Otis had been wrecking his brain all night, trying to find the right words to tell Ola about his mom's pregnancy. He wasn't sure why he had suggested telling Ola, who was then supposed to tell her father. This was a very high school way of handling what was a very adult situation but he'd promised to be a better person and son so he was doing what he had to. Somewhere around 3am, Otis had decided that the words would come to him in the moment and what he really needed was sleep.
"Morning." Otis said, walking into the kitchen and giving his mother a kiss on the cheek.
"Morning darling." Jean said, taking a sip of her orange juice.
"How are you feeling?" Otis asked, taking a seat across from Jean at their small dining table.
"Alright, you?" Jean asked.
"Okay. I'm planning on telling Ola today." Otis said.
Jean responded by choking on her juice.
"Mom! Are you okay?" Otis asked, the worry evident in his voice.
"Yeah. I just wasn't expecting you to tell her so soon." Jean said, between coughs.
"Yeah, I figured the sooner I did it, the better it was." Otis said.
"Yeah I guess you're right. Do you know what you're going to say?" Jean asked.
"Not really, I'm hoping the words come to me, when I meet her." Otis said.
"I know this is an uncomfortable situation for you, but thank you for doing this." Jean said.
"Of course." Otis said.
"Have you heard from Maeve? I hope I didn't scare her off with my antics at dinner this weekend." Jean said.
"Yeah I have, we've basically been talking no stop. You didn't do anything; we actually ended up having a much-needed conversation because of some of the advice you gave during dinner. So thank you." Otis said with a smile.
"Oh I'm glad. Was it the part about fighting your insecurities? That always works." Jean said, with a smug look on her face.
"Yeah it was actually." Otis said with a laugh. He hadn't seen Jean seem so at ease in a while and it made Otis happy to see Jean be herself. He didn't always say it but he knew he had an outstanding mother and he knew it was time for him to step up for her, the way she had for him all his life.
"I'm going to be taking a break from coming to your school for a bit. I want to rest, while I can. Also, I'm worried someone will figure out I'm pregnant and it'll spread before Jakob finds out." Jean said.
"Normally I would say you're being paranoid but with the kind of luck we've had with you and my school, I think it's the right call. I should get going, don't want to be late." Otis said.
"Have a good day darling." Jean said, calling out after Otis as he left.
Otis and Eric rode to school together in silence. Otis was debating whether he should tell Eric about his mom's pregnancy before he tells Ola. He loved Eric, Eric was Otis' best friend but he was also the worst secret keeper in the history of the world and maybe telling him would do more damage than good.
"Okay, what's going on?" Eric asked, as Otis and he parked their bikes at school.
"What do you mean?" Otis asked.
"You've been completely silent and super broody this entire time. You only get like this when something is bothering you. Was it dinner with your mom and Maeve? Did it not go well? I've been meaning to ask you but your super sad exterior made me want to wait." Eric said.
"Dinner was fine." Otis said, trying to be as cryptic as possible.
"Oh my god, did you and Maeve get into another one of your weird fights? How are you guys this bad at being in love with each other!?" Eric asked, looking like he was in physical pain at the thought of dealing with another Motis fight. He was also in pain because he had just referred to Maeve and Otis as Motis in his head.
"Maeve and I are fine, we're actually pretty good." Otis said, slightly annoyed at Eric directly assuming that Maeve and he were in a bad place.
"Then what is it?" Eric asked.
Otis knew that Eric was not going to let him go until he told him what was going on, so Otis decided to reluctantly give in. "Okay, you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Do you promise?" He asked.
"Yeah of course." Eric said, the excitement etched on his face.
"My mom is pregnant." Otis said.
"With whose child!?" Eric asked, a little too loudly.
"Jakob." Otis said, with a look that asked Eric to shut up.
"Isn't that Ola's dad?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, they used to date, remember?" Otis asked.
"Oh yeah, this is juicy!" Eric said.
"What the fuck Eric?" Otis asked, getting annoying mostly because he had no idea what the fuck juicy meant in this context.
"Okay I'm sorry. How are you doing?" Eric asked.
"I'm fine but Jakob doesn't know so I offered to tell Ola who could tell Jakob or at least warn him." Otis said.
