"It'll be fine, I just o expin to her why we're here today so she doesn't get the wrong idea," I assured Kat after thinking about it for a few seds.

  "Okay, if you say so," Kat said, drinking from her milkshake, smiling strangely.

  "Yes I say so," I said, somewhat less vinced. "But enough of that, tell me, do you want to make music at some point?" I quickly ged the subject.

  "Why would you say something like that?" Kat asked nervously, coughing a little as my question seemed to catch her off guard while she drank her milkshake.

  "I don't know," I sarcastically replied, pretending to think of a reason. "Possibly because of how much you enjoy music?" I asked ironically, making Kat roll her eyes with annoyance.

  "I don't know, I mean, I really like music, yes, but make my own music?" Kat seemed to be thinking about the idea with a troubled expression as she shook her head slowly.

  "Why not?" I asked intrigued. "Gabe, my younger brother, is the only other person I know who enjoys music like you, and he loves pying his guitar," I expined, remembering my younger brother. "He's even taking csses," I tinued before taking a sip of my milkshake.

  "Do you have a brother besides Teddy?" Kat asked, ging the subject.

  "Oh yeah, Gabe is here's also one more on the way; Mom's pregnant," I happily said, not realizing Kat's subtle way of ging the versation wait. "Hey!, don't ge the subject," I reprimahe teenager, pointing at her now somehow disappointed face.

  "What's wrong with all of you not talking about dreams?" I asked, genuinely puzzled, first Regina and now Kat. "I'll tell you mine," I decisively said. "It's that I'm studying really hard to bee a doy dream is to someday make a big differen someone's life, and in my opinion, there's no greater differehan saving someone's life," I admitted shamelessly.

  "Now it's your turn," I leaned ba my seat, sipping calmly from my milkshake, waiting for Kat to gain enough fidence.

  Sighing with closed eyes, Kat nodded. "Okay, yes, I would like to make music," as if expeg a ive rea, she closed her eyes tightly, shrugging her shoulders.

  Surprised by her behavior, I tinued sipping my milkshake; it really tasted good, I should e here more often. In the silence caused by Kat's anticipation of my rea, only the sound of slurping was heard, at least at our table.

  Opening her eyes, "You're not going to make fun of me?" she asked, seemingly genuinely intrigued.

  "Why would I? I mean, thinking about it, what I said is much funnier, 'making a big differen someone's life,' who do I think I am, a superhero?" I sarcastically said, making Kat ugh.

  "At least you're doing something to pursue your dream, heck, even your brother is putting in more effort than I am," the teenager said sadly, stopping ughing.

  "Everyone does things at their own pace; Gabe's might be taking csses to improve, maybe yours is learning on your own," I said, finishing my milkshake.

  "Are you doh that?" surprised, Kat looked at the empty gss iable. "It was really good," I defensively said, falsely offended by her judicious look.

  "I see that," Kat ughed, taking a sip of her milkshake. "I mean, I already know how to py the guitar, I guess I don't need csses for that, but right now, I'm just writing stuff, just ideas for the moment," she tinued.

  "I bet they're good ideas," seeing my empty gss, I debated internally whether to order another milkshake or not.

  "Careful, I might take your word for it; your car is pretty cool," bitiraw lightly, Kat said pyfully.

  "I'm starting to get attached to 'Debbie,' and I couldn't bet her, I don't know what she would think of me," jokingly, I replied seriously, getting Kat to snain, rolling her eyes. "But aside from 'Debbie,' I'm willing to bet anything else," I said fidently, pushing the empty gss in front of me; I was starting to improve my fitness, I couldn't start to backtrack.

  "Anything?" raising one of her eyebrows, Kat asked seriously.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, "wow Stratford, we're in public, trol yourself," jokingly, I said, falsely embarrassed.

  "What?" practically shouting as she forcefully pced her milkshake oable, almost spilling it, "I didn't mean that, idiot," she quickly tinued, embarrassed, l her voie, avoiding looking at the other people in the donut shop.

  "Then what were you thinking? Pervert," amused by her rea, I asked, squinting my eyes.

