Playing House

3

Harry couldn't believe his eyes when Louis came strolling down the school hallway with the doll in a basket the next morning before classes. It even had a little blanket.
"Hi." Louis smiled.

"Uhm, hi." Harry said and looked at the basket.

"I thought Darcy needed a nest." Louis said like it was totally normal. Wasn't he a little too old to play with dolls?

It felt weird hearing him say the baby name Harry had thought out for a future actual child. Why on Earth did he give the doll that name?
"Right."

"It's easier to carry her around. She has been fed and changed. I'll take her tomorrow then? Oh, and me mum signed off on some stuff. Make sure that the assignment stays in the bag so we can fill it in." Louis said and handed him the bag and the basket.

"Okay." Harry replied.

Louis walked over to his locker. Harry glanced at the doll. It had a pacifier in its mouth. He just hoped that it would stay quiet during classes. Otherwise, he would freak out.

It did. The doll was quiet during his first period but came alive when he had a twenty-minute break. He quickly picked it up and gave it the bottle while he tried to find the books he needed for History class.

Halfway through the day, he realized that the computerized doll had to be programmed according to his school schedule so it wouldn't interfere with his classes. That was a relief.

It started to scream again during lunch. Harry sat alone at a table and panicked. He looked around but no one paid attention to him. All the seniors had dolls to take care of.

The doll needed a diaper change so he lay it on the chair next to him. As he was going through the diaper bag he felt someone staring at him. He looked up just to meet Louis' eyes across the room. He was sitting with his friends. Louis smiled at him before he looked away.

Harry managed to change the diaper before he put the doll in the basket again and finished his lunch. The rest of the school day went by fast and he hurried home.

His sister Gemma was the only one home. She was sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea when Harry emerged. She immediately lay eyes on the basket.
"What's that?"

"School assignment." Harry informed her while he walked over to the fridge to get a glass of juice.

That was when the doll started to cry and he dropped everything he was doing to pick it up.
"Oh! Sex Ed! I remember that. Who's your partner?" She grinned.

"Just someone in my class." Harry muttered.

"Well, duh! Did you get lucky? I got one of the stoners. He didn't do shit." Gemma said.

Harry hesitated.
"Louis Tomlinson."

Gemma let out a whistle.
"You got paired with a guy? Progressive teacher. I'm impressed. So, is this Louis doing his part?"

"And beyond. Where do you think the basket comes from?" Harry smirked. He was relieved that Gemma didn't question why he had a male partner for this project or the fact that she didn't even find it strange. It made him hopeful. Gemma was the best!

He took the doll upstairs and lay her on his bed while he started with his homework. After finishing his math he found the paper with the instructions for the doll in the diaper bag and started to read it.

There were instructions on how to care for the doll. Feed, burp, change diapers, and so on. Then there were different tasks where their parents had to sign off. They had to bathe the doll ten times. Louis' mum had signed one of them. So five times each then? Seemed fair. They also had to do laundry twice each, cook a meal, and clean, while they cared for the doll.

In the next paragraph activities that they had to do together as a fake couple was listed. Harry furrowed his eyebrows. They had to take the doll to a playground for example. That was just embarrassing. He let out a deep sigh and put the paper back in the bag before he began to study for the upcoming history test.

He informed his mum about the doll assignment at dinner and then he bathed the doll because there was no way he would let Louis Tomlinson be in the lead when it came to caring for the damn doll even if it seemed to come more naturally to him. It wasn't Harry's fault that he didn't have any younger siblings!

He met up with Louis by the lockers the next morning and handed him the basket.
"Did she sleep through the night?" Louis asked.

Harry gave him an odd look.
"Yeah, I don't think the school would want us to lose sleep since it can affect our studies."

"I was trying to be funny. Lighten the mood. You're so serious all the time." Louis replied and things got awkward.

"Oh. I got classes, so..." Harry said.

"Yeah, me too." Louis replied before he walked away.

They continued to leave the doll between them until Friday. Louis would have it on Saturday too.
"I can drop it off before our game on Sunday." He suggested Friday morning.

"What time?" Harry asked.

"Noon." Louis answered.

"Alright." Harry agreed and turned around to get his books out of his locker.

"We need to start working on the rest of the assignment as well." Louis said behind him.

The things they had to do together. Harry suppressed a sigh.
"Sure. Next week?"

"Yeah. Have a nice weekend." Louis said before he walked off.

Harry's weekend was usually pretty boring. He caught up on some reading and watched tv with the family. He didn't have any hobbies if photography didn't count. He was taking a class in school and liked it.