Baby crisis {ems}

Living in a house with a lot of siblings meant waking up early. Pluto hated it, and yet he forced himself out of bed. Tiny feet hitting the ground, hands rubbing against brown eyes trying to wipe the sleep away. Rays of sun glistened through the windows reflecting brightly from the white walls. It was a normal morning, he thought. Grabbing a bite of breakfast from the kitchen, and a glass of water. It wasn't much, and probably wouldn't last throughout the entire day, but it gave him something to hold onto. Yeah, the school cooked food, but it wasn't for picky eaters. Sometimes it was a curse and a blessing, and only when his stomach roared for something other than a piece of bread, did Pluto scarf the nasty garbage down. But today, it didn't matter because he was ready and heading out the door.

His backpack gently patted his back with each step. Brown eyes locked on the ground ignoring the talking people as he walked by. Somewhere along the way, he lost site of his siblings, but it didn't matter because he was living his own life. Nobody controlled him, and yet he was never good enough. Growing up was hard, and being the youngest was even harder. Many didn't understand the walls forming around him holding him in while they slowly morphed into the world around. Invisible to the human eye, however, Pluto saw them. Every second of every single day all he cared for was himself. Making it through another day while the rest of the world rushed on around him. Yeah he knew people, but not once had he developed a friendship that would last a while. Being quiet and shy in nature didn't help out any.

But soon he barged through the doors of the school. The chatter of students filled his ears. Scratching his head, he looked around, and yet all he did was the same thing he did every morning. You got this. Sometimes it felt like enough while other times it felt like the world was falling apart around him. Learning was fun. It gave him something to do, something to engage the growing mind wanting more. Just waking up early in the day never appeased him. Going to work for nothing except gaining an education that probably wouldn't even matter. For a moment he closes his eyes, and that was his first mistake.

Crashing into someone, he was sent flying towards the ground. Books dumped from the backpack. The back of his head slammed against the floor. Stars danced before his eyes flashing around. A single tear slid down the corner of his face. Cheeks turned bright red. What just happened?

Other items belonging to Florence spread around him, and some of them he didn't understand -

Why would a thirteen year old carry bottles and diapers?

It was then he noticed the young girl in her arms.

They were in the same class together, and yet Pluto couldn't make sense of it.

She reached out a hand to help him up apologizing for knocking him down when the young male wasn't sure who was at fault. Taking the hand he stood on his feet, gathered his belongings before trying to help her. A slight chuckle escapes his lips as Florence talks about being blind from the head of the girl she's holding.

"It's fine. I'm fine." He muttered quietly keeping his voice low. "Are you okay though? Do you need any help?" It was rude to leave a girl hanging, and maybe this would be the start of a friendship Pluto yearned for.

A small smile spread across his face. From what could've been a horrible situation wasn't nearly bad at all. It was a friend, Florence. A girl he had spoken to before. Someone Pluto felt proud to call a friend, and right now he knew she was in need of help. Standing still, his eyes bounced back and forth watching as the girl gathered her belongings along with the toddler she was carrying.

He wasn't an expert on children being a child himself. Just turning thirteen was a huge milestone in his life, and the last thing he wanted was glaring eyes and gossipers to start rumors. They were terrible, heartbreaking lies, and yet Pluto didn't find the need to listen to them. Who cared if he helped a friend?

And she wanted the help, but what she offered struck him as weird. A ten month old coming to school. Lingering through the halls of broken citizens trying to learn more about the corrupt world only made this a simple mistake. But learning about her past, learning about what all she had gone through - how can I not help her?

But before he could answer, she kept talking.

Chuckling softly, he reached his arms out to take the young girl. Pluto didn't have the experience in handling a ten month old.

"Yeah I'll help." He had offered anyway, so taking back that offer wasn't something Pluto took lightly. His word was all he had despite how uncomfortable this would make him feel. "I'm not experienced, though." With a shrug of his shoulders he threw his backpack across them once more making sure to seal it tightly. "And yeah, habits are hard to break, but sometimes it doesn't matter what other people say. Just have to do what's best for you."

