imperfect parenting.   chapter one

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"So you're the only new kid, big deal. You're going to crush first grade!" Jared told his daughter.

"Thanks, dad," little Jenny said. "I'm going to be good on my own," she breathed as she took a seat in a little chair at her new desk.

"You're good on your own?" Jared couldn't believe his little girl was growing up so quickly.

"Yeah," she decided. "See you at pickup!" she stood up and hugged her dad, Jared placing a kiss on her forehead. 

"Okay, bye, love you!" he waved and walked away. 

"Love you too!" Jenny sat back in her seat and began going through her backpack.

"It's going to be fun!" a mom was trying to convince her son he'd be fine without her today. His desk was near Jenny's but he was too caught up in his own world to notice anything going on besides the fact that his mom was about to leave him alone for hours with a bunch of strangers.

"What if I miss you?" he asked his mom.

"Look, Luke, we talked about this. It's only six hours, you're going to do great," she smiled.

"Don't ask for her scarf," his twin sister Leia said when Luke went to open his mouth again. She was already seated and ready for her first day, unlike her brother. "I'm begging you, don't ask for her scarf."

"But it helps when I have something of hers to sniff!" Luke whined.

"Yeah, I don't want you to be that kid who stays inside at recess sniffing my stuff," their mother said, but once she saw tears well up in Luke's eyes she quickly unwrapped the scarf from her neck. "Okay fine, but tonight you're eating some vegetables. The green ones."

Luke took a deep breath. "Mmm, smells like vanilla lattes and safety."

"Leia, love you," she planted a kiss on her daughters head. "Watch your brother for me."

"Love you mom!" they said in unison.

"Mom, I'm regretting the purple. I should've dressed like a normal kid," a little boy in a purple suit looked around the classroom frantically.

"Hey," Lina didn't hesitate to shake her head. "What's the one thing you always have to be?"

"Myself," he said.

"You look good Adam! Do you feel good in that suit?" she kneeled down to look her son in the eye. Adam slowly nodded. "Then that's your answer! You rock that suit, honey!"

A smile grew on his face. He no longer had doubts about the purple felt tux he was wearing with a yellow bow tie. It might've been crazy to the other parents, but Lina liked to help build her son's confidence. He didn't after all have a father figure to look up to, meaning Lina was left to raise her son in the best way she thought possible. If that meant building her son's self-esteem up step by step — she was gonna do it.

"Okay," Adam smiled. "Today I am a grape!" he announced, mostly for himself, but a couple kids and parents heard.

"You heard him! My kid's living his truth!"

"Dad! You forgot our lunch boxes!" one of two twin girls pulled on their dad's slacks. 

"Okay, tell you what," he slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out some cash. "Here's twenty bucks, go and buy yourself a burger from the grill."

"Dad, this isn't the club," his other daughter shook her head. "There's no grill."

The man turned around and gave the money to another girl. "Here you go, sweetheart. Go and buy yourself something with rainbows on it," he said as he took her lunch box. "No one ever packed me snacks. Make it work."

"Dad," the first twin spoke up. "You can't call girls 'sweetheart'."

"It's not empowering," the other finished.

"Okay, but let me tell you what is empowering," he slid into one of the tiny plastic chairs. "Fending for yourself. Kids today are treated like morons, but not you two. I would share a foxhole with both of you and that is the highest compliment I can give you. Alright, hit me with the family motto," he placed his hand out for his daughters to place their hands on.

"No weakness," the first twin said.

"No surrender," the second twin finished.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Are you supposed to be here? Do you have a child in this class?" the teacher walked over to where a young girl was feeding her infant. What the teacher failed to see was that the girl had fallen asleep feeding the baby, sitting upright.

"Oh, uh, she's my neighbour," Lina stepped in. "She's nineteen and raising a baby alone," Lina smiled at the baby boy in the stroller. "She hasn't fully accepted that her life has changed forever you know?"

"Yeah, I don't run a support group," the teacher said.

"You're a little mean," the mom of Luke and Leia walked up, scarfless, but she at least had some coffee left in her cup. "I like it."

The baby boy in the stroller started crying lowly, causing the young girl to wake up. "Oh I had the strangest dream," she looked up at Lina with a smile, before looking back down at the stroller where her baby was gurgling. Her smile dropped. "Oh," she said before eating off the spoon she was supposed to be feeding her baby with.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the teacher said.

"Jac goes where we go," the man to the twin daughters joined the small group. "Here you go," he handed her some cash. "Get yourself something nice."

"I can't accept tips," the teacher insisted.

"Okay, then it dropped on the floor," he dropped the money into her hand. The four of them were starting to leave, Jac rubbing her eyes when someone began ringing the little triangle at the front of the classroom.

"Excuse me, hi! My name is Jared Padalecki and I have the honour of being your room parent," he smiled. All the other adults erupted into cheers.

"Thank God I'm not starting it this year," Ava whispered to her friend.

"You're telling me, sis," Cam replied with a smile. 

"Jenny and I are new to the school," the didn't bother pointing, worrying his little girl might be feeling embarrassed. Another little girl had sat next to her, and while her blonde mom was saying goodbye, Jared almost got distracted. He cleared his throat. "We're looking forward to getting to know all of you! And I am one of those guys who has an extreme amount of free time on my hands, but that just means more hot lunch like Taco Tuesday!" all the adults cheered and clapped.

"Someone let me know when it's safe for my nuts to return to my body," the dad to the twin girls mumbled.

"It's not that bad, Noah. Let the man play pretend Oprah," Lina said.

"He's so white it hurts," the mom to Luke and Leia groaned under her breath, earning a laugh from Jac.

"Ariana, be nice," Lina put a hand on Ariana's shoulder. "He's probably a single parent like the rest of us."

"A lot of you might be wondering where you fit into the equation," Jared continued. Lina, Ariana and Noah all shook their heads as Jac just stared on. "Five words: one hundred percent parent participation."

"He's got to be kidding," Ariana shook her head.

"I am not kidding," Jared looked around the room. 

"Not happening," Lina said lowly as she looked at Noah, who had shut his eyes as he repeatedly shook his head.

"I'm going to have this sign up sheet outside the door," Jared started.

"This is what's become of the American male," Noah mumbled. "We used to make things."

"But Noah, he's obviously single, we're single," Lina said.

"I've never been that single," Ariana fought back.

"Okay, Reesa," Brisa stood up from where she placed Reesa's little sister's at a desk next to Jenny and the blonde girls' daughter. "Let's get you to school too. We need to get out of here."

"I was supposed to be there half an hour ago," Reesa said, following Brisa out. 

"Well, now we know that," Brisa unlocked her car and began hopping in. "Let this serve as a lesson," she waited for Reesa to buckle up. "You know I'm trying my best, right?"

Reesa nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Could be worse," Brisa looked to a white brunette boy walking in his son late. "We could be like that guy," she snickered before putting the car in drive.

"Have a fun day, Sam. Call me if you need anything," Sar said, forgetting her son was six and didn't have a phone.

"Thanks, mom," Sam said, not looking up from his Batman backpack, tracing patterns on it with his fingers. 

"Hey," a girl sitting at the table next to him caught his attention. "I like your backpack."

"Thanks," Sam smiled. 

"I'm Abigal, what's your name?"

"Sam," he smiled even wider.

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first time i managed to introduce every qd girl in the first chap woohoo