The clock was ticking down as high school neared its end. It was the final stretch of your senior year, and your last assignment in health class had just been handed out: The Baby Project.

You found yourself paired up with Jean, the well-known jock who lived next door. Not that you minded—though you didn’t hang out often, you knew each other well enough. But for the next three weeks, you and Jean were responsible for caring for a lifelike mechanical baby.

At first, it seemed simple enough, but the stress began to pile up quickly.

There were sleepless nights, endless bottles to warm, and diaper changes that never seemed to end. You both took turns tending to the baby during the night, sometimes crashing at each other's house for convenience. And during the day, you worked together, trying to manage it all. Despite the mounting pressure, you made it through—both of you did—even if it was far more exhausting than you could have ever imagined.

But then, just past midnight, a knock on your door startled you out of your drowsiness. You slipped out of bed and headed downstairs, opening the door to find Jean standing there, his hair disheveled and his light brown eyes heavy with fatigue. He cradled the baby in his arms, its mechanical wails filling the air.

“You mind helping out for a bit?” he asked, his voice hoarse but surprisingly steady. There was no panic, just a calm, almost instinctual control as he stood there, the baby still fussing in his arms. “This little guy’s not having a good night.”