Sophie sat down for breakfast with her mothers and younger sister and she smiled when Chloe placed two pancakes on her plate.
"Thank you, mamma." Sophie said.
"You're welcome." Chloe said. "Girls, who wants to wake up our very own grumpy teenager?"
"Oh that's right! Today's Char's birthday!" Leslie said.
"Can I go wake her up, mamma?" Sophie asked, face covered in syrup.
"Sure." Chloe said. "Gently, Sophie."
"I promise, mamma. I'll wake her like a little fairy." Sophie said before disappearing upstairs. She knocked on Char's door and when she didn't hear anything, she let herself in. She went to the older girl's bed and poked her lightly.
"Wakey wakey, Char!" Sophie whispered. "You're 13 today and your beautiful aca-family wants to give you an aca-present."
Charlotte groaned. Sophie made herself comfortable sitting by Charlotte on her bed with a sigh.
"I know, it's not good to wake up so early. But mamma has yummy pancakes downstairs ready for you." Sophie said. "We have Aunt Bree and Aunt Tacie coming for lunch, they'll bring you a gift too."
Charlotte turned to her and frowned.
"Sophie, why are you here?" Charlotte groaned again.
"Mamma told me to wake you up." Sophie said.
"Alright." Charlotte sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Do I get presents?"
"Yes of course!" Sophie grinned and hopped off of the bed. "Let's go!"
Sophie held out her hand and Charlotte took it, whining as they made their way downstairs.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Charlotte!
Happy birthday to you!"
Chloe and Beca sang before hugging Charlotte tight. Charlotte groaned a bit before returning the hugs.
"I remember the day I went with your mom to meet you. You were the tiniest, most beautiful baby I'd ever seen. And you fell asleep when I sang Titanium to you." Chloe said, her hands on Char's shoulders. "And ever since then I was just.. completely in love with you. You were such a sweetheart, I loved you from the start. I love you so much, Char. I've always known I had to be your mom too."
Charlotte smiled and hugged Chloe tight.
Beca wiped her eyes at Chloe's speech.
"And then you had me and Leslie and we were also very beautiful, gracious babies and we became a beautiful aca-family!" Sophie said with her arms up. She hugged her mothers and older sister as did Leslie.
Sophie always hated being left out of things, of course she was going to say something.
"Alright, alright. Let's get this girl her present." Beca said. She got a bag hidden in one of the kitchen cabinets and gave it to Charlotte.
Charlotte opened the bag, it seemed like it was just papers, she never got to the real gift. She eventually came face to face with a box. She opened it to see a smaller box and she groaned when her family laughed.
Beca nudged Chloe and the two smiled excitedly at each other.
Charlotte undid the wraps and started squealing loudly when she saw the latest iPhone.
"Oh my God!" She said. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you!"
Charlotte squealed as she hugged her mothers tight.
"Thank you, oh my God!" She squealed.
"We have a few rules for it though." Beca said.
"Of course! Of course!" Charlotte said, way too excited.
"During class, it's off. You must always call us back when we call you and you're only allowed a few social networks, such as Facebook and Snapchat, where we can track you." Chloe said.
"Not even Instagram?" Charlotte asked.
"Oh yes, Instagram." Beca said. "But you must accept us, we're trying to protect you."
"And no cell phone on the table during mealtime and family TV time." Chloe said.
"Or during homework." Beca said.
"Of course! Oh my God, I'm so happy!" Charlotte grinned.
"And if you break any major laws, like if your phone interferes at school, you will have your phone taken away until further notice." Chloe said.
"Okay, fair enough." Charlotte nodded.
"We're giving you a phone because we think you're ready for the responsibility." Beca said. "So you must show us you really are ready for it, because we can take the phone from you and give you your old one back."
"Oh I promise mom, I'll behave." Charlotte squealed.
"Now go put that phone away and let's have breakfast." Chloe smiled and sat down.
"No mamma! I have to give Char my gift too!" Sophie said, standing up and leaving the room.
