Status: Engaged
Colour My World
Page One
As a senior at Northland Academy, there’s a lot of random courses you’re expected to take. Classes on cooking, classes on college prep, even classes on parenting. All are meant to prepare you for your life in the real world. I was sitting in the latter of these “important curricular courses”: parenting.
In Mr Hoke’s parenting course, you’re given a baby doll. One of those life like baby dolls that cry and eat and poop, it’s gross and they’re ugly as hell. One was missing an eye, another looked like someone put it on the bar-b-que and tried to grill it. Luckily, I had the class with my boyfriend Tyler. He was captain of the lacrosse team and I was actually kind of interested to see how he handled a kid. Especially if that child was with me. Now, don’t take that as an I’m-Ready-To-Mother-Children-With-Him because that is totally not what I’m saying. I’m saying I’m interested to see where our relationship would be if there was a child involved. But I in no way want his child, not right now anyway.
Mr Hoke wheeled the cart of babies into the class room and stood at the board, writing down names and numbers on the board so we knew which baby to take and who our partner would be. I looked at Tyler who was sitting a table away with his friend Jacob and the two were snickering and jabbing at each other with elbows. For a senior, he was very immature. I adjusted the tie of my uniform, it had a notorious habit of strangling me, and looked back at Mr Hoke as he finished writing half the names on the board. He was a roundish man, a little stocky but not far, not entirely anyway, and unlike most male teachers at Northland he had a full head of thick black hair. I think he was Italian. He wore those ugly floral shirts and khaki shorts, no matter the weather. Despite the students have a dress code, the teachers seemed to get away with anything they felt comfortable to wear. Northland had high expectations for their students, you would think those expectations would have extended to its teachers.
"Alright my little ducklings," Mr Hoke almost cooed as he turned around and dusted his chalky hands on his shorts. He had a habit of giving us all weird pet names like ducklings or kittens, I had no idea why. “Today we’re going to assign families, now you’ll have these state-of-the-art robo-babies for two months and will have to make a schedule and keep a journal of the baby’s adventures as your own child. I’ve already made the pairs,” there was a collective groan, “Sometimes you don’t get to pick your baby daddy,” he responded holding his hands up. “You’ll have to learn to work with your partner and help this child grow. Now, of course, it won’t physically grow- but how could would that be!?- but it will log the hours you feed it, how long it took you to tend to a cry or a noise, and how long it took you to soothe the baby when it cries.” This project already seemed beyond Tyler’s scope of understanding. Mr Hoke ran a muscular hand through his thick hair as his dark green eyes scanned the classroom. They landed on Eli and I glanced over to the girl who was already taking notes.
Eli Knight, top of the class and teacher’s pet in every course she’d ever been in. Her light blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she peeked out from under her bangs at Mr Hoke as he smiled and looked over the class again. I looked away from Eli to the teacher as he stepped up to the cart of babies and absently gestured over his shoulder at the board. The names on the board were split between girls and boys but our partners weren’t listed, just the number of the baby we got. My name was listed and the number 5 stared at me. I had a problem with 5s, they were bad luck to me. Like Natalie Portman in that movie where she had a baby in a Wal*Mart.
"If you see your name on the board, come on up and tell me the number associated with your name, Tyler that means the number next to your name," he teased and the class chortled in response while Tyler glared. Okay, so my boyfriend wasn’t known for being the brightest bulb in the chandelier but he wasn’t stupid. He just wasn’t- well the brightest bulb. I blamed the hard hits on the lacrosse field.
The students stood from the tables set up in the class but I remained seated. I glanced absently around the classroom, the blue and green clad students in their fine uniforms, and the parenting posters in Mr Hoke’s class. He had some cliche motivational posters too, like the kitten hanging on the limb that had the bubble letters reading Hang In There! and a poster of the growth of a child in the womb at various stages of development. I ran my long fingers over the braid at the crown of my head and tucked the end further under my long red hair, making sure the pins were still in place and tight to my head.
