Weeks passed by quickly, and soon enough I was ten weeks and already starting to show. It didn't look like much, it mostly just looked like I had eaten a big meal right before, and it was easy to hide in loose clothes.
I wore mostly loose dresses, sometimes with sweaters or scarves over to better hide it, or just a loose sweater with jeans, which were a little tight so I opted out of them for the most part. Sometimes I would wear leggings instead of jeans because they were more comfortable.
It surprised me how quickly I started showing, because I hadn't looked like this until I was twenty weeks with Julianne. But different fathers meant different pregnancies.
Soon enough, I was fifteen weeks and trying desperately to keep the bump hidden. It was thankfully winter, so I was usually able to wear thick jackets to cover it up, but I was also always dying of heat so that usually failed inside of the classroom.
I'm pretty sure most of the time the kids could see the bump, but the sweaters and dresses were loose enough to where it just looked like I had eaten a big lunch or put on a little weight, which was not how it looked without the loose clothes.
But then Wednesday came. I'd been meaning to do laundry, but I was so wiped out I couldn't. And I realized that morning that I should've tried, because everything I had left accentuated the baby bump instead of hiding it.
"Juggie, I have a problem," I say to him as I stare into the closet.
"What is it, lovey?" Jug asks, walking behind me and wrapping his arms around me.
"I didn't do laundry and now I'm left with all this maternity crap," I say.
"Um, okay, let's figure this out," Jug says, and we start digging through the closet.
Finally, we find a loosish floral dress, and I put it on.
"Well..." Juggie trails off.
"Covers it better than this other stuff," I reply, staring at my reflection in the mirror.
It was obvious. Not from the front, but from the side. And it didn't even look like weight gain, because it wasn't proportionate to the rest of my body. It looked like a baby for sure, especially because it was low. Like, really low.
"Here, put the sweater over, maybe it'll hide it better" Jug says, handing me a black sweater.
I put it on, and button it, sighing. "I still look just as pregnant," I say.
"It's all we got right now," Jug tells me, and shrugs.
"Yeah," I sigh.
All throughout the day I could feel the eyes on my stomach, the quick glances from the more introverted students and the stares from the bold ones. I ignored it, however, and taught as usual.
I knew I should tell them soon, so I decided on the next Monday, at the end of class, so that they wouldn't have time to ask me a ton of questions, just enough to hear what I had to say and leave.
JB's pov at lunch
"Hey!" my friend Lynlie calls as she walks over to where Alex and I are sitting with our other friends Kasyn and Sawyer.
"Hey, Lyn," I smile as she sits next to me. "How's your day going so far?" I ask.
"Pretty good I guess. Have you had Miss Cooper yet today?" She asks.
"Yeah, I have her first period," I answer.
"Have you guys?" She asks Alex, Kasyn, and Sawyer.
"They haven't, but I have," Kasyn says as she points to Alex and Sawyer.
"Okay, don't judge me on this, but I think she might be pregnant," Lynlie says cautiously, having no idea that she's my brother's wife and Alex and I know her outside of school.
I hear coughing and turn from Lynlie to Alex, who is choking on his water.
"Oh shit, you okay?" Lynlie asks him.
"Yeah," Alex coughs,"I'm fine."
"Anyways, what do you guys think?" Lynlie asks when Alex stopped coughing.
I clear my throat, trying to think of a response.
"I don't know, I mean it's kinda looked like it for a while in most things she wears, and mood swings, and some days she's glowing and others she looks sick, and that time she threw up-" Kasyn says before I cut her off.
"That was, like, a week into school," I say.
"Still. I mean, if she's showing, and as much as she was today, then she's gotta be at least fourteen weeks," Lynlie says. I just shrug, looking down and playing with my food.
"What do you think, JB?" Kasyn asks me.
"Um... well..." I stutter as I think of what to say. "I think... I- I mean, yeah, I saw- I could see the baby bump, and, you know, mood swings and stuff... but I don't think it's our business... I mean, if she is, that's- that's great- amazing, that's amazing for her, but I mean, you know, if- if she's not, we shouldn't ask, because that's rude... and if she is, we still shouldn't ask, because maybe there's a reason she hasn't said anything- like, complications or something," I explain, flustered.
"You okay, JB?" Sawyer asks me, giving me a confused look.
"Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I say.
"Okay..." Lynlie says, giving me a weird look. "I think she is. I mean, the dress pretty much accentuated it. And so did the sweater. I mean, her stomach also didn't match up proportionately to the rest of her. When she had her hand behind her head, it pulled up the sweater and you could see there was a gap of space between where her boobs end and where the bump starts, that's not natural. It definitely looked like the shape of a baby bump," Lynlie explains.
"Mm," I say, twisting my hands around in my lap.
"Alex, I know you don't have her but have you seen her?" Kasyn asks Alex.
"No- well, I mean, I've seen her before, but not today," Alex says unsurely.
"Oh. Well, keep an eye out," Lynlie tells him.
"You know what, I have her right after lunch, why don't you come walk with me to class, then we can both see her and judge for ourselves," Sawyer suggests to Alex.
"Um... y- yeah, sure, of course," Alex agrees.
"Ooh! You know what else? She had her arm or hand on, under, or above her stomach the whole time," Kasyn adds in.
"Oh, she's definitely pregnant," Lynlie says.
"Probably," I nod, staring into space.
"Okay, dude, if we leave now we can even have a conversation with her," Sawyer says as he stands up.
"Hey, let's all go," Kasyn suggests.
"Oh yeah, good idea," Lynlie agrees, standing up as well. "You coming, JB?" she asks.
