Ashlee Kline was about to enter her English classroom when Zoey Guthrie can running at the cheer captain and threw her arms around her. Ashlee hugged her mate back and planted a kiss on her lips. "Hi, Zoey!" she said, smiling. "Like, why the special hello? Is it, like, my birthday or something? I totes thought it was in Janissary. Or... is that month called January? Something like that."
"Your birthday is in January," Zoey giggled. "January the Eleventh, if your adorable dum-dum brain's wondering. But it isn't your birthday that's put me in such a good mood, Ashlee."
"Oh, happy birthday, Zoey!" Ashlee said enthusiastically.
"Not mine either," Zoey grinned, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Selena's?" Ashlee guessed. "No, that's in, like, February. Jeez, that must be, like, sooooo hard to spell on party invitations. So, is it... Summer's birthday?"
"Nope," Zoey answered, about to burst with glee.
"Chloe's?" asked Ashlee. "I know her birthday's this month. Birthdays do come on, like, the same day every year, right? Mine does."
"Yes, they do," Zoey said. "And no, it isn't Chloe's birthday. That's actually tomorrow. (We're both invited, of course.) It actually isn't the birthday of anyone we've met yet."
"Your parents've, like, totally been letting you borrow their booze again, haven't they?" Ashlee guessed. "You're getting weird."
"I can promise you, bae," Zoey said, "I have NOT been drinking. In fact, I won't be touching alcohol for nine months."
"What, even at Chloe's birthday party tomorrow?!" Ashlee gasped incredulously.
"Even then," Zoey grinned. "You see, the birthday I'm so excited for is Bailey Kline's... our cub."
Ashlee's jaw dropped. "Zoey, you mean...?!"
"I took the test this morning," Zoey grinned, shaking with joy. "I'm preggy!"
Ashlee's hand instinctively reached out to Zoey's belly. It was still flat, but now there was a new werehyena growing inside. "The pack's first cub," Ashlee smiled. "You're gonna be a mom and I'm gonna be, like, a shire!"
"Shires are where hobbits live!" Zoey laughed. "You're gonna be a sire, Ashlee. I can't wait until we can tell the pack!"
"Have you told your parents yet?" asked Ashlee.
"Not yet," said Zoey. "I'm still trying to decide if I should tell them that you're the father and we're both werehyena hermaphrodites, or if I should just make up some crap about a gangbang with the entire football team to cover my ass."
Ashlee shrugged. "You always say they basically don't, like, make rules for you. I can't see why you need to keep, like, secrets from them. Not if they're cool with you doing whatever."
"I'm not worried about them being mad at me," said Zoey. "I'm scared of traumatizing them by turning their understanding of reality upside down. They've got no clue that Stokerville's full of vampires, werebeasts, and the occasional witch or mermaid. They think this is just a normal town and that things like that only exist in movies. How do you think they'd be able to process this: 'Hi, Mom and Dad, I'm pregnant. Also, I can turn into a hyenagirl with a dick, and so can Ashlee Kline. By the way, she's the dad.' Sounds insane, doesn't it?"
"But it's totally the truth!" Ashlee protested.
"And a truth that ninety-nine percent of the human race has been trained from birth to see as fantasy," Zoey retorted. "I'm still trying to figure out how well Mom and Dad could adapt to learning that everything they thought they knew is wrong. I'll have a plan by the time school lets out. I'll tell them about Bailey when I get home."
"Gotcha!" Ashlee grinned before pulling Zoey into another hug. "Ohemgee, the baby's on her way! BEST! DAY! EVERRRRR!!!" With that, the two mates walked into the classroom, arms linked.