A Mass Hysteria In The Modern World

[Month #1]

[Randi's POV]

"I'm taking out the trash, I'll be right back," Mike told me as he walked out the front door. I was holding Jennifer in my arms, feeding her with some fresh, cold milk from the fridge. I took out the bottle to wipe her face off and she burped.

"Oh!" I laughed. "Excuse you."

Jennifer smiled and giggled. I smiled back at her.

"You're so darn cute," I told her. I was never one for babies, or children in general, until Mike and I finally agreed on having a baby together. It was definitely a rough road to go down, but it was all worth it.

Mike came back in sweating. I looked at him funny when he sat in the chair across from me.

"It is so unbelievably hot out there," he sighed, wiping his forehead then went to wipe it on the fabric.

"Uh uh, no," I scolded him. "Not on the chair."

He pouted and wiped his sweat on his khaki shorts then glared at me.

"Hey, I didn't pay five-hundred bucks for that sofa just for you to wipe your nasty sweat on it."

[Martena's POV]

"This is you when you were two years old," I said, handing Alice a picture of herself.

My family and I were all sitting in a circle on the floor of our California living room. The smell of vanilla filled the room. Tre had found our old picture box in the attic and brought it down.

"Where's this at?" Klaus asked, pulling out a picture of a scenic view.

"That was our view from the hotel when your dad and I went on our Honeymoon."

"Whoa!" Tre exclaimed. "Look at this, babe."

He handed me a photograph. I looked at it and it was of me, him, Alyssa, Billie, Mike, and his old girlfriend, Cieara.

"Damn," I whispered.

"Mom!" Klaus said. Alice just laughed.

"Sorry, I mean... dang."

"I know," Tre said.

"This was before all the kids were born. Billie and Alyssa had just gotten married... I think."

"I don't remember."

"Let me see!" Alice and Klaus said at the same time. They both grabbed it and were fighting over it.

"Kids!" I yelled. They both stopped moving. "Ruin that picture and you both are grounded for a month."

Klaus let go of it and let Alice see it first.

"Is that you, mom?" She asked, pointing to the figure next to Tre that he had his arm around.

"It sure is."

"And that's Alyssa?" She asked. I nodded my head.

"You both look so different."

[Alyssa's POV]

"'Cause sometimes it comes with a shove, when you fall in love," I sang along with my favorite band, Angels and Airwaves. My husband and the kids weren't home. They all decided that I needed a day off and he took them to Chuck E. Cheese's or something. Abby was a bit too old for that stuff, but she said that she'd just play the games and have fun anyways.

"She said, 'show me world that's inside your head. Tell me your secrets of life and death, and your one regret."

I put my hand on my stomach and smiled. I was one month into my third, and most likely last, pregnancy. Billie and I weren't certain how many kids we were actually going to have. We were both 35, so that's still pretty young. Our minds could still change about that.

My iPod shuffled after 'Shove' and went straight in 'Jesus of Suburbia.' I laughed and changed the song. As much as I loved my husband's band, I felt weird listening to them. When I shuffled the songs, it landed on 'Teeth' by: Lady Gaga. I laughed, again, at the song's meaning and went into the kitchen to make some food.

Opening the freezer, I saw that we had Pizza Rolls. I went wide-eyed and grabbed the box quickly. Then ripping the box open, I poured about ten Pizza Rolls onto a plate and put it in the microwave. I sang to the song as I waited on my food to finish defrosting. Finally, the food was done and I grabbed the bottle of Hot Sauce from the fridge then went into the living room to eat. My phone began ringing from across the room. Sighing, I got up and answered it; it was Billie.

"Hey, babe," he said when I answered. I smiled.

"Hey."

"Are you doing okay?" He asked.

"Of course I am. I'm feeling great."

"Good," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Eating some Pizza Rolls. You?"

"I'm guessing you have Hot Sauce, too?" He laughed. "And we're just at the mall. I told Abby I'd buy her some stuff. Keith hasn't acted up at all."

"Yes, I do," I laughed, also. "Good! That's a first."

"It is. Okay, well... I was just checking up on you. Love you."

"Love you, too," I said and hung up.

Taking my phone with me, I sat back down on the couch and continued to eat my food. The house was silent and I got bored when I was done with my food. I grabbed the remote and turned on some T.V. Suddenly, I felt like I was going to be sick. I held my hand over my mouth and I ran to the bathroom. Unfortunately, I did get sick. I sat on the bathroom floor for a few minutes before getting up and returning to the living room.

"Good thing this only lasts for a month or two," I thought to myself. As I lifted myself off the floor, I went over to the sink and cleaned my mouth out, brushed my teeth, and used some mouthwash. I still had the slight taste of puke, so I kept on using mouthwash; it wouldn't go away.

"Whatever," I sighed. I've done this two times already. Three times, not including Tally. Oh God, Tally. I closed my eyes and made myself not think about how horrible that was. Telling Billie was the worst, when we got back together. It was like two heartbreak's in one.

"Honey! We're home!" I heard Billie's voice through the house. Keith ran through the kitchen and I met him at the end of the steps.

"Hey, baby," I said, kissing Keith on the face. He smiled and I put him on my hip.

"Hey," Billie smiled, giving me a quick kiss. "I got some stuff for you."

Abby kept her iPod in and went upstairs. Billie looked behind him, watching Abby go up the steps. So much for saying 'hi'. I sighed and sat Keith on the kitchen counter.

"She's been like that for the past hour or two," he said quietly. "I don't know. Maybe she still doesn't like the fact that we're having a baby."

"Well..." I sighed. "She needs to hurry up and get over it. Life doesn't revolve around her."

"Babe..." he whispered. "Have the mood swings kicked in already?" He smiled. I half laughed and ran my hand through my hair and sighed.

"Maybe," I exhailed. "Or maybe she's just being a selfish little-"

"Stop," Billie said, putting a finger over my lips. "Don't call our daughter any names. You'd be doing the same thing if you were her."

"How do you know?" I said, taking his finger off my lips.

"I just do."

He was putting things into cabinets that he had bought from the grocery store.

"Oh, so now you're on her side?"

"I never said that."

"It sounds like you are."

"Alyssa!" Billie raised his voice, slamming the fridge, and it made me jump. I heard a few bottles fall out of the shelves from inside the fridge. He sighed and made himself calm down. "Alyssa..." He said softly, opening the fridge back up to put the bottles back where they belonged.

"Just... you need to stay calm," he said, reaching for my hand that was resting on my hip. I threw my hand up and began to walk away.

"How about you try and be the pregnant one, then you'll understand," I said, walking up the steps and into our bedroom.