Chloe and Beca exchanged confused looks before Sophie came back.
"A Kit Kat bar?" Charlotte chuckled.
Sophie looked shy and timid, she pouted and moved from side to side.
"It was all I could buy with my allowance." Sophie said.
Charlotte melted and hugged Sophie tight.
"It's amazing, thank you Sophie!" She said. "I love you Soph."
"I love you too Char." Sophie grinned.
"That was very sweet, Soph. But if you wanted to buy Char a gift, we could've given you money." Chloe said.
"That's okay, mamma. Char's birthday is today." Sophie said.
"Ma, I love it." Charlotte said.
Chloe smiled and her and Beca congratulated Sophie for giving Charlotte a gift with her own money.
"Mom, I woke up with a weird stomachache." Charlotte said.
"If you have a stomachache, maybe you shouldn't eat syrup." Beca said.
"I'll eat pancakes with some bananas and blueberries." Charlotte said with an excited look and grabbed the bowl with bananas and the bowl with blueberries.
"Do you still have the stomachache, honey? If you do, I can give you something for it." Beca said.
"Yeah, I still do." Charlotte groaned.
"So, aside from the pool party with your friends, what else are your plans?" Chloe asked.
"Nothing." Charlotte smiled as her mother gave her a pill for her pain.
Aubrey and Stacie came over for lunch, they gave Charlotte their present, which was two iPhone cases for her new phone, which she loved.
Charlotte spent the afternoon half waiting for her friends, half groaning and holding her stomach in pain.
"Char, why don't you try going to the bathroom?" Leslie asked. "That always works for me."
"I have already gone to the bathroom Leslie!" Charlotte snapped. "Like thousands of times and it doesn't work!"
Leslie pouted and her eyes filled with tears.
"Can you leave me alone?" Charlotte asked.
"I was just trying to help, Char." Leslie said quietly.
"If you want to help me, just stay quiet." Charlotte said.
Leslie sat beside her on the couch as Charlotte held her stomach with a groan.
"Char, mamma sent this." Sophie said, giving her a gel pack wrapped in a towel. It was too hot for her liking but Charlotte put on belly where it hurt and she hummed in appreciation.
"Thank you." Charlotte said.
Sophie sat on Charlotte's other side and just stared at her.
"Why are you two here?" Charlotte asked.
"Because we're a family and we want to take care of you. Do you want some chocolate? It always puts me in a better mood." Sophie said.
"You in a better mood? You're already Santa Claus on Prozac in Disneyland, you're the happiest person in the world, there's no you in a better mood." Charlotte chuckled.
"Thanks Char!" Sophie grinned. "So do you?"
Sophie held out the Kit Kat bar she'd given Charlotte for her birthday.
"Thanks Sophie, let's try." Charlotte grabbed the Kit Kat and opened it.
"You don't have to share it with us, Char. It's your present." Sophie said.
"Good, I wasn't gonna share anyway." Charlotte said, biting the chocolate.
Charlotte wasn't even done with the bar before she set it all aside and went to the bathroom.
"Char is in pain." Sophie said.
"Yeah, but she has a pool party today. That will cheer her up." Leslie said with conviction.
They were quiet for a while until they heard a scream echo throughout the house. Chloe ran to Charlotte's bathroom and knocked on the door.
"Char? Everything okay? What happened?" Chloe asked.
"Can you promise not to freak out?" Charlotte asked.
"Yeah, of course!" Chloe said. "Not unless you just took a pregnancy test and it turned out positive, I won't freak out."
"Well then freak out." Charlotte said.
Chloe rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"So Beca's daughter, what happened?" Chloe asked.
"I need two things." Charlotte said. "One is a new pair of underwear."
Chloe went to the closet and grabbed Charlotte's underwear and stood by the door.
"Second is I wanna cancel my pool party." Charlotte said.
"What but why?" Chloe asked and Charlotte opened the door.
"Underwear please?" Charlotte asked and Chloe handed her.
"Why would you wanna cancel the birthday party? Maya and Alice are coming!" Chloe said.
