This Motherless Land

Content Warning: This section of the text depicts racism, substance use, and sexual harassment and assault.

In London, Liv works a retail job that she largely hates, waiting to be discovered as a model. It gives her money in addition to the weekly stipend from her family, giving her some financial freedom. Her mother attempted to control her move to London, but Liv refused to work for her Grandpa or date the man Margot wanted her to.

Liv goes to the cinema where a man named Clinton Bonner stops her outside. He asks her if she wants to be a model and Liv assumes that he is trying to scam her; however, he produces a business card and offers to pay her. He promises to meet up with her when he returns to London in a few weeks. Liv intends to hide the news from Margot but is excited to go home and tell Kate.

Kate goes for a run at The Ring. She thinks of her plans to go to Bristol and study medicine, excited that it will be more “multicultural” and give her a chance to stop relying on Grandpa’s money. However, as she looks down at The Ring, she thinks of how it has truly become her