Chapter 25: Like It Or Not

"So you're fourteen years old?" the nurse asked me as she probed my stomach with the ultrasound wand.

 

My stomach was covered in cold jelly and I had to pee.

 

"Yes," I answered.

 

The room was dark and only the light from the monitor that displayed my baby lit up the room.

 

"Pretty young," she remarked as if I cared what she thought.

 

"I'm trying to get this out of the way so I can do other things with my life," I slightly joked, but she did not laugh.

 

"A baby is serious business. They don't just go away because you want to go out with your friends to the movies," she snapped which really hurt my feelings.

 

"I know," I said quietly and she resumed the procedure.

 

On the screen the baby danced around. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Fifteen minutes went by and the agony of me needing to use the bathroom become unbearable.

 

Just when I thought I was going to urinate on myself she switched off the screen and flipped on the lights.

 

"You can go use the bathroom," she said to me and I could've sworn she was talking through her teeth.

 

I got up and let the patient robe I was wearing slip off. My bottom half was exposed, but I didn't care. I barely made it to the toilet. Once I was finish I went to the chair that sat right next to the bathroom door and dressed myself. I could feel her eyes set upon me in the coldest glare.

 

"Is there something you want to tell me?" I asked while I simultaneously put on my boots.

 

"Yes," she said rudely, "you're sixteen weeks along. I'm giving you a due date of March sixth."

 

My head flew up so fast I thought my neck would break. My due date had been pushed up which meant there was a possibility that Greg wasn't the father of my unborn child.

 

"Are you sure?" I asked and I knew she could see the concern in my eyes.

 

"Yes the monitors don't lie. Your baby is measuring in normally. In two weeks you will come back and we'll tell you the sex," she said turning away from and busying herself with cleaning up the table so it could ready for another patient.

 

Outside the sun was hidden behind clouds. The air outside was blistering cold. I knew that fall and winter would should join together in a sadistic dance that would leave the whole city freezing soon enough.

 

I walked up to her and grabbed the ultrasound pictures that she held in her hand while she worked. Obviously bothered by my display of no manners she didn't say a thing when I left without saying bye.

 

Mom waited for me in the lobby with bated breath.

 

"I'm fine. The baby's kicking up a storm, but I can't tell if it's gas pains or fetal movement," I said to mom and she smiled.

 

"That's the baby moving," mom said standing up out of her chair, "let me see the pictures."

 

She took them from me and began oohing and awwwing. Someone from behind the counter called my name and I went to her.

 

"I just need to make sure you're taking your pre-natal vitamins," the receptionist said to me.

 

She was a young lady in all pink scrubs with her hair pulled back in a tight bun.

 

"Yes, every morning," I answered her and she nodded ok.

 

"Here's your appointment. Keep yourself warm. I know it's cold out there," she said to me.

 

"Thanks. I will. See you later," I said looking down at the card.

 

I read the date in my mind and now I stared back at Violetta was sitting in front of me at the lunch table awaiting my answer to her out of pocket question.

 

"The way I see it he either is or he isn't. I'm not sweating over it," I finally answered.

 

Amber looked at me in shock.

 

"Isn't that important to you?" Amber asked me.

 

"It is, but I'm going to adopt my baby out so I can continue with school," I said to Amber who's face went ghost white.

 

"You wouldn't really do that would you?" Amber asked, completely unamused.

 

"Yes," I said, "I've thought it out and it's my best option."

 

"Why can't people ever be responsible for their own actions?" Violetta said, rising from the table as she spoke, "I'm sick of people getting away with foolish choices. You know some women out there who want children, but can't have them!"

 

"This is my body, my baby, and my choice. If you have a problem with it then step off and mind your business," I said to Violetta who now looked like she was suffering from Scarlett fever.

 

She packed up her books and huffed away. The uplifting mood from earlier had disintegrated and Amber sat there just watching Violetta walk away.

 

"I don't think she's ever going to be the same," Amber said finally to me.

 

"After Eliza's death?" I asked, but Amber shook her head no.

 

"Do you remember at the concert when Violetta went back stage to meet the musicians?" Amber asked me solemnly.

 

"Yes," I said remembering the event quite clearly, "what about it?"

 

"Between the time that Eliza disappeared and the eventual discovery of her body, Violetta found out she was pregnant," Amber revealed and my eyes grew wide.

 

"What? How come no one ever said anything?" I asked feeling completely out of the loop.

 

"She was so happy," Amber continued, "I mean over the moon happy. This wasn't planned, but she had made a baby with a member of her favorite rock group any girl would have been ecstatic."

 

"I suppose," I said as I listened to this sudden turn of events.

 

"Two days after Eliza's funeral Violetta began bleeding," Amber started and I already knew how this was going to end, "there was nothing the doctors could do to save her pregnancy because she only seven to eight weeks along. She didn't even cry."

 

"How bizarre," I commented even though I hated to interrupt the story.

 

"That's putting it lightly," Amber agreed and then continued, "not even a week later she called me up and told me she had re-enrolled here at Graham like it was nothing."