A little while later, Charlotte opened the door and she looked nervous. She just pointed her belly and made a motion with her hand as if she was letting go of something.
"What?" Chloe asked, confused.
Charlotte groaned and pointed her belly under her navel and made the same motion with her hand but downwards.
"Char, I don't know what that is." Chloe said.
Charlotte walked past her and grabbed her notebook. She scribbled something down and showed it to her mother, becoming pink in the face.
I STARTED MY PERIOD was written in capital letters on her notebook. Chloe's eyes went wide and she grinned.
"What's going on?" Sophie came in and asked.
"Oh my God, honey that's wonderful!" Chloe squealed and hugged Charlotte tight, who looked awkward.
"What? What? What's wonderful? Can I hug Char too?" Sophie asked eagerly.
"Charlotte got her first period!" Chloe said.
"Oh! Congratulations Char for the blood coming out of your vagina!" Sophie said.
"Ew!" Charlotte said. "Don't say it like that, Sophie."
Sophie ignored her sister and hugged her anyway.
"I must call your mom! She's gonna freak!" Chloe said, grabbing her phone.
Beca was out buying things for Charlotte's birthday. Chloe told her their daughter had just gotten her first period and she told her to buy some Midol because they had enough pads.
"She said she'll be awhile but she was dead silent for quite a few minutes." Chloe said.
"I don't understand why you're so excited, ma." Charlotte said.
"Because it is exciting!" Chloe said. "You're finally becoming a woman."
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Wait, what did you do with your underwear? Did you put on a pad?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, I did. And I put my dirty underwear in the hamper." Charlotte said.
"Oh honey, you gotta put it in some water. Grab it and take it downstairs, I'll show you what to do." Chloe said.
It was a little bit long before Beca was home and she came in with two bags from Stop & Shop and put them on the kitchen counter.
"Mommy! You're home!" Sophie threw her arms up, coming into the kitchen.
"Yep, where's Char?" Beca asked.
"She's upstairs. Did you know blood is coming out of her vagina?" Sophie asked.
"Yeah, I wanna congratulate her!" Beca said. "Wait here Soph, I got something else."
Sophie didn't even have time to respond before Beca was out the door again. She came in with a cake, putting it on the table before going to close the front door.
Sophie climbed on a chair to read what the cake read. It was a white cake with blood red lines around it, with "congrats on your 1st period" written on the center, with tampons sticking out of it and boxes of tampons on the sides.
"You got Char a period cake?" Sophie asked when Beca came back.
"Yeah! Don't you love it?" Beca asked. "It's strawberry."
"Can I get a period cake?" Sophie asked.
"When you start your period, yes." Beca said.
"Okay, because I started." Sophie said.
Beca went white and her eyes widened. Sophie laughed.
"I'm just kidding mommy! I'm only 8!" Sophie reminded her.
Beca placed a hand over her heart and sighed as Sophie laughed.
"Let's go find Char." Beca said and her and Sophie went upstairs to find Chloe with Leslie on her lap talking to Charlotte about periods.
"Mommy!" Leslie grinned.
"Hey Leslie!" Beca kissed Leslie's cheek. "Hey babe."
Chloe smiled excitedly and looked at Charlotte, who was going pink again.
"My little girl who's no longer a little girl!" Beca said and hugged her oldest daughter tight. She chuckled when she found herself crying. "I can't believe you're getting so big! And so beautiful!"
Charlotte rolled her eyes as Beca rocked her from side to side.
"I used to hold you in my arms! I used to pray so you'd survive and get out of the NICU as soon as possible." Beca said and pulled apart and wiped her tears. "You might not know this but the fact that you got your first period makes me so happy. Because it means you survived."
Charlotte nodded.
"And I love you." Beca smiled before kissing her cheek. "Come on downstairs I wanna celebrate your birthday with some cake. I got more presents downstairs."
"Let's go see mommy's cake!" Leslie said and they all went downstairs.
