Face The Music

The Coolest Mom in School

 Uniform: check. Backpack: check. Makeup bag: check. Laptop: check. Phone and charger: double check.

"M-I-A. Mommy. Bye-bye," I signed to my little girl who was propped up in her Boppy lounger on my bed.

Today, Mia was dressed in a super-cute sleeper with sheep on it. A bonnet was covering her head. It helped her not rip out the hearing aids, which we'd only be leaving in for a few more weeks. As expected, we weren't getting anywhere with them.

I heard the door open downstairs. Perfect. I grabbed all my stuff and carried Mia downstairs. Chrys was waiting and ready to go.

"How are you feeling? Ready for the last first day of school?" she asked me.

"I'd be more ready if I knew I wasn't leaving her for the entire day," I said, passing Mia to Chrys. "She's already been fed and has a fresh diaper on. You know where to take it from there."

"Of course," she said.

"Oh, give her back. I totally forgot that I need to grab some first day pics for all my socials," I said.

Chrys put Mia back in my arms and we did a few cute poses while she took pictures. I'd upload them as soon as I got back to the campus.

"Thanks Chrys! Have fun!" I said as I walked out the door.

"Bye! Have a good first day!" she said.

I got into the car, put on some of my favorite music, and pulled out of our driveway. Now that I was sitting, I could definitely feel that my uniform was tight. My mom really wanted me to shop for a bigger size, but I was kind of in denial. I wanted my body to look the same, even though it felt completely different from before I was pregnant.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the Jane Willow campus. I parked my car in the special senior parking lot, with fifty of my other classmates. I quickly checkled myself in the mirror before getting out of the car. Everything looked good, and I put on enough foundation to cover the bags under my eyes. Mia was still not sleeping all the way through the night.

Hudson and Natty were already at our people-watching spot. Poor Easton just came down with Covid and couldn't make it for the first day. I felt bad for him. What a way to start off your senior year, which was arguably the most important one of all.

"Yay! The gang's all there!" Natty said, getting up and giving me a hug.

"I almost thought you weren't gonna make it for a second," Hudson said.

I crossed my arms. "You try getting a baby ready for the day all by yourself and putting on all this makeup." He didn't answer. "That's what I thought."

I sat down in between him and Natty, who handed me her extra muffin. Her mom always gave her extra stuff to share with us. She was the best.

"I can't believe we're really here. Our senior year," Natty said.

"This makes me feel old. I remember coming here for our kindergarten orientation," Hudson said.

"I was crying at the end of mine. I thought I wasn't gonna get in because I mixed up green and blue during the color test," Natty said.

The first bell dinged. I couldn't believe it was time to go already. I went to my homeroom with Natty, and Hudson went to his. Since it was alphabetical, he was obviously in a different one without last names being at the opposite end of the alphabet.

Once I sat down, I was expecting all kinds of stares and whispers, but there were none. The room was silent, but it felt like something was coming. Like dynamite was about to go off in there. Makayla, who was sitting next to me, leaned over.

"Denali, I love the pictures of your baby! She's so cute!" she said.

"Oh, thanks! She is, isn't she," I said.

"I just love her! I like her pictures every single time you post one!" said Lila, who was sitting behind me.

"Those bonnets she has on are so adorable!" said Brynn, who was sitting on the other side of me.

I looked around me and noticed that a crowd was starting to form around my desk. Everyone in my homeroom was asking about Mia, about what it was like to have a baby and how busy I was. Lots of the girls told me I looked great, that if they didn't know me, they'd have no idea I'd had a baby three months ago. Little did they know just how badly I wanted to undo the button of my skirt so it would be less painful.

"My little sister is practically jealous of you," said James, who was sitting in front of me. "She said that now she wants one. I told her not to get any ideas."

"I truly love her, I really do, but it is a lot of work, even with a full-time nanny," I said. "I didn't post the pics I took this morning. Do you guys want to see?"

"Yes!" said the whole room, including Miss Mullen, my homeroom teacher.

I pulled up the pictures Chrys took of us before we left, which lead to many "oos" and "ahs" from all my classmates. I heard someone make another comment about the cute bonnet, but thankfully no one else said anything. I didn't need the entire world to know that she was deaf, so I never mentioned anything or showed her hearing aids on social media.

It was like that for the entire rest of the day. I seriously couldn't believe it. I thought I'd be known as the school slut, but instead I'd been bumped right back up the popularity ladder from before I was pregnant. I was practically a celebrity.

Around ten I finally got my free period, which I used to go down to the campus store. I bought myself a few skirts in a bigger size so I could finally be comfortable. Even the staff behind the counter were asking about Mia as I paid for my stuff.

I guess it was good that I get used to all the attention now. I was still dead-set on accomplishing my dreams, and on top of the first day of school today, it was also going to be my first day back at dance...which was going to be interesting since I hadn't seen anyone since the fallout at Disneyworld.