The constant fatigue of incubating a human plus the emotional fatigue of existing meant I went to bed doing half of my homework and leaving the rest to the YOLO gods. Somehow, despite ten hours of sleep, I was still dragging the next morning. Complicating it was the fact that I simply did not want to go to school and face more of my classmates’ rubbernecking about my pregnancy. Staying home was tempting, but I was afraid if I did that, Mrs. Wong would send out a SWAT team to find me.

I pulled on a pair of leggings and a tank top before shouldering into a red-and-black-checked flannel that didn’t button quite how I wanted it to anymore so I just left it open. Combat boots, a quick brush of the hair, a clip and I was downstairs foraging for food.

I was awaiting the pop of the toaster when something significant occurred to me.

It was my first morning without morning sickness.

“Heeeeey, thanks for not making me wanna paint the world with barf,” I said to my stomach. In response, the passenger yowled for sustenance, so a bagel in half the bites it ought to have taken and I was off to the pit of despair known as school. My heart raced as I approached the front double doors, my shoulders so tense I trembled, but a few long, deep breaths and I forged ahead, wearing my very best “Just Don’t” face, which was really just me borrowing Mormor’s 24/7 resting bitch face. It came in handy every once in a while.

Once again, I navigated the gauntlet of horrified-slash-curious classmates, managing to dodge four conversations with kids who’d collectively talked to me for six seconds total since I’d started at Stonington but who suddenly wanted to be my closest confidantes. It seemed everyone wanted “the scoop.”

What they got was a scoop full of nothin’.

Lunchtime, to maintain whatever chill I still had, I snuck off to the library. No one was supposed to bring food or drink in there, but a quiet inquiry to Mrs. Wong about needing refuge from my circling classmates and she’d called in a favor to the librarian. Five minutes later, I had a nice table by a sign that read Periodicals, except there were no periodicals, just computers lined up on desks against the wall. It was chicken salad and an ebook on my cell phone and a whole lot of much-needed peace and quiet.

Until Leaf, Morgan and Erin showed up.