Charlotte went beet red when she saw the cake but she couldn't deny she loved it. She asked Beca to take a picture of her with her cake with her brand new phone.
"Beca, why did you buy so many tampons and pads? She started her first period, she's not bleeding uncontrollably." Chloe said.
"You can never have too many tampons and pads, especially in a place with 5 women." Beca said.
"2 women, a teenager who just got her first period and 2 girls who are nowhere near getting their periods." Chloe reminded her.
"I don't know about that mamma, my boobs are gonna grow soon." Sophie said, even though she had a very flat chest.
"Mom, does getting my period now mean I'm gonna be stuck in a B cup my whole life?" Charlotte asked worriedly.
"No, baby, it doesn't. After you get your first period, you still grow and your boobs grow until you're 20 something." Chloe said.
Charlotte looked immensely relieved.
"Mamma, when will I get my period so I can get a period cake and hugs and kisses?" Sophie asked with crossed arms.
"I don't know, it might be 2 years from now, it might be 3 years. We don't know." Chloe said.
"You don't even have breast buds yet, Sophie." Beca said.
Sophie looked down at her very flat chest and frowned.
"Well that's not fair!" She said. "I want breasts and a pretty period cake."
"You want your period? Do you really want blood coming out of your vagina? Staining your prettiest pants and panties?" Beca asked with eyebrows raised.
"Gee thanks mom!" Charlotte said.
"I just want a pretty period cake and these lollipops." Sophie said grabbing a tampon with a pout.
"Sophie, these aren't lollipops, they're called tampons, they're used to stop the bleeding of your period." Charlotte said.
Sophie frowned and let the tampon go. She was just jealous of all the attention her big sister was getting for becoming a young woman. She wanted all that, she wanted to get hugs for growing up.
Beca noticed the tears making their way to little Sophie's face, her mad face never disappeared and she was staring off into space.
"Why don't we sing happy birthday?" Chloe tried changing the subject so Sophie wouldn't cry.
"Yes please." Charlotte said.
They started singing happy birthday and soon it was all forgotten. Chloe cut slices of cake for everyone and they sat at the table to eat it.
"It's very yummy!" Leslie said.
"Yeah this is delicious." Charlotte said.
"Oh great! I was going to get you a happy birthday cake but when Chloe called me I was already at the bakery so I just asked them to change the writing." Beca explained.
"Oh!" Chloe said. "That's why you were so fast!"
"Yep." Beca smiled.
"Alright, Char." Chloe said. "I know you already called and cancelled with your friends but you can still go in the pool."
"How?" Charlotte asked confused.
"Tampons!" Chloe said.
"Oh thanks ma but I'm not quite ready to put a tampon inside me. Nope. Not happening." Charlotte said.
"Yeah babe, this is her first period, she's got time to wear tampons." Beca said. "Which reminds me: I need to schedule an appointment with a gynecologist."
"Try the one Dr. Ava recommended." Chloe reminded her.
"Definitely." Beca said.
"Hey ma, can I make a pizza tomorrow for lunch?" Charlotte asked. "Me alone?"
"Sure, you can make a pizza all by yourself but," Chloe raised her hand, her index finger out. "I'll supervise you because of the oven."
"Cool." Charlotte said. "Thanks!"
"Aww! I remember when you were a toddler and you used to help me and mamma make pizzas." Beca said, tears filling her eyes.
Charlotte smiled, not caring her mom was crying.
"One time we were making the pizza dough and I let you shove it and you stuck your freaking face on the dough!" Beca said. Leslie and Sophie erupted with laughter, Charlotte laughed and went pink while Chloe just chuckled.
"I did that? How old was I?" Charlotte asked.
"Around 2." Beca looked at Chloe for help and the redhead nodded.
"Yeah, you said you wanted the dough to be pretty." Chloe said.
Charlotte laughed.
"Well Sophie sat on a cake." Charlotte said and Sophie crossed her arms and frowned.
"It was an accident!" Sophie said.
"Only because you were freaking dancing on the kitchen table!" Charlotte said.
