"Give me an hour to shower and dress," I say getting up and Alex nods, shutting my door on her way out. My phone rings as I'm choosing my jeans and a purple hater top.

"Hey mum," I answer, actually looking forward to hearing her voice. It reminds me that things can be normal in my life.

"Hey, honey. How is everything going?" She asks in her usual bright and cheery voice. You wouldn't ever guess that Daniella is my mum, with her white blonde dyed hair and sparkling brown eyes. She always told me I look more like my dad but I have a little of her personality. My mum is like a ray of sunshine constantly and is worse than I am at helping everyone she meets. My mum runs a local food bank and helps out at many charities in her spare time, Alex and me have always agreed that you couldn’t find some better than her for a mum.

"It's all good but I miss you and you’re cooking,” I smile when I hear her laughter.

“You are eating ok, right? I can send more money if you need it,” she says in her worried mum tone.

“Yes we are eating fine but nothing beats your home cooking mum,” I say with a big smile.

“Ok I'll leave you be so any plans for tonight?” she asks.

“Me and Alex are going out for dinner tonight," I tell her and she laughs again.

"Well honey, I did try and teach you how to cook before you left for university. You'll be home in two months right?" She asks referring to the summer holidays coming up.

"Yes and I honestly can't wait," I tell her, I need the normality of waking up to my mum’s cooking, and Alex is hoping for a hot summer’s day to sunbathe on the local beach.  My mum lives in Cornwall and the beaches are lovely if you can find the ones without all the tourists around.

"Well have fun tonight honey; I just wanted to check on you." She says.

"I will," I say twisting my wavy brown hair around my finger, wishing I did inherit her blonde hair, mine is such a dull brown colour and I don’t want to dye it. She used to dye her hair brown, she told me once, when she was in college but now she just adds highlights to her natural blonde.

"I love you and tell Alex I love her too, and to answer her phone." she chuckles.

"She has a new boyfriend, so I’ll remind her to when I see her." I chuckle back. My mum loves Alex as much as me, Alex doesn’t have good parents and was always around ours for a cooked meal. Her own parents were too busy getting drunk to notice she was even missing.