The Teenage Mom

Chapter One

"Whoo!! Take it off!!", I heard someone shout from the lounge area. I wove my way throughout the tables, administering drinks. I was grabbed around the waist and pulled into a lap. "You've got the perfect body to be up there, honey," a man said into my ear. "And you've got the perfect body to fit into my trunk," I said back, tearing his hands from my hips and standing before walking away.

My shift ended not long after that, forcing me to put on my jacket and exit the warm club. I had to sit in my old, beat-up Charger for a few minutes after starting it to let it warm up, before putting it into gear and driving out of there. I reached my house after a relatively short drive and went inside. It was winter, making the chilly Illinois nights colder than normal, and the gas bill sky-rocket. The house was nice and toasty, making me shuck my heavy coat almost the instant I walked in.

"Mommy's home!", I heard Lee shout from the living room. "Hey, guys," I greeted, scooping Lee into my arms. Winnie came into the room and hugged me around my legs. I walked into the living where Jenny, the babysitter was waiting for payment. "Thanks, Jen," I told her, handing her the 50 dollars owed.

I got the girls ready for bed and sat in the living room with my head in my hands.  I pulled my hands through my hair and stood, sighing. I took a shower, washing the makeup from my face and getting ready for school the next day.
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"Come on, time to get up," I told the girls, shaking them gently. They groaned, but woke up and climbed out of bed. I dressed them and got myself dressed while they ate their bananas. I drove them to the daycare and took them inside, signing them in and taking them to their caretaker before saying my goodbyes and leaving. It took 3o minutes to get to my school from the daycare, and it was already five minutes to seven, and seven was when the bell rang.

I walked in twenty minutes late and went straight to my seat in the back of the room. "Miss Collins, that's your fifth tardy, my dear," Mr. Jordan told me from the board, without even looking back, "please go see Mr. Vernon." I slung my messenger bag across my chest and walked out, heading to Richard Vernon's office. The office was kind of small, and right across from the library, which is terribly inconvenient for the members of Saturday detention. I sat in the leather chair opposite Vernon and crossed my legs, folding my arms into my chest.

"I understand that today is your fifth tardy, Miss Collins," the vice principal said, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk. I just raised an eyebrow, knowing that he would continue speaking anyway, and I was right. "I think I know why you can't get to school on time, Miss Collins. Do you know why?" I opened my mouth to speak, only for him to cut me off. "It's because you're a delinquent, Miss Collins, that's why. A juvenile delinquent who couldn't keep her legs closed at the age of fourteen and had brat delinquent kids.", he rambled.

At this point, I was fuming. "You know damn well what happened to me, you pompous dick. I don't give a shit what you think. You know what? I'm leaving and I'm gonna go pick up my daughters and we're gonna go have ice cream," I said, standing and walking towards the door. "You leave now, and I'll be seeing you every Saturday for the next month," he threatened. "Go fuck yourself, Vernon." "That's another month!", he shouted after me.

"Looking forward to it." With that, I walked out of the building and to my car. I drove straight to the daycare center and picked up Lee and Winnie. "Mommy!!", they shouted in unison, running towards me. Their caretaker, Mrs. Felt, was walking behind them, carrying their bag with her.

"We had a little trouble with Jimmy today, but other than that, they were very well-behaved," she told me, handing me their stuff. "Mommy! We drew you pictures!", Lee told me excitedly. "That's great, sweetie! You can show me at the ice cream place, okay?", I said, taking their hands. "Ice cream?", Winnie asked, smiling. "Yep. Let's go," I said, walking them out to the car.

I pulled into Bill's Soft Serve in the next town over an hour later and walked in. "Hiya, girls. The usual?", Bill asked, bringing spoons. "Yes, please," Lana piped up, grinning from ear to ear. Soon, our ice cream was on the table, along with extra napkins. "You're just a big mess today, aren't you?", I asked Lee, wiping chocolate from her nose.

After finishing our sweet treat, we left the parlor and drove back home. When we got inside, I sat the girls down in the living room. "Mommy got in trouble today. And I have to go to detention tomorrow," I told them. "What's detactshan?", Winnie asked, looking well beyond confused. I stiffled a laugh and hid my smile at her mispronounceation of the word.

"It's when the kids that get in trouble have to go sit in a room for a whole day and be quiet," I said. "Like corner time?", Lee asked. I nodded, "Mhm. Just like corner time." "Do we get to be with Jenny?", Lee asked.

"You'll be with Mrs. Felt, actually," I told them. I looked at my watch. "Do you want to watch a movie?", I asked, turning on the TV and VCR. With grins, they both nodded and went to put one in while I made popcorn. After the salty treat was done, I poured it into a bowl for all of us to share and sat on the couch with the girls cuddled up to me.

They had put in The Never-Ending Story, one of our favorites. About half-way into the almost two hour-long movie, they drifted off. I left to the bathroom to take a shower. I showered quickly before the girls could wake up and made them lunch. When they woke up, I gave them their grilled cheese sandwiches and juice and left them to eat in the living room.

I went to the kitchen and called Mrs. Felt. I told her the situation and she agreed it was best that the girls stay with her while I had detention. I thanked her and hung up, sighing and running my hand through my hair.

The rest of the day was a lazy day until I had to go into work at four. I said my goodbyes to the girls, greeted Jen, and left to work. I was glad to have the job, but it could be annoying to deal with some of the customers at times. I was sometimes harassed and cat-called, but it paid the bills and put food on the table. I clocked in and grabbed a tray.

"Hey, Van! Table six needs drinks," Vinny, my boss, told me from across the counter. "On it, boss man," I replied, piling drinks onto my tray and taking them to table six. I worked my way around the table, placing drinks on the table before leaving. So the night continued in this fashion until nine o'clock. I went home, paid Jen, and put the girls to bed.