"Yeah! You did it on purpose! I didn't mean to!" Sophie said.
"I never did anything!" Leslie said and the family went quiet.
"Yeah Leslie you never did anything like that." Beca stopped to think.
"And I never will." Leslie said.
"That's okay, baby, every child does something like this." Beca said. "I colored all over myself when grandma gave me new markers."
"I tripped and fell on a brick when I was 3." Chloe said.
"I taught Leslie how to walk!" Sophie grinned while Charlotte groaned with a chuckle.
"We're talking about embarrassing childhood stories. That's not embarrassing." Charlotte said.
"I know, I just like to remember." Sophie said.
Beca and Chloe chuckled and shook their heads.
oO0Oo
Leslie's reading was improving very fast, her teacher had to give her more advanced books, some were first grade books for her to read. Her math had also improved, she was learning math at a second grade level now.
So her teacher asked to meet with them one afternoon, which worried both Beca and Chloe.
"So, I worked with Leslie this year and she improves fast. She works faster than her classmates." Miss Donovan told them. "I know this isn't what you both want to hear but I feel that leaving Leslie in a school with normal kids wouldn't excite her very much. If you want her to develop her abilities I suggest you move her to a school for gifted kids."
Beca and Chloe looked crushed, like the teacher had just told them Leslie was dying. They sat back and sighed, taking it in.
"Right now, Leslie is 5, she needs to work with students of the first, maybe second grade." Miss Donovan said. "So before we put your 5-year-old in a class full of 7-year-olds, we need to think of her needs."
"Yes, we want Leslie to socialize with kids her age." Beca said.
"Yeah." Chloe agreed. "We don't want her to get into college at 16, unless she really wants to."
"I understand, which is why I think changing schools would be better for her. She doesn't have many friends here, she's not interested in the other kids, she likes the books, the math equations, the English homeworks." Miss Donovan said. "Leslie only talks to someone who's intellectually like her, she's gifted."
The two women slowly nodded.
"I have been working with the school psychiatrist and we both think moving Leslie to another school will be the best for her. A school that can meet her needs, where she'll meet children like her." Miss Donovan said.
Beca sighed and looked at her daughter, who was entertained by putting together a rubik's cube, looking very cute all concentrated in her green/blue glasses.
"We just want our daughter to be normal." Beca said.
"Well I'm sorry but she's not normal, she was born different." Miss Donovan said. "I've worked with kids like her, sometimes we're able to meet their needs but Leslie shows she's different. Each case is different."
"So we should start looking for schools?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, I advise that." Miss Donovan said.
"Okay." Chloe sighed and looked at Beca. "That's what we're gonna do."
"Yep." Beca nodded and looked at Miss Donovan. "Thanks Miss Donovan, we'll look into that."
Miss Donovan smiled at them and they stood up, shaking hands.
Leslie had become bored, seeing she had already solved the rubik's cube and was reading some toddler books.
"Leslie?" Beca called. "Let's go?"
Leslie smiled and followed her mothers. She smiled and waved at her teacher before grabbing her mothers' hands and walking with them to the parking lot.
"Leslie baby we have to talk." Chloe said to her as Beca opened her Audi.
"What about?" Leslie asked, hopping into her car seat.
"Leslie, your teacher says it's best for you to change schools." Chloe said. "To a school for kids like you."
"Kids like me?" Leslie frowned.
"Kids who think differently, kids who can read like you." Chloe tried not to say 'gifted' or anything.
"Oh." Leslie said. "Okay." She shrugged.
"You're okay with that?" Beca asked as she drove out of the spot.
"Yeah." Leslie nodded.
"Okay good." Beca said, relieved.
"Mommy did you know I'm already finishing Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Askaban?" Leslie asked with a grin.
"Really?" Beca asked.
"Yes!" Leslie said.
"Honey, you know you shouldn't read Sophie's books without asking her." Chloe said.
"They're not Sophie's books, Miss Donna lends them to me." Leslie said.
The two women went quiet.
"That's great for you, honey!" Beca said. "What part are you in?"
