The Baby Project

Day 1

Day 1

_____

"Hello class! Today we are going to be starting the baby unit. Aren’t you all excited?!” Our teacher, Mrs. Bryce, asks in glee.

I slam my head down on the table in response. Excited was definitely not the word to describe what I was feeling right now.

"To start off this unit we are going to be doing a project. Like you’ve probably seen in the past, this project deals with having a plastic baby doll that two ‘parents’ have to take care of. Which means I’ll be choosing partners.”

Everyone groans simultaneously.

"Oh, stop it. It won't be that bad.”

Yeah, unless you had your enemy as a partner.

“You and your will work together as parents and raise a baby for one whole month. This is mostly an out-of-school project but I will ask for progress reports weekly. And just like with any project, there are rules that must be followed:

Number one: Don't let the baby cry for more than five minutes. You will be deducted points for every minute the baby cries past the five minute mark.

Number two: On weekends one student will stay at the other one’s house. I recommend alternating which houses." 

Wait, what? I look at her wide eyed and raise my hand. 

 "Yes?"

"Isn't it risky to have the parents living together? Because you know... because of sex?"

She smiles. “Excellent question, Rory! For that very reason, we notify each of your parents through letter and email about the project. We will be asking them to keep an eye out on the weekends.” 

Okay... but why go to the other person’s house at all? We could be fine and dandy just by ourselves. In our own house. Every weekend. Alone.

“Number three: The fake babies you will be getting are very much like real ones. They will cry, burp, and want to be fed. If their demands aren't met, you will be deducted points. There are specific tips in the packet that you all will take home with you tonight and if you what is best for you, you'll read it thoroughly!

Number four: You will need to record all information regarding the baby. For example: name, gender, actions, time when given food etc. This will be handed to you either Thursday or Friday but until then, just think through some of the things I mentioned. Also, the babies are designed to only go off after school. However, there may be a few random times when the baby goes off during school. We're still trying to fix that problem so sorry!” She walks to the back of the room. “I'll be calling partners now.”

I tap my pencil as Mrs. Bryce begins to read off the names of partners. My head was soon going to be matching Mr. Heft’s bald one with all the tugging of hair I was doing. 

"And finally, Kale and Rory are partners."

I cringe while the senior girls snicker and giggle, talking about how unfair it was that I was paired with the "most gorgeous guy” in school.

I roll my eyes. They were probably more faker than the baby dolls that our teacher was passing out right now.

Most gorgeous guy in school my ass. 

"Partners please take a seat next to each other and I will hand out the things you need."

I look over at Kale with a glare while he returns the same look. It seems like hours we  stay like this until he gets up and moves.

Ha, I win. Rolling his eyes, he takes a seat. "You're a real pain, you know that?"

"Yes, you might’ve mentioned it a couple of hundred times." 

Kale smirks, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement. 

"And here is your baby."

I stare at the plastic demon in front of me and shudder.

"Scared of a fake baby, West? Not so tough are we now."

"No," I snap. "Just thinking about how terrible this month is going to be."

Just as he's about to retort, the bell rings.

I smirk and run out of the room. Thank you bell!

As I’m striding towards my locker, the Satan’s spawn approaches me.

"What?"

"Aren't you gonna take this thing home with you?" Kale asks, shooting the baby a spiteful look.

"You’ll take care of it this week and I'll do it next week."

"I don’t think so. I have plans this week."

"So do I."

"You have plans?" He asks in disbelief.

I scoff. "That’s what I just said isn’t it?."

He turns me around and leans in. "I have plans this week and I intend to finish them. I don't care what you are doing, but stop being a brat and just take the baby. You're the chick; you take care of the baby."

I pull away in disgust. "No, you listen here, Mathews! I don't care what you say, but I doubt getting laid counts as important plans. Just because you see a pair of boobs , doesn't mean I automatically know everything about the baby. Now stop acting like a sexist brat and get your act together. This is worth more than half our grade, and I want to pass."

With that, I turn on my heels and walked away as he stays frozen, baby in his hand.

I smirk. Maybe this won't be that bad; I mean, I do get to annoy Kale Mathews constantly for a month. What could be better than that?

Day 1 of the baby project... done.

Now 29 more days to go.

____

Social Media Links:

FB:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baby-Project/832129946813226

Instagram: manaal_ali

Twitter: its_manaal_yo

Tumblr: droppedjem

Ask FM: droppedjem

Email: officialdroppedjem@gmail.com

 ✔