"That sounds like a bad idea." Eric said.
"Yeah well I want to be supportive." Otis said.
"That's sweet. When are you going to tell her?" Eric asked.
"Today." Otis said.
"Good luck! Here she comes!" Eric said.
"Hey guys!" Ola said.
"Hey look it's Ola!" Eric said in a squeaky voice.
"Yup." Ola said awkwardly.
"You alright?" Eric asked.
"Ola, can I chat to you for a second?" Otis asked.
"Sure, see you Eric." Ola said, walking away with Otis.
"I was thinking we can just talk in the health classroom, we have health in first period anyway." Otis said.
"Okay sure." Ola said.
Otis felt like passing out. He had always been someone who got anxious about things other people were calm about. He'd never really talked about it with anyone because he wasn't sure how to articulate it apart from calling it a perpetual feeling of impending doom. But lately that feeling had gotten worse and he could feel it reaching a fever pitch. He felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack, so he began focusing on his breath, the way his mom used to tell him to as a child. It felt like for those few moments, he got away from the world, a place that more often than not felt scary to him.
"Are you okay? You look pale, paler than usual." Ola said, once they'd reached the classroom.
"I'm worried about telling you about something." Otis said, surprised by his own honesty.
"Is everything okay?" Ola asked.
"Yeah, I just don't know how you'll react." Otis said, finally feeling a little calmer.
"Just lay it on me. I know we have a weird dynamic that we're still navigating but you can tell me anything Otis." Ola said.
"Okay, I'm just going to blurt it out then." Otis said.
"Okay, take your time." Ola said.
In the meantime, Ruby and Isaac had collected outside the classroom.
"Why aren't you going inside?" Ruby asked.
"Because Ola and Otis are in the middle of an intense conversation." Isaac said, peeping into the room.
"So?" Ruby asked.
"I'm giving them privacy." Isaac said.
"No you're not. You're trying to eavesdrop." Ruby said, joining Isaac in trying to listen in.
Back in the classroom, Otis still hadn't said anything.
"Otis?" Ruby asked, trying to get my attention.
"My mom, she's pregnant, with your dad's child." Otis said.
"SHE'S PREGNANT?!" Ola asked, at the top of her voice.
"Yeah but Jakob doesn't know." Otis said.
"Oh wow. I think I need to sit down." Ola said, pulling a chair.
"I told you because I was hoping you could calmly talk to Jakob about it or at least make it easier for my mom to tell him. They've been going through a rough spell lately. I also didn't want you to find out from someone in school." Otis said.
"Wait, who all know?" Ola asked.
"Maeve, because my mom told me in front of her at dinner this weekend and Eric because he got it out of me." Otis said.
"So, that's why Eric was being weirder than usual around me." Ola said.
"Yeah." Otis said.
"How do you feel about it?" Ola asked.
"Weird but I'm trying to focus on being there for my mom. You?" Otis asked.
"Same." Ola said.
"I know this is complicated, even for us but I think we can make it work. I promise not to be a dick this time." Otis said.
"Yeah I think we can. I guess congratulations are in order." Ola said, giving Otis a hug.
"To you too. Can't believe we're going to share a half sibling." Otis said, hugging Ola back.
Otis was washed over with a feeling of relief, Ola had been super cool about everything, which made sense since Ola was always super cool but Otis was genuinely scared about how this conversation would go down.
Calm wasn't exactly what Ruby and Isaac were feeling. All they had heard was Ola screaming she's pregnant and then had watched her give Otis a congratulatory hug.
"So wait, does that mean Maeve's pregnant?" Ruby asked, turning to Isaac.
Isaac was frozen; he could feel tears forming in his eyes.
"Isaac? Hello?" Ruby asked.
"We can't know for sure she is!" Isaac said, defensively.
"I mean yeah sure but it sounds like it." Ruby said.
Before Isaac could say anything else, the bell rang. Ruby didn't say anything and walked into class. Isaac stayed where he was as students moved past him and into the classroom. He felt like the world had come crashing around him. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen, Maeve and he were supposed to be together. She wasn't supposed to be having Otis' child. For the first time, he didn't know what to do, he felt utterly lost and he had no one to turn to.
