today so he can't give you a lift,"

"'S alright, I'll get the bus and walk home," Robin shrugged, making herself a coffee and picking up a piece of toast for herself.

"Is that really a good idea? You don't really know Liverpool very well?" her mother pressed, but before Robin could protest that she didn't really have much choice, she continued, "Unless you have friends that could show you around?"

It was true that Robin knew nothing of the city, only venturing out for college. Other than that she'd not left the house, and though the possibility of getting lost in the big new city made her wary, she didn't have an alternative but to go out alone, and she hated her mother for enhancing her discomfort and using the situation to pry into her private life. Robin put down her coffee mug on the kitchen side, letting out a long sigh, knowing she could either ignore Rita's questions, or she could talk back for once. For some reason, her mind seemed to automatically prefer the latter.

"Why are you so obsessed with the idea that I've got mates?" Robin asked, folding her arms across her chest questioningly, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not, don't be ridiculous," she answered quickly with a short sigh. "I just want to know you're happy and you're settling in,"

"I was happy at home and didn't have friends," Robin replied, the same frustrated expression on her face. "Why do you think other people dictate my happiness?"

"Oh, for goodness sake, Roberta," Rita muttered, and Robin held in a sigh, knowing from experience that her mother liked things her way, and if she didn't get it she'd get irritated easily; this conversation seemed to be no exception. "Sometimes when you act like this you're far too much like your..."

"Like Dad?" Robin snapped, biting her lip to try and stay calm. "Next you'll say it's his fault I'm at art college to begin with, and it's his fault I never had friends back home because he encouraged me and didn't push me to be something I'm not,"

Robin watched as her mother's eyes widened and as she opened her mouth to retaliate she knew she'd gone too far. It hadn't taken long to reach that point, but it never did. Rita had a short fuse, and she hated anyone with a differing opinion. It was one of the reasons why Robin kept quiet most of the time, knowing if she spoke up it would only result in aggravating her mother. Robin had seen plenty of times how the slightest of remarks from her father would tip her mother over the edge, and though he'd learnt to just stay quiet in certain situations, she'd also seen her father act as a buffer between the two of them if Robin did ever feel like speaking up for herself. The three of them all seemed to have a volatile relationship, but with her father gone things seemed a lot more rocky.