Chapter 114

Chapter 38 Grayson When my alarm went off, I quickly turned it off so I wouldn't wake up Poppy. She had a rough night, since it was her time of the month and she had nasty cramps. She didn't have school today, so she was able to rest today, especially because I had something planned. And luckily, my professors for today were allowing it as long as I sat near the exit. I got out of bed, just in time to hear Ryder stir in his crib for a bit before he started crying. I hurried over and gently picked him up, rocking him so he would calm down until I could get milk for him from the fridge. When he stopped crying, I looked over at Poppy, who stirred a bit herself, but thankfully staying asleep. She was adorable when she slept. I walked out of the room with Ryder and went to the fridge, taking out a bottle of milk for Ryder, as well as the milk carton so I could eat cereal and not worry about having to cook something while holding Ryder. Pouring cereal into a bowl was hard enough, not to mention I had to hold Ryder and the bottle in one hand to eat with the other. Ryder finished drinking the bottle a few seconds before I finished eating, so I put both the bottle and the bowl in the sink before heading back to my room. Poppy was still asleep. I placed Ryder in the crib, hoping he would be content laying there until I could get changed. He was, but he also decided to babble incoherently, which was a bit too loud in the quiet room. Please don't wake Poppy. Needless to say, I had to get changed as fast as I could, yet quietly, so I could take Ryder out of the room because he was too damn loud. Cute, but loud. I was done getting changed, so I picked out an outfit for Ryder and got him dressed, once again quietly. Then, I walked out of our bedroom with him and put him in the carseat, which was attached to the stroller, before making sure the diaper bag was filled with everything I needed. The last thing I did before I left, besides grabbing my school bag, was write Poppy a note. Dear Flower, I know you had a rough night, so I decided to take Ryder to class with me today. Make sure you relax and take it easy today. I love you. -Grayson. Once I stuck in on my pillow, I left the apartment with Ryder and locked the door behind me. I stopped off at the cafe first, getting a cup a coffee and some brownies before heading off to the university. Even though my first class wasn't going to start for another fifteen minutes, I went there anyway to claim a seat by the door where I could park the stroller or quickly leave if Ryder became too fussy. My professor was there and walked over to me when I walked in. "Hello, Grayson," he said. "I have to say, I was a bit surprised when you emailed me to ask if you could bring your son to class." "Yeah, well he wasn't really planned," I said. "But both my girlfriend and I don't want to put university on hold because then we might not want to go back after taking a break." He nodded. "Yes, that's perfectly understandable. Does your girlfriend have a class right now as well?" "No," I said. "She had a rough night, so I decided I could try to see if my son could come with me so she can relax. We made sure we have classes different days so one of us could always stay home with him. The only time we have a class the same day is Wednesday, but we have the same class so one of us could hold him while the other takes notes. Well, that's all until he's old enough to go to daycare." "Well, it's nice to see that you two planned it all out," he said. "Quick question, does he cry a lot?" "Not really, no," I said. "He's easy to calm down as well. But he might decide to start babbling." "It's fine," he said. "I think the class will be able to handle a babbling baby more than a crying one." It wasn't long before the class started piling in, most students looking curiously at the stroller parked beside my seat. Most people, if not all, knew Poppy was pregnant, but she had Ryder when school was out, so nobody knew I was a dad quite yet. ...Although, they all probably didn't believe I was one because of the stupid rumors of my Flower getting knocked up at a party. She had only been to one party, and I was with her the whole time. If people wanted to start rumors, they should make it more believable. "Aww! A baby!" a girl said when she walked in and saw Ryder. She then looked at me. "Is he yours?" "Yeah, he is," I said. "He's so cute!" she said excitingly. "How old is he? What's his name?" "His name is Ryder and he's thirteen weeks," I replied. Ryder was babbling again and also decided to blow a raspberry before babbling some more. I had a feeling that when he was older, he was going to be a talkative boy. A few more girls, and even on guy, was all crowded around Ryder, gushing over him. But then, the professor started class by saying, "It's officially nine o'clock, everyone. So please, take your seats. Yes, I know there's a baby in the class and yes, I know he's cute, but this is still university." The group around Ryder took their seats, all pulling out the notebook or laptop to take notes. I always found it easier to take notes on a piece of paper for some reason, even though I typed faster on the laptop. It could be because I sometimes got distracted on my laptop and play solitaire instead of taking notes. Oops. A few minutes into the lecture, Ryder started crying so I took him out of the carseat and held him in one hand, bouncing him up and down. He stopped right away, which made sense because there were a lot of times where he cried just so he could be held. Only a few people got distracted when Ryder cried, but they were able to focus again quickly. However, Ryder wouldn't stop babbling and blowing raspberries. It wasn't distracted anyone, except me. I mean, come on. It was so cute! I didn't get too distracted and even though I missed small parts of the lecture, I grasped the basics for today. When class ended, I stuck Ryder back in his carseat. "You talk too much," I said to him. His reply? A smile. And I swear, it looked a lot like a smirk. Arrogant little baby. I packed up my stuff and walked out of the lecture hall, only to see Poppy standing nearby. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked. "I told you in my note to rest." "I know," Poppy said. "But I was kind of getting separation issues from Ryder." I chuckled. "Cute." "I'm serious," Poppy said. "I mean, it was nice to relax for a bit, but I had a really big urge to see him." She then stood beside me and looked at Ryder. "Hi, Ryder." Ryder smiled back and, once again, started babbling. "Do you want to take him home or do you want him to stay with me?" I asked. "I'm fine either way. All my professors gave me the okay to bring him." Poppy bit her lip. "I don't know. I want to relax, but I also want him to be with me." "How about I keep him for one more class before handing him back to you," I said. "I'll have two classes after that and he'll eventually want you." "Okay," Poppy said. "I'll head home and come back here when your next class ends." I smiled and gave her a hug. "I love you, Flower." "I love you too, Grayson," Poppy replied. She then stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek before heading back home. I headed off to my next class, luckily having nobody sitting in the seat closest to the door. I sat down and noticed that Ryder was asleep, thankfully. That baby was weird at times. One minute he was babbling like crazy, then he was sleeping. Then he woke up and was babbling again. A few moments after I sat down, Mina walked in a sat down beside me. "Go sit somewhere else," I said. I did not want her sitting beside me. "I can sit where I want," she said, taking out her laptop as a way to say that she was not leaving. I scoffed. I would have moved if there was another seat beside the door, but there wasn't. "So," Mina said suddenly after a few minutes of silence. "There's this party tonight..." "Not going." "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "You always go to every single party. And this one is going to be epic." "I'm not going to a party only to get drunk and have you hit on me," I said. "And yes, I know about that. Poppy told me." Mina snorted. "Has it ever occurred to you that she might not always tell you the truth?" "Has it ever occurred to you that we never lie to each other and always trust each other?" I shot back. "Oh, really?" she asked. "Because I never hit on you at the New Year's Eve party." "Yeah, I never said that was the party Poppy told me about," I said. "There should really be a class about lying her because not that many people are good at it. I mean, first the rumor about my girlfriend getting knocked up at a party and the baby not even being mine. Has anyone even seen Poppy at a party? Now please do me a favor and sit somewhere else." Mina, thankfully, got up and moved to a different seat. Seriously, though. She had to work on her lies. They were weak.