The Baby Project

Chapter Ten

So here you guys go, the last chapter, which is a bit of a mess of everything if I'm honest. But it was an attempt to finish it before the deadline, and here we are! Dedicated to Defend who I am currently keeping up because she's waiting for this even though it's past midnight.

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 I was late.

            That much was clear, even if only from the way Andrew was honking loudly outside my window. Three times now I’d stuck my hand out of the window, gesturing for him to hold on just a while longer, as I struggled to get ready for school in what had to be record timing. Now, after I’d wriggled into my jeans and yanked a brush through my hair, I snatched up my bag and bounded down the stairs two at a time.

            It was Friday – not only the last day of the week, but also the last day of the project that had become a somewhat normal part of our lives. We were due to hand the baby over to Coach Davis last period, and although I’d never have expected it, I had mixed feelings about letting it go. Taking care of the doll had undoubtedly been crazy at times, but I’d become accustomed to having it around, and it had turned out to be the thing that finally brought Andrew and I together.

            “Finally,” Andrew said, when I collapsed, breathless, into the passenger seat of his car. “What were you doing, having a three-course meal or something?”

            “Forgot to set my alarm,” I told him sheepishly. “But I did get ready in five minutes. Come on, you can’t get much quicker than that.”

            “Could’ve got ready in four minutes…” he murmured, a smile playing at his lips as he shifted the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. His window was rolled down, letting the morning breeze fly through the car as it rolled into motion, ruffling his hair with it too.

            “Come on.” I pulled the seatbelt across me and turned to look at him. “Don’t I even get a good morning?”

            “Good morning.”

            I rolled my eyes, smiling. “How endearing. I didn’t even get a kiss.”

            “No time,” he answered. “To make it to school before first bell, we’ve got to severely push the speed limit and not hit any stoplights. You can blame yourself for that one.”

            “Charming.”

            “You know me,” he said, allowing his eyes to leave the road for a moment to wink jokingly at me. “Charming is my middle name.”

            “I thought your middle name was Sheldon?”

            He groaned. “You had to bring it up.”

            I laughed, my smile stretching wider as the sound reverberated through my chest. The action somehow felt lighter, more carefree than it would’ve done at the same point a week ago. Maybe it was just my imagination.

            It was my third official day of dating Andrew, although to everyone else we were closing in on the one-week marker. It was as if I’d been on a constant high since Wednesday morning; the feeling that had surfaced when Andrew had kissed me had yet to wear off. Even in dull moments, like in the middle of class, I’d find myself struck by the strange impulse to smile – as if being set double Economics homework was the best news I’d heard all day. It had earned me a few odd looks, but it didn’t bother me; my good mood seemed to have some kind of protective armor.