Chapter Text
Monday, April 9
Twelve days after the birth of her and Bobby’s son, Luis Loud-Santiago, and one week after being home from the hospital, Lori Loud was medically cleared by her doctor to go back to school. Lori was currently in Vanzilla with her sisters Leni, Luna, and Luan, after dropping off Lynn at the middle school, Lincoln, Lucy, Lisa, and the twins at the elementary school, and Lily at the local daycare. Bobby would be staying at home with the baby for the first few weeks until there was a job opening. As she drove, Lori had noticeably larger bags under her eyes, presumably from the lack of sleep she suffered from taking care of Luis since bringing him home from the hospital. It got to a point where Leni and/or Luna had to occasionally nudge her to keep her awake whenever she would attempt to doze off.
When they finally arrived at the high school, Lori dropped her younger sisters off and went around to park Vanzilla in the back. However, she was so tired, she fell asleep at the wheel, waking up when she heard the school bell ring.
Inside the school, Lori was greeted by her friends Whitney, Becky, and Dana, who squealed when they saw her and wrapped her in a group hug.
“Lori!” They all yelled in excitement.
Lori, still tired, gladly returned the hug as the girls started asking her questions.
“Were you okay?” Becky asked. “From what my mom told me, childbirth was pretty painful!”
“You could say that,” Lori shrugged. “When Luis was coming out of me, I thought I was gonna pass out! But I’m fine now, and the baby is perfectly healthy, despite being 4 weeks premature.”
“Oh, I know, right?” Whitney asked. “I’m lucky I don’t have any children; they’re such a little nightmare you know?”
When she saw Lori about to tear up, Whitney quickly added. “Oh, no, I’m sorry, Lori! I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Lori insisted, wiping her eyes. “Just experiencing those post-pregnancy hormones. I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep these past few days; the baby has been keeping me and Bobby up at night.”
“Oh, you poor, poor, thing!” Dana said sympathetically. “Why don’t you ask your family for help?”
“Believe me, girls,” Lori sighed. “I want to, but I read in my mom’s old pregnancy books that newborns need their parents for the first few weeks.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ignore their help completely, Lori,” Whitney reminded her. “Sooner or later, you’re gonna have to ask for help.”
“Girls, I have Bobby helping me,” Lori explained. “But it’s only for a few weeks until he goes back to work.”
That was when the second bell rang, prompting the three girls to separate their hug.
“Gotta go,” Becky told Lori. “We’ll talk during lunch, okay?”
Lori nodded as her friends walked off. She made it to first-period algebra, where she sat down at the front. Despite still being tired, she managed to stay awake. After the class was over, she felt a touch on her shoulder, and turned to see, to her annoyance, Kami.
“Oh, it’s you again,” Lori huffed. “What do you want?”
However, unlike last time, Kami had a frown and a remorseful look on her face, something Lori took notice of. She softened her glare as Kami began to speak.
“I just want to apologize,” Kami began. “For being so intrusive. I was just trying to help. But if you don’t want it, then I could-”
“No!” Lori interrupted, shouting. “I mean, no; I still want help, I just felt as though last time was inappropriate.”
“Well, okay then,” Kami said, brightening up. “What seems to be the problem?”
“So, my baby was born just twelve days ago, and he’s literally been keeping me and his daddy awake every night for the past week,” Lori explained. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my baby, but he’s a handful.”
“I see,” Kami nodded. “And how are you feeling every day?”
“Aside from tired?” Lori asked. “Well, like I’m gonna explode. I cry while holding my baby, I’m extremely moody and I snap at everyone, and to top it all off, every muscle in my body aches.”
“Interesting,” Kami let out once Lori was finished. “Maybe you’re suffering from Postpartum depression.”
“What’s that?” Lori inquired.
“It’s a mood disorder that women suffer from after they’ve given birth or while they’re pregnant,” Kami explained. “Although I’m not sure if it affects younger mothers like yourself.”
“Huh,” Lori said. “Well, I don’t recall my Mom having postpartum depression after she gave birth.”
“Tell you what, how about we do some research in the library during Study hall?” Kami offered.
“Sounds great,” Lori gave Kami a small smile.
“Okay, I’ll see you later!” Kami called out as she walked out of the classroom. She then walked back in and asked. “By the way, what was your name? I didn’t quit get it the first time.”
“Lori. Lori Loud,” Lori introduced herself.
“Lori Loud,” Kami shook Lori’s hand. “Nice name. Well, see you later!”
Later, at lunch, Lori had just got her food and sat down with her friends at their table, while her sisters also decided to sit with their friends today. While eating, Lori got out her phone and showed her friends pictures of her and Bobby’s baby. All the girls gushed and cooed at the various images of Luis in various onesies and footies, Lori nursing Luis in the hospital, and Bobby and Lori holding their newborn son. After going through all the photos, Lori noticed Carol Pingrey sadly eating lunch by herself, with Nicole, Lori’s friend she made last year, sitting at the table in front of her, giving her the occasional glare every now and then.
“Hey, girls? I’ll be right back, okay?” Lori said to her friends.
Lori’s friends nodded in understanding, so she stood up and walked over to Nicole. Nicole didn’t even noticed her friend until she sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her.
“Hey, Nicole, how come you’re not sitting with us?” Lori asked gently.
“I’m keeping an eye on Carol Pingrey in case she might be up to her old tricks again,” Nicole explained as she glared back at Carol.
“Nicole, I know what Carol did was wrong, but it looked like she was really sorry to me,” Lori argued.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Nicole sighed. “But what if we show her kindness? You don’t think she’ll revert back to her old ways, do you?”