"Here you go!" The excitement in her voice startled him for only a moment. Pluto was young, and he had no clue how to handle a baby. Being the youngest in his family came with many advantages, but at the same time, he wondered what it would feel like to have a younger sibling. Everyone was older than him, and now he was glad to have a friend, but holding a baby was something the thirteen year old had never done before.

But soon Florence placed the baby in his arms, and Pluto's body froze - What am I supposed to do with this thing?

Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his arms around the hefty baby hoping and praying he wouldn't drop her. She was heavier than Pluto had ever imagined, and yet he wasn't struggling to hold her up. For a moment he wondered what his family would think if they saw him holding a toddler in his arms. Helping people was right in his mind, and he wanted to prove it, to show it. His friend needed a break, and the young male was able to offer.

"You're welcome."

A genuine smile twisted across his face, but while looking into the tiny girl's eyes, Pluto wondered why a baby was at school, but before he got the chance to ask, Florence was answering him. And it made perfect sense. Being young, he didn't know the world around him -in his mind every family was perfect, none of them had struggled, but he was blinded by the chains that held him back.

Val's tiny hand wrapped around his nose, and Pluto nearly jumped out of his skin. It was a strange sight, but knowing it was a sign of love and affection calmed him for only a moment, but soon the thirteen year old realized that he never wanted anything to do with a baby. He was young himself, and he had his entire life ahead of him. But right now it wasn't about him - it was about helping a friend.

Pluto sighed softly; "This the first baby I've ever been around, so I honestly don't know the answer to that."

It was strange for him, holding a baby. Being the youngest in his family was interesting. Sometimes Pluto wished he could've remembered what it was like as a baby wondering how many people held him, and how many people dropped him. But there he was at school with everyone looking at him. It was embarrassing. Hard to grasp, and yet he wanted to help his friend. It meant the world knowing he was doing something worthwhile, but it also gave him the idea that he never wanted to have a kid of his own.

Florence suggests he tried communicating with babies more often, and Pluto couldn't help but wonder if there was a secret language babies used. It would make sense, but the idea of cleaning and changing a baby just didn't appease him. It sounded gross, but according to his friend, it was cute. What was cute about it? A crying baby screaming as poop covered the diaper and probably everything around. None of that sounded fun.

"Yeah, I have a bunch of older brothers and sisters. I'm the youngest." He stated as the tiny girl started grabbing at his face. It was quite annoying, but at the same time Pluto wouldn't put her down. He kept a smile twisted across his face trying to keep the conversation going. "It's fun being the youngest, most of the time anyway. I just feel invisible because they're all older and doing their own thing, and I'm just the runt of the family."

He shrugged his shoulders careful not to drop the tiny girl resting uneasily in his arms. She was heavy, and Pluto couldn't hold onto her forever. Getting to class was a pain priority, and keeping himself and everyone else calm and at ease was another. But at the same time, all he could think about was the many eyes glaring at him - he hated being in the center of attention, and holding a toddler was definitely attention grabbing.

Then she brought up feeding her. It wasn't something Pluto looked forward to, and he never imagined trying to give a baby a bottle if that was what she even used? He wasn't sure, but part of him was forever grateful when she asked for him back. A goofy grin twisted across his face as he looked at the tiny girl once more. Every step was heavy, and he was ready to give her back. "Yeah, that sounds fun. Never fed a baby before." He took a deep breath before getting ready to hand Val off; "here you -""

But he didn't spot the wet floor.

His feet slid out from under him, and he landed hard on the ground, and he tried to make sure Val didn't get injured at all. The back of his head slammed against the hard surface. Stars flashed before his eyes, and somehow he managed to catch the baby. All the air inside his body left his lungs, and he couldn't move. He bones popped, his neck ached, and he looked around wondering if anyone could see them. What started as an uneventful day was slowly becoming eventful. He only hoped Florence wouldn't walk way from him like many had done before.