  "I was thinking you'd do something embarrassing at school or something silly like that, I don't know," blushing, Kat quickly defended herself, "and don't call me that," she added betedly, clearly unfortable for some reason.

  "I'm sorry," seeing that my ent had affected Kat, I quickly apologized.

  "It's okay, you don't have to apologize for thinking someone would want to do something perverted with you, I'm sure if you ask 'Debbie' nicely, she wouldn't mind," losing her seriousness with a big sarcastic smile, Kat said.

  "She loves me," I defended myself again, falsely offended, eliminating the unfortable momeirely.

  Several mier, amidst pleasant versatioween friends, Kat and I exited the store once more to wait for the girls, as the three hours had ended. Fortunately, we quickly found them on their way to the mall entrance.

  In my car, Kat selected one of the discs she had previously chosen for me. As I turned up the volume, I began to enjoy the music along with the three youeenagers in the back seat.

  I had to drop off all the teenage girls who were not blood-reted to me at their own homes, and since Baja's house was the closest to the mall, that's where I headed first.

  The journey was retively short, or at least it felt that way. Like in the music store, Kat quickly became lost in the lyrid rhythm of the musifectiously captivating the girls in the back seat and somewhat myself, although I had to remain pletely focused on the road, thus not as immersed in the songs.

  Parking in front of Baja's house, I stepped out of the car to adjust my seat and allow the teeo exit as well.

  While waiting outside the car for the girls to bid farewell, my eyes intuitively searched for An's house. Surprisingly, he was in his front yard with his father, both wearing gloves on their hands as they exged blows. It seemed that while An attempted quid, to my inexperienced eyes, hard punches, Mr. Treveiler effortlessly diverted them, swiftly striking my friend whenever he lost bance from his failed attempts, appearing more like a lesson than simple training.

  "Thanks for takio the mall and bringing me back, PJ," Baja said with a slight embarrassed smile, probably thinking it was some kind of trouble.

  "Oh, it's nothing, Baja. I was free, so it's no trouble," I reassured her.

  "Well, thanks anyway. See you ter," she quickly said, possibly still embarrassed, before briskly walking towards her house.

  As I returned my gaze in seary friend and his father, I found the front of their house pletely empty. At some point during my short farewell with Baja, they must have gone baside their house.

  After readjusting my seat, I entered 'Debbie', waiting a few more seds until Baja entered her house and closed the door before turning on the car again, causing the previously silenced music to resume pying through the speakers as we drove off the street shared by my friend An and Baja.

  When we arrived at the Stratford's house, on the sidewalk in front of the house, a car that wasn't there before arked. "Daddy's back," Bianca said from the back of 'Debbie', making Kat sigh lightly, missing me a bit.

  Surely my fusion was visible on my face because Kat felt the o expin, "He's just going to interrogate us about where we've been," she said with annoyanodding towards her sister, "you know, being one of those doctors," she tinued, "an obstetri," I reminded her of the specialty, "yeah, that's it. He deals with a lot of teehers, and he's very ed about anythied to us," she finished expining as if it were an absurd topic.

  "Well, the pertage of teehers in the Uates currently is twelve pert, which means that mathematically o of every ten pregnant women your father treats are teenagers who obviously remind him of you, his teenage daughters," I expined, supp Mr. Stratford's point, as I parked 'Debbie'.

  Unbug my seatbelt, I noticed that, as usual, after I spoke, I caused an awkward silence. "What?" I asked at the strange look Kat was giving me, "you know the pertage of teenage pregnancies, a you didn't know, Queen," she said ironically.

  "I read it in a book," I immediately said, "and e on, I mean, there's a student in our school who's pregnant. It's just healthy curiosity," I quickly tinued, defending myself against the amused teenager.

  Si had also exited the car this time, I used the passenger seat to allow Biand Teddy to exit the back seat before quickly saying goodbye with a hug and parting ways, Teddy taking Kat's previously used seat and Bianca going home.

