the next morning, i got up and showered to get ready for the day. i walked downstairs, only to be met by clay's mom.
"justin, kylie, there's a neonatal appointment that i'm going to be taking you to." she told us.
"what time?" i asked.
"4. just come home and be ready." she said. justin nodded and looked at me with a smile.
clay came downstairs. his mom immediately started talking about what happened at the spring fling.
"yeah, it was a whole thing." clay said.
"at least you're all safe." she told us. clay's dad served the breakfast.
"it sounds like it was an overreaction." he said. clay, justin, and i all looked at each other.
"okay, so here you go, justin. so, the social worker visits a few times, they process the paperwork, then they'll schedule the custody hearing once everything's been filed and they've confirmed that they can't contact your mother." she said.
"okay, got it." justin said.
"what happens if they get a hold of her?" i asked.
"well that's when it becomes a custody battle between us and miss foley." she said to us.
"hey, i think we should clear out the workshop." clay's dad said.
"for justin? so we bring him into the house, then send him into a different building?" clay's mom said.
"for justin and kylie. they're going to be parents at the end of this year. they need space." he said.
"apparently, they don't need their space because they share that guest bedroom together and do god knows what." she said, looking at us. "next time, make sure everyone's asleep." she said, giving us the 'mother eye'.
"oh god. you heard us?" i whispered to her.
"yeah. every single sound in this house can be heard anywhere." she said.
"i'm so sorry, mrs. jensen." justin told her.
"don't let it happen again." she told us. we nodded and we took off for school.
we walked into the school and i was holding justin's hand. we passed by monty and the football guys.
"hey, tyler. what's up?" monty asked tyler. i looked back at him. tyler began having a panic attack.
"fuck that guy. he's not gonna hurt you." i said to him.
"no one's gonna push you around anymore." tony told him.
"i can't." tyler said.
"okay, tyler, i need you to listen to me, okay? focus on your breathing. breathe as deep as you can." i told him, using a technique that jeff's mom used to use for me.
"look, you have first with alex, right? stick with alex, he'll walk you to second. me, kylie, and justin will meet you at lunch." clay said.
he nodded and walked away.
"something happened to him. he's-he's not right." i said to the guys.
"you think monty-"
"well, monty, bryce, jamie garrison, the kid gets it from fucking everywhere. there's no way this is gonna work." justin said to us.
"it has to." clay said.
"are you guys sure you got all his guns?" tony asked.
"i hope so." clay replied.
the bell rang, so justin and i went to our first period class.
"when did lanie say the appointment was again?" justin asked.
"four. it's the appointment where we hear the baby's heartbeat since we didn't get to go to the one i told you about when i said i was pregnant." i said.
"i'm looking forward to it." he said, grabbing my hand.
we continued the rest of our day until we got to lunch. i got into line with justin.
"aren't you getting lunch, baby?" he asked.
"no, i brought my own lunch. i don't want the baby to eat this shit." i told him, laughing. he chuckled.
"you're actually really right." he said. "this looks... disgusting."
we walked over to the table when we saw a new girl. i sat next to her and justin sat on the other side.
"hey." justin spoke.
"justin, kylie, ani. ani, justin and kylie." he introduced.
"hey." i said, smiling. justin looked over and smiled.
"you know, for a sourpuss, you have loads of friends." ani said. i laughed at his reaction to the comment.
"tyler and kylie are my friends. justin lives with me and my family." clay corrected.
"they're adopting me." justin said to her. i looked at the both of them.
"i live there too, guys. did you already forget?" i asked.
"you live there too?" ani asked me.
"long story, but yeah. i do." i said, smiling.
"that's fantastic." she spoke. "clay believes brothers should take care of each other." she said.
"i need... ketchup." he said, getting up. she stifled a laugh. justin looked over at her.
"so, he might seem like an uptight asshole at first, maybe even for a while, but he's a really good guy, so just give him some time. he's worth it." he said. i smiled at him.
