Drama Momma (Surprisingly Perfect Sequel)

This Is Me

Hudson Prep was different. It was different in every way, shape, and form from my old school. But most importantly, it was different because Destiny wasn't there. My classes were tougher than I expected, and we didn't have a marching band. We didn't even have a band.

The whole thing sucked, because goofing off with Destiny during band class was the best part of my day. There was a "band teacher" who did one-on-one lessons with us once a week. It still counted as a music credit, so thankfully it got me out of choir. Poppy doesn't sing.

I found myself trying to branch out to the sixty kids in my grade, but everyone sort of had their own cliques already. No one really wanted to be friends with the brand-new pregnant girl.

That was why I was here, sitting in this big circle in this classroom at three-thirty on a Thursday. My guidance counselor recommended I join STRONG (I had no idea what the letters stood for) to meet other struggling high-schoolers that had a bunch of shit going on and couldn't make friends.

I thought this would be a small group, but the classroom was full. Twenty-two desks were put into a big circle. I was sitting sideways because like Chrys a year ago, my belly couldn't fit into a desk.

"Alright, and you're next," said the teacher supervising, Miss Peaches.

She was an older lady who wore a bright red sweater and had naturally red hair. It was weird, because when I looked at her, she sort of reminded me of a peach. The name fit the person.

"Uh...okay," I said, sitting up a little taller. "Well, I'm Poppy. I'm a sophomore and as you can see, I'm super crazy pregnant."

I got a few laughs, and I smiled before continuing.

"My little girl is due in January, but she's not like every other baby. She has Trisomy Twenty-One, which is Down Syndrome. It's going to be hard and I'm really nervous because I know she'll have extra health problems, but I'm seriously excited and I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait to be a mom."

"You'll love it," said a girl with tan skin and beautiful curly hair a few chairs down from me. "It's hard, but being a mom is amazing."

"I was going to say, you have a lot in common with Marisol over here, Poppy," Ms. Peaches said. "Do you want to go next, Marisol? We don't have to go in a perfect circle. We can skip around."

"Oh, sure," Marisol said. "Well a lot of you guys know me because I've been in STRONG my whole high school career. But for those of you who don't, I'm Marisol, a junior. I have a son, Isaac, who's six months old. His dad isn't around, so I'm doing everything by myself."

"Now everyone, what do we say to Poppy and Marisol for sharing with us?" Miss Peaches asked.

"You are strong," I said with everyone else.

I quickly picked up the jist after the first kid went and gave his life story. It felt really groundbreaking to be around so many other kids who were struggling. Parents not around, parents on drugs, siblings who were teen parents, siblings who had run away—I felt like I had something in common with each of them.

We finished with what Miss Peaches called "circle time." It was the designated time where we could let everything out on the table. Each week we could choose to either share, or not share what was on our mind.

If there was ever any time left after circle time, we could pair off and play games or look at our phones. I sat at the table in the back and opened up my texts. Chase was planning something big and special for our anniversary next week.

Since I got pregnant, I lost most of my babysitting clients. One even told me I was a "bad role model" for her kids. So long story short, I was low on funds. I was scrolling through cheap travel mugs that said "world's best dad."

"Hey, it's group activity time." I looked up and saw Marisol, her arms crossed over her Hudson Prep blazer. "Last time I checked, looking at your phone alone wasn't a group activity."

"I, uh—"

She pulled up a chair and sat right across from me. "Don't be so shy about everything. You don't look like a shy girl. Not one bit."

I smiled. "It's my first week in a brand new school. Cut me some slack."

"I'll give you some props for showing up, that's for sure," she said. "A lot of girls drop out when they get pregnant. Happened to my best friend at the end of last year. She said she'd be back. She's due in October. First day of this school year comes and she doesn't show up."

"I miss my best friend, too. We used to live on the same street, then we realized we needed a bigger place with the baby coming so we had to move. This is the first time in my whole life that I haven't seen her in weeks," I said. "It sucks."

"Yup. It looks like we both need someone new to hang out with. Might as well start with each other."

I giggled. "That's a good way to put it, especially since we both have babies."

I saw her slowly raise her phone out of her backpack and onto the table.

"Do you want to—"

"Show each other pictures? Yes!" I said, immediately opening up the app with all my photos.

She showed me all the pictures she had of Isaac. He had the biggest cheeks and he looked just like her. I didn't have much other than my ultrasound and nursery pics, but she loved them all the same.

"Okay ladies, it's time to go," Miss Peaches said.

I looked around and the whole classroom had already emptied out. How long were we talking? I looked up at the clock to see that it was four-thirty. Marisol and I were lost in a conversation about baby stuff for almost an hour.

My phone buzzed. Chrys was waiting out front for me. Marisol and I got up to leave, talking all the way to Chrys's car about the cute things Isaac was doing this morning. I told her about Blaze and Ollie. We talked all the way up to when I had my hand on the door handle of Smushy, Chrys's SUV, and she said she'd see me at lunch the next day. Maybe this whole new school and new life wouldn't be so bad after all.