Single Moms In Rosewood

The 1st Day Of 1st Grade (Aria's POV)

    "The first day of 1st grade.  You've survived so far, Aria, how bad can it be?  You're right, it could be pretty bad." Aria said, trying to give herself an adequate pep-talk for Skye's first day of 1st grade.  Trouble is, she'd been ridiculed, mocked, and provoked during Skye's year of Kindergarten.  

    Suddenly, Aria's thoughts were interrupted by a small voice.

    "Mommy, can I wear my kitty ears?"

    Aria looked down at her daughter, distracted.  With all this internal prep, she'd forgotten about the one who really mattered in this situation.  Skye.

    "Of course, baby.  Now, let's get you get cleaned up and in your kitty ears." she replied, ushering her daughter towards the bathroom in their tiny apartment, knowing it would be a long morning.  

                                                                                     ..........

    When they'd finally managed to get out the door at 8:19 (not good, they had to be at school at 8:30), they'd gone through 3 negotiations, 2 tantrums (one for each of them), and 5 tug-of-wars.  But, the important thing was that they were out the door and would (maybe) get to school on time.

    They ran through the school's door at 8:27 and had to be in some teacher named Mr. Fitz's room at 8:30 for student and parent initiation.  Luckily, they got there just in time.  Aria and Skye snuck in the back and took two seats next to a young girl and a tall, brown-haired woman who looked to be somewhere around Aria's age.

    "Hey, I'm Spencer." the woman introduced herself, "And, this is my daughter, Annabeth.  Are you guys new to Rosewood?"

    Aria was surprised by this warm welcome.  She and Skye lived in Philadelphia for 5 years before moving to Rosewood and no one was ever that friendly so soon.

    "Uh, yeah.  I'm Aria and this is my daughter Skye." Skye waved "hello".  "Hey, I know this is a really weird question, but how old are you?" Spencer looked immediately off-guard.  "I'm just asking because you look around my age, but I'm pretty young to be a mom, so I was just wondering..."

    "Oh.  Sorry, I have some major trust issues, so I get nervous easily.  I'm 23, you?" Spencer replied.

    "Oh!  I'm also 23.  Funny!" 

    A male voice projected over the packed classroom.  "Okay, everybody.  It's time for initiation.  As you can see, we've organized the chairs into a circle, so we will be going through the circle and say our names, ages, and 2 fun facts about ourselves."  The teacher, Mr. Fitz, had finally spoken.  He looked slightly disheveled and his eyes were nervously darting around the classroom.  "Would anyone like to go first?"

    Spencer raised her hand.  "My daughter and I can go first, Mr. Fitz."

    "Okay.  Then, we'll go to the right and Ms...?  his eyes flashed to Aria, his eyes clearly asking for her name.

    "Miss Montgomery.  Aria Montgomery."

    Their eyes met and Aria could've sworn that there was a literal spark flaming between them right in front of her eyes.

    "Um, right," he broke the silence, "Then, Miss Montgomery and her daughter will go and we will continue to the right."

    Spencer elbowed Aria.  Aria turned towards her and Spencer waggled her eyebrows.  Aria scowled at her and focused her gaze on her daughter.

    "Well, I'm Spencer Hastings.  I'm 23 and...My middle name is Jill and I am a teen mom." Noticing the looks from some of the other parents, Spencer jutted her chin defensively.  "And, if any of you have a problem with that, feel free to take it up with me.  Not my daughter."

    "I'm Annabeth Pearl Hastings.  I'm 6.  My birthday is January 15th and my favorite color is cerulean."  

    Aria looked at the young girl, surprised she didn't just say blue.  But, then she looked at Annabeth's eyes.  They were guarded, but full of knowledge.  Spencer cleared her throat expectantly and Aria realized that it was her turn.

    "Oh, uh, sorry.  I'm Aria Montgomery, and I'm also 23.  Yes, I am a teen mom, so quit flashing me the judgey looks.  Trust me, I've seen them all before.  My birthday is July 22nd and my dad was named after a poet."

    Mr. Fitz looked up, surprised.  "Um, if you'll excuse me, Miss Montgomery, which poet was your father named after?"

    "Lord Byron.  His name is Byron Montgomery."

    "Ahh.  Well, I think it's your turn." he said, gesturing toward Skye.

    "Yeah, honey.  I think it's your turn." Aria turned toward her daughter, who looked to be shrinking by the second.

    "Uh..." Skye stopped and cuddled up to Aria.  "My name is Skye.  I'm 6 and a half.  My favorite color is silver and I love the movie "The Great Gatsby".  And, I want to know why my mommy always get laughed at for having me when she was 17."

    The room feel eerily silent.  Aria's cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson red.

    "Uh, sweetie.  Mommy can fight her own battles, okay?  But, you were such a good girl for knowing that it's not right to laugh at people, okay?  Mommy is so proud of you."

    Skye nodded solemnly.  

                                                                               ..........

    Once the meet-and-greet had ended and the parents were on their way out, both Spencer and Mr. Fitz stopped Aria.  The two had a mini stand-off and after several seconds, Mr. Fitz let Spencer talk to Aria first.

    "Hey.  You were a total badass in there."

    Aria laughed wryly.  "Badass is hardly the word I'd use.  More like a pushover and totally embarrassed."

    "Hey, you can't downgrade yourself like that.  You were definitely a badass."  she put her hand on Aria's shoulder comfortingly.  "So, I know a couple other teen moms in Rosewood.  They both moved to Rosewood earlier this summer and we go get fro-yo every Friday.  Would you care to join us?"

    "Sure.  That should be good for me."

    "Great!  Here," Spencer handed Aria a piece of paper with her number.  "Call me or text me and I'll text you the details.  I think you'll really like Hanna and Emily." She walked off, and waved goodbye.

    As soon as she left, Mr. Fitz stepped in.

    "Um, I just wanted to apologize for the mocking behavior of some of the paren-." he started, but before he could finish, Aria cut him off.

    "If they really mean it, they can tell me and Spencer themselves." she started walking away.  "Now, thank you very much, but I really have to get going.  I work two jobs and go to school, so I need to get moving."

    "Aria, wait." he lunged for her arm, caught it, and spun her around to face him.  "You seem like an interesting person, and I'd like to be your friend."

    "Friend, huh?  Been a while since a guy wanted to be my "friend".  Seems...doable." she paused, thinking.  "Well, if you really mean that, let me write down my number for you." she grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled it down.  He snatched it from her outstretched hand as soon as she extended it.

    "Thanks.  Here's mine."  He pulled out a business card and handed it to her.  "Call me if you ever need a friend."  He started to head off to his classroom.  

    "Wait, Mr. Fitz," he stopped, "What's your first name?  I can't keep calling you Mr. Fitz, can I?"

    He grinned back at her.  "It's Ezra."

    She watched him go.  Well, she thought, it's been a pretty good day.  I might've just gained a group of girlfriends and a guy-friend, too.  Maybe this little town won't be so bad for Skye and I after all.