It's a Nightmare

Chapter Three

Riley

"Mom, what am I going to do with Isaac while I'm at school?" I asked during breakfast the next morning.

Isaac was sitting in Auggie's old high chair and I was feeding him bites of my oatmeal.

Mom tapped a finger to her chin.

"I guess that you have to take him with you." She responded, after a few moments of thinking. "After breakfast, I'll get some of Auggie's baby clothes, and his old stroller from the storage room. Then, you'll get him ready and then take him to school with you."

"Will this be a permanent thing?" I asked, popping another bite of oatmeal into Isaac's awaiting mouth. The plan was good with me. Isaac was so cute!

Mom shook her head,"No. Give me about a week, and I'll set up a daycare centre for him to go to during the day."

"Who's going to a daycare centre during the day?" Dad asked, walking in at the worst possible moment ever.

He stopped right in the door to the kitchen, noticed Isaac for the first time, looked between me and Mom.

His face turned bright red. In a cartoon, steam would be erupting from his ears, "Riley Diana Matthews! Why in the world do you have a baby?"

Isaac started to sob; I scooped him out of the high chair and held him close.

"The man that lives next door gave him to me, and I don't want to give him up. He's too sweet." I cooed at Isaac, trying to calm him down.

Dad's face turned bright red again; this time from embarrassment. He hung his head.

"I'm sorry for assuming the worst." He apologized sheepishly. I laughed, and placed the now calm Isaac back in his high chair. I popped another spoonful of oatmeal in mine and Isaac's mouths before replying.

"That's alright. That's just what dads do." My spoon scraped the bottom of my bowl. "I'm done now Mom. Would you please get the stuff for Isaac now?"

Mom gave me an annoyed look, before agreeing.

"I like that name. Isaac. Did you now that it was your great-grandfathers name?"

I turned to my father, "Really? That's pretty cool."

My father beamed at me. I matched his smile.

Dad opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by his watch beeping. The signal for me to get out the door and go to the Subway. I always took the Subway to school, so I could meet up with my friends Maya and Farkle. Mom came back, at that moment, with clothes and a stroller for Isaac.

"Here honey," she shoved the clothes into my arms. "Go get Isaac ready. I'll quickly pack a bag of snacks for him. It'll be in your lunch bag. Okay?"

I did as I was told, quickly getting Isaac dressed and into the stroller with seven minutes to spare.

***
Walking into school was normally quick and quiet. Even though I was the daughter of a teacher, I tended to keep to myself.

Today though, I felt all eyes on me and the stroller I was pushing. Some people came up today, wanting to say something, but then walked away. Others posed their questions rather rudely; I ignored them. Nobody needed to know.

But the person who had the worst reaction was my best friend Maya. When she first laid eyes on Isaac and the stroller, she froze. Her eyes hardened. Her muscles stiffened.

"Who...did...this...to...you...Riley? I'll kill them." I took a step back, scared of Maya.

"Maya, Isaac is not my child. He..." I trailed off.

As much as I loved Maya, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her the truth. Not until I knew who Isaac actually was.

"He's my cousin... Yeah. My aunt dropped him off for a while, and I'm taking him to school for the week." That lie sounded okay to me.

Maya slowly relaxed, even managing a small smile in Isaac's direction.

Suddenly, the bell for first period rang. Maya raced off, muttering something about "...not wanting to be late for class." I followed behind, walking the stroller slowly.

But just as I reached the point where I had to turn into class, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned around.

"Lucas?"