  Closing the passenger door, Teddy once again symbolically and literally left the eldest Stratford and me in an awkward silence. "I had a lot of fun," I abruptly broke the silence, making Kat ugh lightly. "Yeah, me too," she said as she walked slowly towards her house, "we do it again if you want," I said calmly, to which she snorted amusedly, "yeah, sure, better not," Kat ironically said, surprising me.

  "What, why not?" I asked genuinely intrigued, receiving a furrowed brow, "oh e on, PJ," incredulous, Kat said, "fina? I've told you, I'll expin the misuanding, if there is one, on my own. There won't be any problem; it'll just be a normal outing with friends. I could even introduce you to my other friends; you'll like them," I assured her, "well, you will definitely like An immediately. Brock, David, and Geie might be a bit harder for you to get along with," I tinued, once again causing Kat to snort.

  "It's not a big deal, it's just that they might initially try to flirt with you, but once you get past that, you'll uand that they're amazing people," I said, trying to defend my friends to Kat.

  "I don't know, I don't think it'll be as easy as you make it out to be," Kat said, pressing her lips into a forced smile as she slightly raised her shoulders.

  "At first, no, but when they fet they're hormonal teenagers, you'll like them," I said fidently, "I'm not talking about that, PJ. I highly doubt Regina would be thrilled about the idea," Kat expined, denying it amusingly.

  Before I could debate her point, a shout startled us, "YOU? Stay away from my daughter!" from the door of the Stratford's house, a short, bulky man with a rge bald pat his head stood, surprised, staring at me with incredulity on his face, as if he reized me from somewhere.

  "Oh, e on, Walter, leave them alone," seemingly out of nowhere, Mrs. Stratford appeared beside her husband, pulling his arm as she gave me a big smile, winking one of her eyes and closing the door behind them.

  "Well, that's new," I said, trying to prevent the awkward moment from affeg me too much.

  "Okay, that has to be a sign, see you ter, PJ," embarrassed, Kat quickly closed the short distao her front door, opening it and immediately closing it after entering.

  A sign of what?

  "Sure, see you ter, Kat. Goodbye," I said to absolutely no one, once again somehow aced to people leaving me mid-versation. I walked back to 'Debbie', where Teddy had been waiting for several seds already.

  I couldn't help but think about Kat's abina's rea. I'm sure she would uand, right?

  "Did you have fun?" onside the car, I asked my sister, who was busy looking at the different discs Kat had made me buy.

  "Yeah, the girls and I went to..." Teddy began narrating what they had done ihe mall, which would fill the whole journey home.

  After parking 'Debbie' in front of the house, Teddy and I got out of the car, "thanks for taking us, PJ," Teddy quickly bumped her head into my chest, giviight hug.

  "You're wele, kiddo," hugging my sister back, I replied.

  "Finally you arrived" from the sidewalk on his bicycle Gabe appeared alongside a few kids.

  "Hey Gabe, what are you doing here?" I asked the kid who was ughing with his friends.

  "Mom dropped me off at the Sparks' house," Gabe replied, nodding towards the little chi-boy beside him with his ever-present strange smile. "I'm Billy," he said cheerfully by way of introdu.

  "I know Billy, we've been neighbors for over a month, I took care of you and your sister a few weeks ago," I replied to the strange kid, who furrowed his brow slightly as if trying to remember.

  "Okay," I said, seeing the child getting lost in his memories, returning my attention to my brother, definitely, Billy Sparks needs a psychological check-up. "Go tell Mrs. Sparks that I'm here, and thank her by the way," shaking my younger brother's head, I indicated also nudging the chi-like kid.

  "That kid needs help," Teddy frowned, looking at the grup of kids walking towards the Sparks' house.

  "Yeah," I said amused, pletely agreeing with Teddy.

  Teddy went ihe house on his own while I waited fabe and the long gang of kids following him.

  "Now muns, let's py something," I said as the group of kids returned, making the children cheer happily. I reized some of the faces of kids I had babysat during my grounding weeks and many others from the st time I had pyed with them.

  Several minutes after pying various games, one by ohe kids started relutly saying goodbye before heading home, and fortunately only Gabe and I were left, this time without ara kid.