“I dunno,” Lori replied. “I’ll go talk to her, okay? Why don’t you go sit with my friends over there, okay?”
Nicole nodded as she walked over to the table where Lori’s friends were at. Lori then looked back at Carol and saw that she was crying into her hands. She looked at Carol sympathetically and walked up behind her. Carol looked up and saw Lori looking down at her.
“Oh, h-hey, Lori,” Carol said nervously. “Come to ruin my life after I ruined yours?”
“Ruin your life?” Lori asked in confusion. “Why would I do that?”
“Because after your friend threatened to post those naked photos of me on SwiftyPic, my friends finally saw me for the slutty girl I am, just like you and Nicole,” Carol said shakily as your lip quivered. “My social life is practically non-existent now.”
Carol started crying again as she buried her face in her hands. Lori rubbed her back.
“Carol, you are not, repeat, not, a slut,” Lori said to her firmly. “Sure, I was mad when you tried to fuel my little sister’s excitement for my baby to your advantage, but I’m willing to look past that now that my baby’s here.”
“S-so what are you saying?” Carol sniffed as she wiped her arm.
“While I’m still mad at you for trying to alienate me from my friends, I want to at least give you another chance,” Lori explained. “Why don’t you come and sit with me and my friends?”
“Even… Nicole?” Carol gulped nervously.
“Yes, even Nicole,” Lori replied. “But if you’re open to her like you were to me, she just might forgive you, too.”
Carol gave Lori a small smile as they both stood up and walked over to join Nicole and Lori’s other friends at their table. Nicole was the first to notice her.
“What is she doing here?” Nicole asked hostilely.
“Take it easy, Nicole,” Lori urged her. “Look, I already talked to Carol.”
“You did?” All the girls asked in unison.
Lori nodded. “We talked it over, she said she was sorry, and we made up,” She explained. “She told me that her friends ditched her after Nicole threatened her, so I offered her to join our friend group.”
Nicole felt a little guilty that by defending Lori, she caused Carol to lose all her friends. Carol, however, smiled gratefully at Lori.
“So what do you say, girls?” Lori asked. Becky, Dana, and Whitney agreed without hesitation. Lori gave Nicole a soft smile and a comforting look.
“Okay,” Nicole sighed. “I guess I can be your friend, too.”
“Oh, thank you, girls!” Carol cried thankfully, as the girls embraced in a group hug once more. “And I promise this time, there’ll be a new Carol Pingrey in town!”
“We’re gonna hold you to that,” Lori smirked.
“We all will,” Nicole added.
The six girls kept hugging until the bell rang. Lori left the lunchroom to meet with Kami for Study hall, while the other girls went to their next class.
An hour later, in the library, Lori and Kami were both looking at books, but none of them had anything about postpartum depression. Lori groaned and rubbed her head after setting down another book, as Kami looked through another one.
“This is insane,” Lori said as she rubbed her head. “We’ve been through every book at the library, and not one of them has anything on postpartum depression! It’s just psychology and emotions all around.”
Kami slightly lowered her book so she could look at Lori. “Well, postpartum depression is linked to psychology and emotions,” She said. “But just be patient, Lori. I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“I’m just thankful Study hall is my last period of the day,” Lori sighed.
“Well, mine’s not,” Kami said as she got up. “Have a good day, Lori, and I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, see you!” Lori called as Kami got up.
When Lori got home that day along with her siblings and parents, the first thing that caught her eye was Bobby resting on the couch with Luis sleeping on his chest. The Loud Siblings’ hearts melted as they watched the scene. For a good 33 seconds, because Luis started crying again, prompting his mother to walk over and pick him up. Lori bounced her baby for a few seconds, wondering what was wrong with him, until Luis gestured to her chest, making Lori realize he was hungry. Bobby sat up on the couch as Lori sat down next to him, before taking off her bra and lifting up her shirt, exposing her right breast. She then brought her son up to it, allowing Luis to latch on and feed.
“Okay, come on, kids,” Rita’s voice said as she and Lynn Sr. walked up behind them. “We’d better let Lori do her feeding.”
“Your mother’s right, kiddos,” Lynn Sr. agreed with his wife and the kids groaned as their parents ushered them out of the room.
As Lori was nursing, Bobby turned to Lori. “So, Babe, I’ve been doing some thinking, and-” He began.
“Yes?” asked Lori, turning her head to him slightly.
“About looking for job opportunities,” Bobby explained. “I can’t just stay at your house all day while you go to school. I want to earn my keep to provide for you and Luis.”
“It’s okay, Boo-Boo Bear,” Lori assured. “I know you want to get back out there and find a job soon. So when were you thinking of starting?”
“Tomorrow,” Bobby answered. And before Lori could speak, he interrupted her gently. “I know it comes off as all too sudden for you, but I have this itch to get back out there and work.”
“But what about Luis?” Lori asked worriedly. “Who’s gonna look after him?”
“I was hoping if you would do that, Babe,” Bobby answered.
“But Royal Woods has no daycare centers that accept infants under 1,” Lori explained. “I’m gonna have to bring him to school with me!”
“Don’t worry, Babe,” Bobby said as he gave Lori a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll go with you in the morning to work things out with the principal.”
“Thanks, Boo-Boo Bear,” Lori said with a small smile. “I could literally use all the help I can get right now.”
Bobby smiled back before he got up off the couch. As he started to make his way up the stairs, Luis had finished his feeding. Lori brought the baby up to her shoulder and patted his back until Luis let out a small burp and rested on her shoulder.
“Such a good boy,” Lori smiled warmly as Luis began to fall asleep. “Now, come on, let’s get you ready for bed.” She then followed Bobby up the stairs.