"how much time?" she asked. he took a bite of his burger.
"hm, well for me it took like eight years and for kylie it took maybe 4." he said to her.
"you guys are really cute together." she said to us.
"thanks." i told her.
"so you're kylie? you're pregnant, right?" she asked me.
"yeah. i am." I said. I'm 5 weeks." i told her. "Not really that far, but-" i shrugged my shoulders.
"how long have you guys been together?" she asked.
"about a year, maybe?" i said to her. i looked at justin.
"sounds about right. neither of us is counting." he told her.
the bell rang.
"hey, i've gotta get to class. i'll see you after school." justin said to me.
"you too, j." i told him, kissing him. i got up. "it was nice to meet you, ani." i told her.
"you too, kylie." she replied.
i walked to where student council was having a meeting.
we started the meeting and it turned into an arguement.
"principal bolan is just asking that we do something." courtney said.
"he just wants an excuse to celebrate the damn athletes again." i told her.
"it's been a difficult time for the whole school. " courtney said.
"it's complete and total bullshit!" i exclaimed.
"so, in light of the stressful events, principal bolan wants us to come up with ideas to promote school unity." courtney said.
"oh, that's fucking ridiculous and you know it, courtney." i told her, crossing my arms.
"can the secretary please strike 'fucking' from the record?" courtney asked.
"i mean, i don't actually take notes, but okay." the guy said, pulling a notebook out of his bag.
"i mean, why are we even talking about unity?" i asked. "that's just the administration wanting us to sit down and shut up and not burn anymore baseball fields. we don't need more school spirit. we need actual change." i said. i turned around. "right?"
"i mean, people are just done! we're pissed off, and athletes are the problem." i said, facing the guys.
"kylie, you were a cheerleader." misty told me.
"yeah, and i quit because it's bullshit." i told her.
"everyone blames the athletes." a random guy said.
"because they're the cause!" i told him.
"the cause of everything? that's bull!" he told me.
"yes, everything!" i exclaimed.
"why should we listen to you? you dated monty and jeff atkins and got yourself knocked up by justin foley. all of them are or were fucking athletes!" another guy said.
"yeah, unlike you guys and monty, they never raped other girls." i said.
"hey, watch your mouth, andrews. i didn't do shit." monty spat.
there was a book slammed onto the desk. i turned around and it was courtney.
"look, kylie, i am super sympathetic to your feelings, all right? especially given the circumstances under which i ascended to president, e.g. the ouster of marcus, the sexist pig who likes strippers. that being said, the student council has no actual power and student councils as they rule, never do. and like most, i actually just did it for my college applications. so, if you really wanna stir some shit up, and make this student council more than just a joke, you should run for next year's president, okay? new business, please." she said.
they began talking about graduation when i saw ani. i sat next to her.
"i think you should do it." she said. "i think you're primed to explode in good ways. i can tell things about people."
"you really think they'd want a pregnant chick as their S.B.P.?" i asked.
"i really doubt they would at all mind." she said to me. "i can even be your campaign manager if you'd like." she spoke.
"wait, what?" i told her.
"i want to help you be heard. and you can help me with things, like finding the robotics lab." she told me.
"you like robots?" i asked.
"yeah." she replied.
"cool." i told her. "it's in the main hall at the end."
"thanks." she said as she began walking away.
"campaign strategy meeting tomorrow, after school." i told her. she smiled and walked away. justin came up to me.
"hmm. she seems interesting." justin said.
"hey." i said, kissing him. "and yeah, she does." i replied.
"she was very interested in us today." justin said as we walked to clay's car.
"she just wanted to confirm that what she heard about us is true. nothing bad." i said.
"yeah, maybe you're right." he told me.
"see, justin. you're going to want to remember that, because you're right. i'm never wrong." i said, laughing.
"shut up." he joked.
let's hope this girl is normal. we need that at this school.