"Professor Trelawney just made a real prediction." Leslie said. "And Harry is worried."
"I love that part. It's about to get good." Beca said.
The couple weren't only having to deal with Leslie's school issues but Sophie's as well. Turned out, Sophie was ambidextrous and she finished her work before others, so she sometimes disrupted the class. Never anything too severe, but they were worried. Charlotte was the only one who didn't have their parents called in and she bragged about that.
The first thing the two women did when they got home was search for schools for gifted children. They wrote them all down and made appointments to visit them with Leslie over the summer so she could also have an idea.
"Babe, you do realize they're mostly private schools, right?" Chloe asked with a sigh.
"Yes." Beca said in a duh tone. They were alone in the kitchen making coffee. "We have to tell Sophie and Char."
"Yeah." Chloe sighed. "I hope they're not jealous."
"Right." Beca agreed. "But it's gonna be alright."
"I know." Chloe smiled.
oO0Oo
Chloe and Beca sat down with their daughters one summer afternoon to talk about Leslie needing to change schools. Charlotte knew Leslie was gifted, she had been told, Sophie only knew Leslie thought differently. That she read faster and learned faster.
"So girls, we're here because we want to tell you that Leslie will be going to a private school." Beca said.
"Why?" Sophie frowned confusedly.
"Because remember Leslie learns faster? She's going to a school for kids that also learn faster." Chloe said.
"Why can't I go too?" Sophie asked.
The two women were lost. They didn't want to explain exactly because they knew Sophie would be hurt.
"Because the school is not for you, Soph." Chloe said. "You can stay at your school, with your friends, your teachers."
"But I wanna go to Leslie's special school too." Sophie said.
"Soph, kids in the school have brains different than yours." Beca said.
"Are you saying Leslie is smarter than me?" Sophie's eyes full of tears.
"No!" Both Beca and Chloe said.
"I'm not smarter, you know a lot more than me, Sophie." Leslie said, standing up to hug her older sister. "I'm sorry."
Sophie pushed Leslie away and ran upstairs to her room, crying loudly.
Chloe shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She and Beca knew that was going to happen.
"I'll talk to Sophie." Chloe said standing up.
Chloe got in Sophie's room and the redhead was crying sitting on her bed. She saw Chloe and she stopped crying for a while before starting up again.
Chloe sat next to her and sighed.
"Baby, just because Leslie's going to this school doesn't mean she's smarter than you." Chloe said. "Just because Leslie's brain works differently doesn't make you stupid. Leslie was born different."
"She was?" Sophie asked.
"Yes, she's not like most kids." Chloe said. "But it doesn't make you stupid."
Sophie wiped her tears.
"So she's not smarter than me?" She asked.
"No." Chloe said. "She's going to a special school because she has special needs, you don't."
"I get it." Sophie said. "I'm sorry, mamma."
Chloe smiled and hugged her.
"Don't be sorry, I knew this would be tough on you." Chloe said.
Sophie sighed and Chloe kissed the top of her head.
"So let's go back down?" Chloe asked. Sophie nodded and they both went downstairs.
"I'm sorry Leslie." Sophie said.
"That's okay." Leslie said.
"So girls, starting next week, we'll look into schools with Leslie." Beca said.
"Yes, in fact, on Wednesday we'll visit the first school." Chloe said. "And you two will stay with Nikki."
"Ma, when can I be left alone with the younger ones? I can even accept money for babysitting." Charlotte said with a grin.
"Sorry Char, that'll be when you're at least 14." Beca said. "So you can actually use the stove and stuff."
Charlotte pouted.
"Char, you have doctor's appointment tomorrow at 4." Chloe said. "I'm taking you."
"Okay." Charlotte nodded.
"Is Char okay mamma? Does she have a silly tumor too?" Sophie asked worriedly.
"No, honey. Remember that Char got her first period?" Chloe said.
"When blood started coming out of her vagina?" Sophie asked.
"Will you stop saying it like that?" Charlotte asked, turning red.