  "I thought you got tired of me," Gabe said somewhat embarrassed as we walked home.

  "What, why?" I asked surprised.

  "Yeah, you went out aloh Teddy, although you took her with her friends, I thought you'd wao e too, you know, to do something," the little kid said, still embarrassed.

  "Oh, gremlin," I shook my head, ughing, "you and I do lots of things together, lht now," pointing at the street, I referred to the whole gaming session we had with the neighborhood kids, "every m you and I go jogging, and at night we lift weights with dad," I remihe kid of everything we did together, "I think it's only fair that I also do things with Teddy occasionally, you should too, she's your sister too after all," I tinued, squeezing the little kid's head in a sweaty hug.

  Pushing my torso away, Gabe tried to break free from me, "you're right, but I don't know what I could do with her, she's a girl," managing to escape my grip, Gabe added as if it were an obstacle.

  "Yes, she's a girl," imitating his tone, I nodded jokingly, "I'm pretty sure there's something you two enjoy doing, I'll tell you what, how about weekend the three of us do something together without mom and dad?" it could be a good idea to give the adults a little breathing room.

  "Like what?" ied, Gabe asked.

  "I don't know, whatever you want, as long as Teddy agrees," opening the door to the house, I said as I gently pushed my brother inside, "go talk to Teddy, and no fighting or the deal's off," I tinued, getting Gabe excited as he ran to Teddy's room.

  "Knock before entering," I told him, watg as he was about to enter rudely.

  Nodding vigorously, Gabe excitedly knocked on the door before receiving a response aering Teddy's room, closing the door behind him.

  Amused by my little brother's excitement, I headed to the bathroom to off all the sweat that pying with hyperactive kids had caused.

  After ing up, I returo my room to study some books I had taken from the hospital library, getting lost ieresting information while taking notes, I didn't notice the passage of time until I was called for dinner.

  "Hey mom, how was your day?" I greeted the woman who was sitting at the table.

  "Oh, it was a great day, thank you for asking PJ," the woman replied with a big smile, "I heard your day ossibly better than mine," she added with a strange smile.

  "I'm telling you, it's the Dun genes, we're always heartbreakers," ing out of the kit with a big pot in his hands, Bob said proudly.

  Upon hearing the man's ent, I immediately uood the situation, looking at Teddy, who suddenly found her empty pte fasating, I shook my head slowly, "she's a friend, she joined us because her dad has a strange rule about going out with her sister, Teddy's friend," I quickly expined, pointing at my sister.

  "It's not true, Bianca's mom said it portunity for Kat," ign her i in the empty pte, Teddy quickly said with a pyful smile.

  "An opportunity for what?" not uanding, Gabe asked.

  "To get PJ," much more amused, Teddy expined.

  "Okay, enough of that, Kat and I are just friends, nothing more," stopping the now shared smiles of my family, I said, "how was your day dad?" following a move from Kat's pybook, I asked, serving myself spaghetti from the pot to ge the subject.

  "Oh, pretty good, there was a bedbug iion at one of the city's hotels," the man said cheerfully.

  Early the m, like every day, Gabe and I went out for a run. When I returned home after ing myself up, I had breakfast peacefully at the kit table with my siblings and Bob, who was reading with a big smile on his face a special neer. "Everything okay?" I asked as I ate my breakfast.

  "Everything's perfect," the man said with a big smile, giving a thumbs-up sign that only he and I uood.

  As he had signed as a guardian to have the iment at, he received a report monthly about the state of my portfolio, while every week he religiously read a special neer that published the state of certain panies' stock market.

  When we finished our breakfast, mom, still ed in a robe, handed each of us a bag with our lunches inside, giving a kiss on each of her children's foreheads, also kissing her husband before leaving the kit, presumably back to her bed.

  "Who's going to take us to school?" Gabe asked worriedly as he watched his mom leave the kit.

  "Well, noJ has a car, he go to school on his own, and since his mom spends energy for two people, I'll take you to school," Bob drummed his fingers, saying.

