ROBIN RED HEAD
By Tamara Finlay
‘Now,’ Miss Chambers smiled, ‘I know something wonderful
happened in Robin’s family over half term. Robbie, would you like
to come up and tell us all about it?’ She pointed to the space beside
her desk as I bounced to the front of the classroom with a big grin on
my face.
Most of my friends already knew about Molly but I still couldn’t
wait to tell everyone what it was like to bath or feed a baby - I had
been doing a lot of that since last week. I felt all fizzy inside as I
told them about Mum going into hospital to have her and the day Dad and
I brought them home, about Molly’s favourite toy monkey and even
how I sit on the sofa and cuddle her after her bath. I knew I sounded
a bit wet and that the boys might tease me but so what?
‘Do you have a picture of her, Robbie?’
I turned to Miss Chambers and held up my photo. ‘Uh huh, it’s
of all of us together.’
‘Oh how lovely, can I show it to the class?’ I nodded and
Miss Chambers slid my picture under the camera on her desk. A few seconds
later it was on the white board for everyone to see.
‘Ahh’ the girls and even some of the boys said as we all looked
at the photo of mum holding Molly, Dad smiling proudly at the camera with
one arm around Mum, and me sitting on the floor by their feet.
‘Hey Robbie’ Ben shouted from near the back ‘you’re
the odd one out!’
‘I know. There was no room on the sofa so Grandad told me to sit
on the floor so he could get us all in,’ I laughed remembering how
Grandad had bossed us all about until the photo was perfect.
‘Duh, I mean you don’t look anything like them. All the others
have black hair and yours is ginger. Are you sure you’ve got the
right family?’ Some of the boys began to snigger and Miss Chambers
glared at them.
‘You’re so stupid Ben, what would you know?’ I grabbed
the photo from the desk and stuffed it into my pocket. My face felt hot
and prickly and I couldn’t decide whether to cry or hit Ben, so
I settled for stomping on his foot as I went back to my seat.
At lunchtime I pushed my food around the plate, too full of anger for
sausage and chips as well. Instead I took the crumpled photo out and studied
it. Ben was right, of course. Mum, Dad and Molly didn’t look like
me for a very good reason. They had adopted me when I was three. It wasn’t
really a secret, just something I didn’t think about much…
until now. But now I could see how Dad’s Smartie brown eyes were
all crinkly with happiness and Mum was looking at Molly as if she was
the best thing since Lego. A baby of their own, at last, when the doctors
had said it would never happen.
Then there was me. ‘Robin red head’, as some of the bigger
boys called me. Bright red hair, blue eyes and a lot of freckles. I stuck
out like a footballer at the rugby club (and trust me, that’s not
good). I’m seven and quite tall for my age, I wear size 2_ shoes
already and dad says if I keep at it I could play rugby for England when
I’m older. Dad watches me train every Sunday. Well he did. He’ll
probably be too busy taking Molly to ballet from now on.
School lasted forever. I hardly listened and Miss Chambers had to tell
me off a few times. Before home time she took me out of the classroom
to ask me what was wrong. I think her memory’s even shorter than
Grandma’s so I said ‘nothing’ and she left me alone.
Mrs Wilson was waiting at the gate when the bell went. She said ‘Hello
Robin love’. I must have given her a funny look because she carried
on ‘I’m walking you home today. Mummy’s very busy with
Molly.’
So, I’m not even important enough to collect from school now. I
handed my bag to Mrs Wilson and started walking, not really caring if
she was following or not. I definitely didn’t want to talk to her.
Mum didn’t meet me at the door. The house looked worse than my bedroom.
There were clothes and baby stuff everywhere and in the
middle of it sat Mum on the floor with Molly who looked more like a
very cross elf. Her face was red and she was screaming like her life depended
on it. Mum looked tired, her eyes like a panda’s.
‘Can I have a hot chocolate now mum?’
Molly screamed louder and Mum lay her down on a mat and began wrestling
with her nappy. ‘Can’t you see I’m a bit busy Rob?’
she snapped.
I felt my face fall.
‘Sorry sweetheart, this is the first day I’ve been on my own
with her and it’s harder than I thought. I’ll make you a snack
in a minute.’
Shouldn’t have had her if you can’t look after her I thought,
and sneakily kicked Molly’s dummy under the sofa as I flopped down
and turned the telly up.
‘How was your day Rob?’ Mum was saying the right things but
she wasn’t interested in the answer. Molly carried on, her screaming
getting even louder.
‘For heaven’s sake turn the volume down Rob, can’t you
see it’s making her worse?’
I glared at the screaming blob before turning the telly up even louder
then jabbing the remote control to turn it off altogether.
‘I’m going upstairs’ I shouted and stomped up to my
new bedroom. They had said that I should have the spare room because it
was bigger. I’d said yes to please them, but really I still wanted
my old room with its brilliant Spiderman colours.
Dad had promised to paint my new room in cool colours. He’d said
they’d buy me one of those fab high beds that has a desk under them
but he hadn’t got round to it or they’d run out of money or
something,
anyway, it was still boring white. ‘Babies need a lot of expensive
things’ they’d said.
Dad trudged slowly up the stairs when he got home. He opened my door with
one hand and loosened his tie with the other. At least I think he did.
I was too busy on my Nintendo to look at him.
‘Hey Champ, you okay? Mum says you’re not yourself’
What a stupid thing to say, who else would I be? ‘I’m fine.
Just tired.’
‘Well if you’re sure.’ He walked to the door then turned
back. ‘I’m going down to the corner shop, Mum’s run
out of milk for Molly. Coming?
‘No’
‘I’ll buy you chocolate.’ Dad knew my weakness.
The shop was only five minutes away but I could feel Dad really wanted
to talk. I tried walking ahead of him but he caught up, then I slowed
right down but so did he.
‘So, big match on Sunday, Champ.’
‘As if you care.’ I muttered staring at the ground.
Dad stopped walking and reached for my hand. ‘What are you talking
about Rob? You know I care.’
My head felt as though it would burst and I tried to pull my hand away.
‘No, you don’t! I shouted. You’ve got Molly now, you
don’t need me anymore.’ I wrenched my hand away and ran. Tears
racing down my face.
I don’t remember the car, or the screech of tyres, or even the thump
as I
landed face down on wet grass. All I remember is dad screaming ‘ROBBIE!’*
* *I could hear a bleeping noise but it wasn’t from any song I knew.
I was lying on something soft, a bed? I felt really heavy and my eyes
must have been glued shut ‘cos I couldn’t open them, but my
hands were warm and
I could smell Mum’s perfume so that was ok.
‘He said we didn’t care, Jen. He thinks we don’t want
him now Molly’s here.’ That was definitely Dad’s voice
but it sounded odd.
‘Silly boy,’ Mum’s voice was soft. ‘He couldn’t
be more wrong. Doesn’t he realise he’s even more special because
we chose him? We already knew his personality when he came to us and we
wanted him for that. He’s our first child Nick. Ours, we’re
a family and we couldn’t love him more…’
She stopped talking for a moment and I could hear she was crying.
‘I just wish he knew that.’
Somehow I dragged my eyes open and looked at my unhappy parents in the
bright white hospital room.
‘I do now.’ I croaked, my mouth as dry as crushed rice krispies.
‘And Dad?’
‘Yes son?’ His hand tightened around mine.
‘You owe me chocolate.’
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