Songbird [H.S]

THIRTY-TWO

Late November - 28 weeks Pregnant

"Remind me why you're both here, annoying me on my day off and not at college right now." Marley snapped at the two boys messing around in her dining room.

The teenage girl had taken a week off work to start getting things ready for when Josie was born, knowing she wanted to work as close to her due date as physically possible. They had been buying a few things here and there and piles of baby stuff were appearing around the house but still needed to be sorted through. The past few days had been spent visiting every charity shop available to pick up hand-me-down clothes and scraps of materials that Marley could use to sew her own clothes for Josie. She had also managed to pick up a crib and pram for free from one of her neighbours who was throwing out all her unwanted stuff from her loft (she was an older woman whose kids were in their late twenties).

Marley had dedicated the rest of her time off to wash all the second-hand clothes she'd picked up, using her Mum's sewing machine to mend any ripped clothes or make her own. Harry had watched in awe the past month as he tried to understand how Marley was able to turn his old shirts into dainty little babygrows or how a cheap ball of yarn became a knitted cardigan and baby boots. He'd known she was a thrifty person as she often made her own dresses for a night out but it never occurred to him how much work went into everything.

Right now, she had Jay's sewing machine set up on the dining room table with piles of baby clothes that needed mending in some way. She had a clear system that helped her know what she'd fixed and what needed working on but it was currently being messed up by her bored boyfriend and his idiotic best friend.

"The art department roof is leaking so nobody is allowed to work there until it's fixed." Zayn shrugged, continuing to throw scrap pieces of material at Harry across from him at the table. The two friends couldn't sit still or do anything quietly if they weren't painting so had resorted to playfighting with the offcuts Marley was supposed to be currently using.

"Shouldn't you be working on your entries for the Christmas exhibition?" Marley sighed, rubbing her belly as she felt Josie give her a sharp kick to her side. Her active baby was doing nothing to calm the situation and quite frankly, Marley was in a foul mood. "Or I don't know...being twats somewhere away from a pregnant woman!"

Harry finally picked up on the teenager's tone, instantly dropping the piece of material in his hand that he was just about to launch across the table at his friend. He felt like a child being told off by his mother but he didn't dare argue with the girl for fear of making her even more upset. The smallest things set her off these days and Harry would prefer to be alive to see the birth of his daughter.

"Mae, chill out. It's bad for the baby." Zayn teased, his playful smirk doing nothing but annoy her further. He was completely oblivious that sometimes joking around with a hormonal pregnant woman was not the best idea. You had to pick your moments and this was definitely not the right time.

"Zee, I strongly recommend that you keep your mouth shut." Harry blurted out in slight panic, noticing how his girlfriend's cheeks were beginning to flush pink and she let out a big sigh - all signs that Marley's temper was about to be unleashed. "Lovie, we're sorry. We'll stop now, won't we Zayn."

"Uh- yeah. Sorry Mae, we'll clean this up." He nodded quietly, avoiding Marley's cold glare as he scrambled about to pick up the mess he and Harry had made.

"If you boys want to make yourself useful you could go to Mrs Kimber's house and pick up the chest of drawers she wants to give us."

Marley watched as Harry let out a silent groan, rolling his eyes at her request as he knew he had no choice but to do what she said. All week she had been giving him little jobs to do as she panicked about not being ready in time for the baby's arrival, they had been so busy working recently that time was starting to slip away from them. Nothing was set up for the baby which was beginning to worry Marley a little bit but Harry had been reassuring her that her due date was in February and there was still plenty of time left to sort things out. Marley didn't believe him.