  " PJ take me?, it'd be much cooler to ride in his car than in your truck," hopeful, Gabe said, silently supported by Teddy, both ign the sudden attack to Bob.

  "I'm sorry, Scrappy, it would take me too far out of my way," killing the child's hope, I said, shaking my head.

  "Aw, alright, dad's truck it is," the child said sadly, leaving the kit with his backpack, a moment ter followed by Teddy.

  "You don't think my truck is bad, do you, PJ?" hopeful, Bob asked.

  Giving him a pat on the shoulder as an answer, I left the kit, after putting my pte o my siblings' in the sink, to brush my teeth.

  Saying goodbye to the kids and Bob, I headed out to 'Debbie' for school.

  I had never realized how slow Bob's truck could go, despite leaving home basically at the same time every day and still respeg traffic signs, I had arrived much earlier than any other day; the parking lot o the school only had a fearked. At least arriving at this hour would make parking easier; usually, the lot was full.

  Greeting the few people who, like me, had arrived early at school, I reached my locker, allowianize my things for the day with much more silehan I was used to, even allowio read a bit about the uping topics of some csses.

  A few mier, the silence I was enjoying was pletely interrupted by the same daily chatter of dozens if not hundreds of teenagers catg up on their weekends.

  I was no exception. "SuperStar," with a puny shoulder, Brock appeared at my side, cheerfully greeting. "So, yht her," suspiciously, my friend leaned in and asked.

  Quickly uanding what he was talking about, I nodded. "She's in the parking lot," pying along I respoo the ed teenager.

  "Awesome!" excimed Brock. "What's awesome?" David asked as he approached, greeting us.

  "Debbie is in the parking lot," Brock expined with a big smile.

  "Who's Debbie, is she hot?" David quickly asked.

  "Yeah, she's very hot," I quickly affirmed before Brock could remind him that 'Debbie' is a car.

  "Nice," David nodded slowly with a proud smile as he searched through his locker.

  "Haven't we already solved this problem?" Brock asked me, puzzled, in a whisper, keeping his gaze fixed on our friend.

  "Yes," I simply replied, amused.

  A few mier, An arrived, equally calm as every day. It hardly seemed like he had a wild training session the day before, at least in my eyes.

  "Hey," I greeted back my calm friend as he rummaged through his locker, "what's up?" He asked, without taking his eyes off his open locker, before fag me and tilting his head in curiosity.

  "Oh, nothing," I quickly said, averting my fixed gaze from him; I might have been staring at him strangely since he arrived.

  The st to arrive was Geie, who, after greeting everyone, began, much to Brock's and my amusement, along with David, to talk about the possible hot girl I had seen in the parking lot. "Yeah, her name is Debbie," excitedly David said, giving me a weak elbow h a proud grin.

  "Wait, that's the name of his car," Geie broke our amusement and the illusion of David, surprisingly remembering that this had already been discussed.

  After Sheldon arrived, we, mainly me, apahe kid to the first period. The day tinued as usual; at least that was how it seemed until the end of the st period before lunch.

  "Don't you feel a déjà vu?" I said to An, seeing people suddenly starting to look at me while whispering things with their friends.

  "Yeah, seems like you've done something again," An said calmly, not really making a big deal out of it.

  Could it be that everyone already knows?

  "Hey PJ," in one of the hallways, we crossed paths with Kat and one of the two girls I had seen her with before.

  Returning the greeting, Kat discreetly poio her friend, smiling slightly proudly. Reizing immediately the reason behind the proud smile, I smiled ba aowledgment.

  In the cafeteria, we were sitting in our usual spots, having lund discussing weekend pns. Regina and her friends never showed up; surely another cheerleader meeting had taken pce.

  However, what did appear in the middle of lunch was my Vietnamese friend. "PJ Dun, my friend, I saw your car in the parking lot," the boy said with a strange smile, awkwardly attempting to sit o me. I quickly helped him by taking his tray. "Yeah, that's where I left it this m," I replied to the strangely smiling boy, with a hint of sarcasm.