"I have nothing better to do," I joke as I nervously stand up and Alex and I trail behind the other three.
We don't talk, just in case the others are listening, but exchange knowing looks. While Lynlie, Sawyer, and Kasyn were guessing if the teacher was pregnant or not, Alex and I were planning out names for that baby she was gonna have in six long but short months because that would be my niece or nephew.
"Here, let's go," Sawyer says when we get to Betty's classroom.
Lynlie stands in front and knocks on the door. She's the most extroverted out of all of us, so it makes sense.
Betty opens the door, her face confused when her eyes land on the five of us, and she quickly looks behind her before stepping out of the way to let us in.
She and Jughead were having lunch together, and I quickly walk to Jughead and whisper a quick "sorry."
"Hi, Miss Cooper. And Mr. Jones," Lynlie smiles politely at them.
"Hi, Lynlie," Betty smiles back.
"Hey, Miss Cooper," Alex says quietly.
"Oh, hi. I don't believe you're in any of my classes, are you?" Betty asks him, knowing full well he isn't.
"No, I'm not. My name is Alex," Alex says, smiling.
"Hi, Alex. Nice to meet you," Betty smiles warmly.
"Hi, Miss Cooper," Alex replies.
"I think I know the rest of you. Kasyn, Sawyer, and JB, correct?" Betty asks , pointing to each of us. I nod in response. She's good at pretending Alex and I aren't with her almost every weekend.
"I have Alex, and JB, and Kasyn, but I don't believe I have you two," Jug says.
"No. I'm Lynlie, and that's Sawyer," Lynlie introduces.
"Ah, I believe JB has mentioned you two before," Jughead smiles. They know we're siblings, but know nothing about Betty or Juju. Or the baby Betty's carrying right now.
"So, why're you five in here in the middle of lunch?" Betty asks us.
I turn to Lynlie, expecting her to have good reason, but instead, Kasyn speaks. "We think you're a really interesting person and want to get to know you better," she lies.
Betty raises her eyebrows and nods, glancing at Alex and I. I apologize with my eyes before I look to Lynlie's, Sawyer's, and Kasyn's eyes, which are all focused on Betty's stomach, and the baby bump that was there.
"Mm. Actually, now that I think about it, JB, I need to talk to you about a missing assignment you have," Betty says, and walks towards me.
"Oh, yeah," I agree.
"Here, let's go outside," Betty says, and walks me out the door.
"I'm sorry," I whisper once the door is closed.
"They know, right?" Betty asks me.
"Yeah. If it makes it better, I didn't tell them. Neither did Alex. We just kinda said that if you are, it's great for you but it's not our business. And all they have is a theory," I tell her.
"Figures," Betty says, glancing down at her swollen stomach which she has both of her hands on.
"If I can ask, why'd you wear that? No offense, but it accentuates the bump instead of hiding it," I say.
Betty chuckles slightly. "I haven't done laundry for a while. Trust me, this hides it better than anything else I had in my closet," she sighs. "Okay, let's go back in now," she says after a pause.
"Okay," I say, and follow her back in.
"Got it all cleared up," Betty smiles.
"Good," Sawyer nods, looking suspiciously at me. I smile back, pretending I didn't see it.
"So, as I was saying, how are your families doing?" Lynlie asks Betty and Jughead sweetly.
Betty raises her eyebrows at Jug, who then speaks. "Good, good. Well, you guys know JB, and obviously she's doing fine. Then our dad, he's great. And our mom- well, haven't heard from her in a few months, but I assume she's doing well," Jug answers.
"That's good. Miss Cooper, how's your family?" Kasyn asks.
"Fine. My mom's great, she recently moved since she realized that I'm not gonna move back home, loves her new house. My sister lives in San Francisco with her fiancé, and they're doing well. My brother is getting married in three weeks, so w- I'm flying out in two weeks to help with some final preparations then to watch, obviously," Betty informs us. But really, I already knew. I'm going too, and so is Jug and our dad. I can't bring Alex, but he knows as well.
"Oh, that's nice," Sawyer says.
"Where does your brother live?" Lynlie asks.
"Well, he lives about two hours away, but his wedding is gonna be in Hawaii," Betty says.
"Oh, that's so cool!" Kasyn says, genuinely happy and excited.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Betty smiles.
"Do either of you want kids?" Lynlie asks them, and it's Jughead's turn to raise his eyebrows and look at Betty.
"Yeah, three, maybe four. Not anytime soon, though, I need to meet the right guy," Betty smiles, subconsciously placing a hand on her growing stomach.
I can tell Lynlie, Sawyer, and Kasyn caught it, and are mentally freaking out.
"I definitely want kids. Three. Sometime in the future, you know, maybe a few years from now," Jughead says, putting emphasis on three and looking at Betty as he says it. She just rolls her eyes.
"Hm. Do you like coffee?" Kasyn asks.
"Not really. Too bitter, and adding cream and sugar just isn't worth it for me," Betty answers.
"I love it, it's the only thing that gets me through the day sometimes," Jug laughs.
"Good to know," Sawyer says. The bell rings.
"Bye," I say to them, and get out of the classroom as quickly as possible.
The next day
When I get to class, I can see Betty is covering up her bump much better, wearing a thick sweater buttoned lower than yesterday's over a dress. It hides the bump to the point where it doesn't even look like there is one.
"Good job. I can't see it at all," I tell her as I leave the room.
"Monday," she says back, smiling.
Lynlie, Sawyer and Kasyn just have to wait until Monday. Three and a half days.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Kinda based off of my own experiences. Also I love the name Lynlie.