Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Twenty Seven: Surprise

Unlike some women in her situation, Kay was in no rush to get married. She said she wanted a Summer wedding, and so the date was set for the beginning of July, giving them three months to properly plan the occasion. Robin took her role as maid of honour seriously, as if it was an actual paying job, because no way in hell was she going to let down someone who trusted her enough to give her such an honour. When she wasn't at college or work, she was at Kay's bedsit flat, planning out intricate details of the day to the extent that she tended to get back home rather late, often missing dinner, much to her mother's annoyance.

It was actually a wonder that Robin and her mother hadn't yet had an argument about her regular absences, but she knew her mother well enough to know that tensions were slowly building. She didn't usually brood over her irritation for this long, and on top of that there was something unusual going on with her mother. She was home even less than Robin, and whenever she was she was different. Robin couldn't quite put her finger on what, and whenever she mentioned it to Albert, he was none the wiser too. Whatever Rita was up to was a complete mystery, but it was one Robin didn't really care about.

Robin had far more important things to worry about than her mother. On top of work and wedding planning, college was getting serious again. Just like before Christmas, the build up to Easter break was hectic, especially since she had signed up to a photography class on top of her other classes. Photography, despite being the only subject she didn't take with either Stuart or John, had quickly become her favourite, though that was probably because the tutor - a middle aged woman with bright ginger hair named Evelyn May, though she insisted they all call her Eve - was one of the most encouraging people Robin had ever encountered in her academic life. Robin was the only girl in the class of eight, so she had worried that there would be some sort of gender bias, that the boys' work would be seen as superior. She had definitely met other teachers like that, but Eve was the complete opposite. She valued students purely on talent and work ethic, and Robin's love of taking pictures had clearly impressed her. She knew how much it would amuse John to see her being such a teacher's pet, but each lesson she sat right at the front, and always had extra work prepared, always turning up with extra notes of research, and was often the first to put her hand up when asked a question. She couldn't help it, she had been utterly inspired, and she, as strange as it sounds, adored Eve. She wanted Eve to like her and respect her, and the harder she worked the more worthy she felt of such emotions.

One Thursday afternoon in particular, upon the bell ringing for the end of the day, Robin began to pack her things up while her mind drifted to the thought of how it was her first night off from work all week. Kay and Frank were going on a date so there was no wedding planning to be done that night, and John was going to the pub and then to Paul's. For the first time in a long while, Robin had no plans, she was free to do whatever she wanted, though she immediately felt a bit lost. To have no plans whatsoever felt so bizarre, though as she glanced up to the classroom door and saw Stuart waiting for her she realized she wasn't completely lost.

The rest of the class had already all stormed out before Eve had finished cleaning the chalk board, so Robin rushed to get the rest of her prints that were scattered on her desk slotted back in her portfolio. Before she had the chance, she felt someone standing next to her, so she looked up to see Eve watching her, glancing over the prints that she was piling together with the faintest of smiles.

"May I see that top one a little closer, Miss Knight?" she asked politely, her accent so clear and lacking in any sort of scouse inclination.

Robin nodded apprehensively as she handed the photograph to her teacher, knowing it wasn't a picture for class and had simply got mixed up in the pile. It was one of the prints she'd made just for fun, and had been taken on George's birthday, when Connie had thrown him a surprise party. It had been a brilliant night, as all parties thrown by John's cousin were, and the photograph had been taken near the end of the night, showing Paul sat up on the kitchen counter cradling an empty bottle of whisky while John stood next to him. The two were looking at each other, both of them severely drunk and looking into each others eyes with drunken love. It was the photo Robin was proudest of, since it seemed to capture their relationship perfectly, though seeing Eve look it over with a curious smile Robin immediately felt self-conscious of it.