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Friday night at the school was a far cry from the typical weekend kick-off most students anticipated. The hall, usually reserved for boring assemblies by the headteacher and shameless plugs for many things (Natalia thought pointedly about the stupid Duke of stupid Edinburgh), was transformed into a makeshift nursery filled with rows of plastic bassinets, each holding a doll that looked eerily lifelike. For the very last night of the Baby project, the students' dolls had been replaced by extremely high-tech dolls, designed to cry for food, need their nappies changed, and demand attention at all hours, mimicking the real responsibilities of parenthood. While this sounded insufferable, Natalia was somewhat glad to be getting a new doll after accidentally dropping Dolly on her head and decapitating her.
No, she thought. That was not my fault. That was stupid Jake Brockman's. Evil Jake Brockman's. She carried on mentally as though she were speaking to Dolly in person: That's right, sweetheart, your daddy is evil and has left mummy for the world's biggest bitch!
The students had all gathered reluctantly, murmuring among themselves as the teachers explained the night's assignment. The room buzzed with nervous laughter and groans of frustration, everyone acutely aware that this night was going to be long and in the most polite way possible, a pain in the bloody backside.
Jake entered the gymnasium, running late, his heart pounding with anxiety. He scanned the room, searching for Natalia. Where was she? He had been dreading this moment, knowing he had to face her but also desperate to make things right. His eyes finally landed on her standing at the far end of the room, her expression a mask of indifference as she listened to the instructions. She didn't even know he was there.
Natalia felt Jake's gaze before she saw him. Her stomach churned with a mix of anger and sadness. She couldn't believe she had to endure this night with him after everything that had happened. She had spent the last twenty-four hours trying to build up a wall around her feelings, but seeing him now threatened to break that barrier.
Jake steeled himself and made his way over to her. As he approached, Natalia turned, clearly intent on avoiding him. He quickened his pace and managed to corner her by the table of baby supplies.
"Natalia, wait," he said, his voice filled with urgency.
She carried on walking.
"Natalia!"
She was forced to stop, when she bumped into a table of nappies, knocking a tower of them onto the floor. She was still tense with anger directed towards Jake and she cursed at her action. She hastily started restacking them, still ignoring him. To try get her attention, Jake tried helping her, starting to pick some nappies of the floor, but when he started to say, "Here, let me - ", her scowl and the tightening of her fist around the nappy in her hand caused him to stop.
