The Unlikely Daddy

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"Come on sweetheart, you don't want to be late on your first day at your new school" Alfie's mum shouted up the stairs as she watched the clock turn 8:15am. She was overwhelmingly nervous, but she was doing her best to hide that from Alfie, who was very clearly on the verge of an anxiety attack as he walked down the stairs.

"Don't you look smart" Alfie's mum smiled, grabbing her phone off the counter to take some photographs of her only son.

"Mum" Alfie whined, embarrassed and in no mood to have his picture taken.

"Just one, for my photo album, please" Alfie's mum pestered. She always got her way in the end, so Alfie caved and smiled widely for a few seconds.

"Lovely" Alfie's mum smiled, putting her phone into her bag and turning all of her attention onto Alfie. "This is going to be good for you" she tried to comfort Alfie helplessly.

"I'm sure it is" Alfie replied sarcastically. The idea of starting off at a new school was disgusting, but he couldn't help but be thankful he wasn't going back to his old school. He could still hear the bullies chanting in his head - a sound he couldn't even force himself to forget.

"Don't be like that, Alf. It's a new start. A chance to make some proper friends" Alfie's mum raised her eyebrows, not impressed by Alfie's negative attitude.

"Like that's ever going to happen" Alfie scoffed, picking his backpack up off the floor and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Alfie" Alfie's mum warned sternly.

"You think I'm going to start at a new school and magically I won't be a loser anymore" Alfie snapped back. He didn't like how naive his mum was being. He new he was going to get bullied at his new school just as badly as he had been at his old one, if not worse. The school he was going to was huge, so that just meant more people to make his life miserable.

"You aren't a loser, Alfie. It isn't your fault that sometimes you have accidents" Alfie's mum said, believing her words were more comforting than they actually were.

"Thanks, mum" Alfie rolled his eyes, heading straight out of the door and into the passenger side of his mums minivan.

"Don't forget this" Alfie's mum said, thrusting another backpack into Alfie's lap.

"You're kidding, right?" Alfie questioned, knowing exactly what his mum would've put inside the bag.

"Listen, Alfie. I'm not going to leave work to come and pick you up from school every time you wet yourself this time. We can't afford it, and you can't afford to be missing that many classes" Alfie's mum said honestly. She had packed two spare pairs of tracksuit bottoms, as well as two pairs of underwear and some spare socks. "I've already rang up the guidance councillor and they have agreed to keep it with them until you need it" she continued.

Alfie didn't argue back. He knew his mum was right, no matter how embarrassing that fact was. He wished there was something the doctors could do to help him, but at the moment none of the medications they had offered him had been working.

It took Alfie and his mum 20 minutes to drive to the school, parking in the closest spot to the entrance.

"Look how lovely it looks" Alfie's mum tried to paint a picture of a much more pleasant looking school.

"It's a school, mum" Alfie sighed, gathering his things together in anticipation of leaving the car.

"But don't these people look friendly" Alfie's mum said, pointing to a group of very obvious stoners.

"Very" Alfie said, opening the car door.

"Now listen, you make sure you find out where the bathrooms are as soon as you go inside. Try your best to think about whether you need a wee - we don't want any accidents on your first day. You know I'd come in with you if it wasn't for this work meeting" Alfie's mum said, not realising how condescending she sounded.