The Burden of Parenthood

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The Burden of Parenthood
Chapter5 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedJuly 15, 2011 (2011-07-15)
Page count7
Major charactersMike, Lucy, Paulo, Daisy, Yashy, Sex-Ed Teacher
Minor charactersDavid, Katie, Stacy
LocationsRoseville Middle School
Collected inVolume One, Omnibus 1
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Sex education arrives at Roseville Middle School, complete with an unhinged teacher, mechanical babies, and detention "forever" for Mike. Paulo just wanted to play house with Lucy. Nobody warned him he'd fall in love with a screaming doll named Alegria.

Synopsis

The sex-ed teacher opens class with a lecture that is less health class and more hellfire sermon, ending on the conclusion that there will be no sex until marriage.[1] Yashy, understanding none of it, loudly asks a mortified Mike whether he's been making "Mom" abort every day.[1]

The teacher then wheels in a cart of mechanical babies and pairs the class off to parent them over the weekend, with a log due Monday.[2] Mike is assigned Daisy, a pairing Yashy greets with a screamed "WHORE!!!", while Lucy is assigned Paulo, who wastes no time shoving Mike out of the seat next to her.[2]

The dolls all have unique faces, and Daisy's is frozen in a permanent scream. She lovingly names him Alegria anyway.[3]

Daisy holds up Alegria, a baby doll with a permanently screaming face, against a background reading "DOOM".
Daisy's little bundle of joy, screaming as always.

Lucy tells a doting Paulo she wants a divorce, full custody, and his child support on time.[4] Daisy later tries to make Mike cradle Alegria, and when he refuses she plants the baby in Paulo's hands instead.[5] Paulo trails off mid-protest, gazing down at Alegria amid flowers and sparkles, and Mike and Lucy quietly ditch their partners.[5]

Come Monday, Lucy has faked the log as if she'd stayed with Paulo.[6] Paulo himself is a changed cat, telling David that his baby "looked at me like he UNDERSTOOD me…".[6] The teacher confiscates Alegria, checks him over, and declares him the best result of the class.[6]

She does wonder why Paulo is raising Michael's child, but Mike improvises a divorce-and-remarriage story convincing enough to earn extra credit.[7] Filing out past the doll cart, Paulo spots Alegria sitting among the others with tears running down his face, and chokes out a farewell to his "SON…" while Lucy, right behind him, pronounces him a wuss.[7]

Character dynamics

  • Paulo and Daisy: Before this chapter the two barely interact one-on-one, and they aren't even assigned to each other here. Daisy is the one who puts Alegria in Paulo's hands, and his hidden soft side does the rest. By Monday they've finished the assignment together, and she's calling him "my hero".[5][7] The pairing only lasts a weekend, but Paulo's soft spot for babies follows him into Helping Hands.[8]

Trivia & observations

  • The chapter is a redraw of one of the comic's earliest chapters, made in 2010 during Volume One's production and edited again for the Omnibus. Veronica calls the original "one of my most popular chapters back in the day."[1]
  • The redrawn chapter was also printed as a convention minicomic, alongside Helping Hands and the aquarium chapter, to promote the comic around Volume One's release.[9]
  • The confiscation scene is autobiographical. Veronica recalls her own teacher taking her robot baby away when she was sixteen, even though she'd hoped to keep it. "Anyway, I feel you Paulo."[6]
  • Yashy's counter-suggestion "diarrhea" rhymes with Alegria on purpose, per Veronica.[3]
  • This is the first appearance of the sex-ed teacher, who never does get a name, and of both Katie and Stacy.[1][3]

Related chapters

  • Flying Lessons: Right after this chapter, parenthood goes from a joke to the real thing. Yashy, so far mostly a heckler, becomes an adoptive mother herself when Chirpy comes along.[10]
  • Helping Hands: Paulo and Daisy team up again to nurture something small and fragile, this time an injured bird. Daisy embarrasses him by mentioning his skill at caring for babies.[8]
  • Unrequited: Alegria gets named on panel again years later. Daisy tells Tess about Paulo's tender side and has to clarify that Alegria was her baby, not an ex-girlfriend.[11]
  • Pep Rally: The sex-ed teacher's paranoia resurfaces here. She misreads Mike and Lucy's banter and lunges at them through the volleyball net.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 2
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 3
  4. ↑ Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 4
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 5
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 6
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chapter 5: The Burden of Parenthood, page 7
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 8: Helping Hands, page 4
  9. ↑ "Reply on the Volume One promotional minicomics". 2015-06-06.
  10. ↑ Chapter 6: Flying Lessons, page 2
  11. ↑ Chapter 51: Unrequited, page 7
  12. ↑ Chapter 11: Pep Rally, page 4
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