"Ms Summers," Mr Hoke called and I looked at him with brows raised questioningly. He held up the last robot and I frowned.
Of course- the grill baby.
In Mr Hoke’s parenting course, you’re given a baby doll. One of those life like baby dolls that cry and eat and poop, it’s gross and they’re ugly as hell. One was missing an eye, another looked like someone put it on the bar-b-que and tried to grill it. Luckily, I had the class with my boyfriend Tyler. He was captain of the lacrosse team and I was actually kind of interested to see how he handled a kid. Especially if that child was with me. Now, don’t take that as an I’m-Ready-To-Mother-Children-With-Him because that is totally not what I’m saying. I’m saying I’m interested to see where our relationship would be if there was a child involved. But I in no way want his child, not right now anyway.
Mr Hoke wheeled the cart of babies into the class room and stood at the board, writing down names and numbers on the board so we knew which baby to take and who our partner would be. I looked at Tyler who was sitting a table away with his friend Jacob and the two were snickering and jabbing at each other with elbows. For a senior, he was very immature. I adjusted the tie of my uniform, it had a notorious habit of strangling me, and looked back at Mr Hoke as he finished writing half the names on the board. He was a roundish man, a little stocky but not far, not entirely anyway, and unlike most male teachers at Northland he had a full head of thick black hair. I think he was Italian. He wore those ugly floral shirts and khaki shorts, no matter the weather. Despite the students have a dress code, the teachers seemed to get away with anything they felt comfortable to wear. Northland had high expectations for their students, you would think those expectations would have extended to its teachers.
"Alright my little ducklings," Mr Hoke almost cooed as he turned around and dusted his chalky hands on his shorts. He had a habit of giving us all weird pet names like ducklings or kittens, I had no idea why. “Today we’re going to assign families, now you’ll have these state-of-the-art robo-babies for two months and will have to make a schedule and keep a journal of the baby’s adventures as your own child. I’ve already made the pairs,” there was a collective groan, “Sometimes you don’t get to pick your baby daddy,” he responded holding his hands up. “You’ll have to learn to work with your partner and help this child grow. Now, of course, it won’t physically grow- but how could would that be!?- but it will log the hours you feed it, how long it took you to tend to a cry or a noise, and how long it took you to soothe the baby when it cries.” This project already seemed beyond Tyler’s scope of understanding. Mr Hoke ran a muscular hand through his thick hair as his dark green eyes scanned the classroom. They landed on Eli and I glanced over to the girl who was already taking notes.
Eli Knight, top of the class and teacher’s pet in every course she’d ever been in. Her light blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she peeked out from under her bangs at Mr Hoke as he smiled and looked over the class again. I looked away from Eli to the teacher as he stepped up to the cart of babies and absently gestured over his shoulder at the board. The names on the board were split between girls and boys but our partners weren’t listed, just the number of the baby we got. My name was listed and the number 5 stared at me. I had a problem with 5s, they were bad luck to me. Like Natalie Portman in that movie where she had a baby in a Wal*Mart.
"If you see your name on the board, come on up and tell me the number associated with your name, Tyler that means the number next to your name," he teased and the class chortled in response while Tyler glared. Okay, so my boyfriend wasn’t known for being the brightest bulb in the chandelier but he wasn’t stupid. He just wasn’t- well the brightest bulb. I blamed the hard hits on the lacrosse field.
The students stood from the tables set up in the class but I remained seated. I glanced absently around the classroom, the blue and green clad students in their fine uniforms, and the parenting posters in Mr Hoke’s class. He had some cliche motivational posters too, like the kitten hanging on the limb that had the bubble letters reading Hang In There! and a poster of the growth of a child in the womb at various stages of development. I ran my long fingers over the braid at the crown of my head and tucked the end further under my long red hair, making sure the pins were still in place and tight to my head.
"Ms Summers," Mr Hoke called and I looked at him with brows raised questioningly. He held up the last robot and I frowned.
Of course- the grill baby.