  "You know, I usually use the school bus," Tam quickly said after smiling at everyo the table, "and I live a few streets from your house; I'm willing to walk the remaining stretch," he tinued equally quickly, with a hint of hope in his voice.

  Uanding what the boy was asking discreetly, I assured him, "Sorry, Tam, every day I have to go somewhere before home, and it's in a pletely different dire. Otherwise, of course, I would take you."

  "Really?" apparently also ied iopic, Geie asked disappointedly, "darn, I thought you could give me a ride," my friend tinued upon receiving a positive response.

  "Tam, what are you doing here?" Behind us, carrying a paper bag, Sheldon asked, puzzled, "ur table is free," the boy tinued, pointing to the table where Tam and Sheldon always had lunch together.

  "Sheldon, sit down and have lunch with us on a while," I said to the boy, indig ay seat.

  Surprisingly, Sheldon seemed to sider the idea for a few seds, even seeming like he was about to move to take the seat. "No, thanks," he quickly replied, "let's go," he said to Tam before walking straight to his usual spot.

  After a big sigh and shifting his attention from Sheldon's pletely quiet table to the noisy table where we were, Tam picked up his tray and got up. "Anyway, thanks for sidering it, PJ Dun, my friend," the strange boy said formally.

  "No problem, Tam, and seriously, PJ is just fine," I replied to the boy before he also walked, much less enthusiastically than Sheldon, to his shared table.

  "Weird kid," An said on my other side.

  "He's just very formal," I defehe boy.

  The day passed retively normally; whatever reading through the school during lunch had been fully delivered to ead every student. By the end of the day, I hadn't seen Regina or her friends in any of the hallways between csses.

  Outside the school, I immediately reized a luxurious car parked on the main street. With the rear window open, Regina's annoyed face peered out, staring straight ahead for some reason in the car without moving.

  As I reached the side of the car, I leaned in slightly. "Hi Regina, haven't seen you all day. Hi, Mrs. Gee," I said, approag the window.

  "Hi, PJ!" Mrs. Gee cheerfully replied with a high-pitched tone.

  "Mom!" Regina suddenly excimed, reproag her mom.

  "Oh, sorry, honey," the woman replied apologetically, quickly turning her body back to face forward.

  "I don't know what you heard today, but if it's about Kat, we were just there as friends. Her sister and my sister are friends and wao go to the mall, so I took them. Kat's parents made her e to look after her sister," I expined, waiting for aion from the girl.

  Still staring ahead, Regina sighed before rolling up the car window a few seds before swiftly accelerating out of the school grounds dangerously. "Thanks for uanding and not believing in stupid rumors," I said again to no one.

  Turning to walk to the parking lot, I found a rge number of people looking at me while discussing things in whispers with their friends. Somehow, I was fag a small audience.

  Ign the still lingering gazes of the people around me, I walked to 'Debbie,' quickly getting into the car and starting the engine; now even more people were watg me.

  When I was far enough from the school, I let out a sigh I didn't realize I had been holding sihe beginning.

  As in the m, I arrived surprisingly earlier than usual at the hospital, apparently much earlier than Mom, as I couldn't see her car parked in the usual spot. After greeting each of the the hospital reception, I walked towards House's office.

  "Kid, are you still giving spohs and cutting nails, or you help with something?" House called out loudly from one of the hallways.

  "Ha ha very funny," I chuckled falsely as I approached the doctor, who was standing with Doctor Wilson. "If you two little girls are dog up, we go. I have something to show you," House said seriously after Doctor Wilson and I exged greetings cordially, walking to one of the hospital wings.

  Maternity wing.

  ---

  Author Thoughts:

  As always, I'm not Ameri and Not a Doctor.

  Almost 5k words.

  A few things:

  As an iive for you to visit the auxiliary chapter in the ents, there's a (very small) spoiler of something I'm preparing for the future (very far iure). I'm saying this now so that possibly in a few years, I e back here ahis. I pn to tinue writing for a long time, so many thanks to those who are still here supp my practice (because that's what this is, practice) for all this 40 chapters.

  That said,

  I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

  Thanks for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.