"Char needs to see a big girl doctor now." Chloe explained.
"Okay." Sophie said. "When will I go to the big girl doctor?"
"We don't know, but not anytime soon, we hope." Beca said.
Sophie pouted but didn't make a big deal of it, which Beca and Chloe were thankful for.
oO0Oo
The first school the couple was visiting was Laurel Springs School. They were given a tour by a lady who explained to them all about the school philosophy about gifted kids, then she interviewed Leslie alone to get to know her.
"At Laurel, the teachers work with each child individually to meet their needs." The lady said.
"Yeah." The two women nodded.
It wasn't long before the visit was over and the women were back in the car.
"So Leslie baby what did you think?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know." Leslie said, fastening her seatbelt.
"Did you like it? Did you not like it?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah Leslie we need to know from you." Beca said.
"I don't really like it." Leslie said.
"That's okay, we have five other schools to look into." Beca said.
Leslie nodded and looked out the window.
"I just want a school with a nice library." She said.
The two women chuckled.
The second school they looked into was in the middle of July, called Le Petit Gan Preschool. They liked the tour but something was off about it, they couldn't pinpoint what.
"So what did you guys think?" Beca asked.
"No, I don't like it." Leslie shook her head.
"Thank God, I didn't want Leslie studying there." Chloe said.
"Why?" Beca asked.
"Well for starters that's a Jewish school, we're not Jewish. We wouldn't fit it." Chloe said.
"Agreed." Beca said. "Next we have is July 27th, called St James Episcopal School."
"A religious school? Really?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah why?" Beca asked.
"Beca, we're a lesbian couple, you know what religious people say, if we enroll Leslie there she'll be brainwashed into thinking we're doing a terrible sin." Chloe said. "I don't want Leslie to grow up a religious fanatic."
"Me neither but we gotta at least look." Beca said. "Interview's already been scheduled."
"I know." Chloe sighed.
Turns out they never liked St James, so that wasn't a problem. Leslie didn't like the vibe of the school so they weren't worried.
The next school was Stratford School, which they liked, even Leslie did. She was happy, she looked at the pictures and the library and she fell in love. She would be encouraged to work on her best abilities, which Beca and Chloe liked to hear.
The other two schools, Page Academy and Mirman School, weren't as well received so Beca and Chloe knew it was Stratford.
By August 1st they had enrolled Leslie in Stratford, bought her school stuff, her uniform and they were ready.
Leslie's 6th birthday was on a waterpark, as the little girl requested, so her class could go wherever they wanted. Charlotte invited her friends Maya, Alice and Jillian, while Sophie invited Joel, Tiffany and Layla, two friends from dance and school.
The couple felt less tense about them, since Nikki was there. Nikki went with Leslie on their rides, Beca went with Sophie and her friends while Char could go alone with her friends.
Chloe just sat sunbathing and keeping an eye on their stuff.
Charlotte and Sophie went back to school on September 16th, while Leslie went back on September 18th.
Nikki waited with Sophie and Charlotte at the bust stop on the first day and the two were off.
For Leslie's first day, the two mothers put the red dress of the school uniform, pulled Leslie's very dark red hair into a braid before going to the car. They got to the school, walked Leslie to her classroom and kissed her goodbye. Leslie walked in and was greeted by the teacher before she sat down on a round table where a blond boy was reading a thick book.
"She'll be okay." Chloe sighed.
"She will." Beca said. "It's the best for her."
"Yeah it is." Chloe sighed again before the two joined hands and went back to their car.
"You know what I just realized?" Beca asked.
"What?" Chloe asked as she fastened her seatbelt.
"Char's going to high school next year." Beca said.
"Oh my God that's true!" Chloe said. "We're about to have a grumpy teenager!"
"Oh man!" Beca groaned. "Why couldn't she have stayed a little girl forever? All of them."
"Because they can't." Chloe said. "And you know that."
Beca sighed.
"Yeah." She said. "Do you want me to drop you off at the office?"
"Yes please." Chloe said.