Last night in Emmerdale, April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) decided that she’d like to go back to school.
Since returning from a life on the streets, April has stayed in the village readjusting after the ordeal, which included giving birth to her stillborn baby girl.
Yesterday, she had a meeting with a social worker to discuss her progress. At first, the meeting featured Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock), who were trying to help, but made April feel a little smothered.
When the session ended, April said that she’d like to register the birth of her daughter. She called the little baby Rebecca, after her homeless friend who was stabbed.
A while later, April found Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) talking to Marlon and Rhona. The conversation turned to the possibility of organising a funeral for April, but she found it all incredibly overwhelming.
April told the trio that she’s a 15-year-old girl, she doesn’t want to talk about the funeral of her daughter, because having a child at such a young age isn’t normal anyway.
Clearly craving something that reminded her of the life she had before disappearing, April announced that she was ready to go back to school.
Her first day, sadly, did not go the way April had hoped. Prior to going, she gave the impression that she’d be able to deal with reactions from other people, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case.
While hiding in a toilet, April overheard two students gossiping about her. They commented on her appearance and started suggesting things about the father of her baby.
As the school day drew to a close, Marlon was at home in a complete state. He had been told April didn’t spend the whole day in school, and he was now fearing the worst.
When April walked through the door, she claimed she had been at school the whole time. Eventually, she told the truth and spoke about the bullying, but really didn’t want a massive fuss.
As the young girl left for her bedroom, Marlon became consumed with worry. He told Rhona that he’d sleep with the house keys in his pocket this evening, because he cannot risk April vanishing again.
It’s certainly not the best approach, but poor Marlon can’t bare losing his daughter again.
How long will it be until he’s able to feel more connected to April?