 

"Wait," I said suddenly looking back on her behavior, "whenever Crystal talks about her pregnancy Violetta always gets all irritated and annoyed. She even said she would never have kids young."

 

"It's all a cover. I'm guessing she's pretty shaken up about this. If her baby had lived she would be about fifteen weeks give or take," Amber said to me and suddenly it all made sense.

 

"She's over compensating to cover up her hurt feelings about her loss. I wish I would have known. Now I feel like a jerk," I admitted.

 

"Don't," Amber said putting her hand over mines, "you're right. Your body, your choice."

 

I sat back and closed my eyes. Here I was pregnant, not wanting to be, and someone close to me was stripped of this honor without provoking it.

 

"Langston asked me to Homecoming," I said trying to shift the mood a little.

 

"Will you go with him?" Amber asked me.

 

"After all the drama that's been going on because of him I'm not sure if that's the wisest choice," I said, biting my lower lip gently in the process.

 

"If this is his baby he's going to have to be there no matter what. The charges were dropped and there's nothing holding him back from being the father, right?" Amber asked and oh how I wanted to come clean and mention the whole debacle with Greg.

 

I didn't and instead the bell rang for class.

 

"It's been a strange day," I said getting up from the bench.

 

"Yes it has been, but for your sake I don't think you'll have to worry about Kimmi or Daisy any longer," Amber said to me as we walked to class.

 

Revenge had been swift and sweet, I thought to myself, but would I really get away with it?

 

Mrs. Quinn had a lengthy discussion with us about the rally during English class. She wanted to know if anyone in the room had information about who could have leaked that video for the entire student body to see.

 

Victor Concord, one of the many class clowns, raised his hand and everyone in the class looked up.

 

"Yes, Victor?" Mrs. Quinn asked.

 

"I think we all know who did this," Victor started, "and she's in the room with us right now."

 

"She? How do you know it's a she?" Mrs. Quinn said obviously at the edge of her seat.

 

"Who else would have wanted to do something so embarrassing to Kimmi and Daisy?" Victor asked Mrs. Quinn and I knew all eyes were on me.

 

"Victor, who are you talking about?" Mrs. Quinn finally said, peeved because he wasn't spilling his guts.

 

"The pregnant girl!" Victor said loudly and everyone began snickering.

 

This time it wasn't in my imagination, all eyes here really were on me.

 

"What are you all looking at?" I asked loudly and someone answered.

 

"Shut up you fat b***h!" which caused Mrs. Quinn to stand up and take order in the class.

 

The subject was quickly changed, but I stayed so steamed that I could focus on any of the assignment.

 

I was given a nice distraction with the amply supply of text messages hitting my phone right now.

 

"Knocked up," one text message read.

 

"Langston's baby mama," said another.

 

"B***h you thought you were hot, but now you're not" and so on and so forth.

 

I was in such distress that I got up and left class way before the bell rang. Mrs. Quinn said nothing to me and I knew my exit would spark even more rumors. I didn't care because I knew my time here at Graham was fast approaching it's close.

 

Like the caring guy I'd come to know Langston had given me his class schedule in case I felt too sick to continue with school he had promised to drive me home no matter what he was doing. Of course I never would have imagined that I would actually be taking him up on his offer.

 

I stood outside of Mr. Zendiers American Government class while he lectured. I looked for Langston's face in the classroom which I spotted in the back of the way back snuggled up against some girl. In my present state I didn't know how to react, but I stood there until everyone inside was looking at me.

 

"Can I help you?" Mr. Zendiers, who had now come to the door, asked me.

 

"Hey look," someone inside said, "it's Langston's ho."

 

Before I could say anything, Langston came flying out the room.

 

"I got this. Sorry," Langston said to Mr. Zendiers who eyed us intently for a moment before going back inside to lecture.

 

Langston and I walked until we were by a classroom who's doors were closed.

 

"I need to go home," I said and by now I was practically hyperventilating.

 

"What's wrong?" Langston asked so I pulled out my phone and he read the text messages.

 

"Now that's some fucked up s**t right there, man," he said as he looked.

 

"It's always like that, but now that I'm pregnant I can't take the stress," I finally said with the reality that I couldn't take revenge against an entire school.

 

People here just didn't like me for reasons that I suppose I would never fully understand. Langston was back in school so what more did they want?

 

"Let's go. My car is parked by the front office just up ahead," Langston said taking my hand.

 

We passed by more classrooms and most had their doors open. Students peered out, but I was able to avoid their eye contact.

 

As Langston pulled away from Graham High I looked back and saw that the paint no longer shimmered the way it had on the first day and that the walls resembled those found in most maximum security prisons.

 

"It's war in there," I said more to myself than anything.

 

"You better believe it, but don't worry about them. You have me now," Langston said which caused me to laugh.

 

"So does that girl back there in class," I said to him.

 

"One thing you have to learn about me, Myra, is that I'm a womanizer. That's just who I am and I won't make any apologies for it. When I say you're my girl that's what you are. I can't stand jealousy or bitterness. If you can't hang and trust me to not do something stupid then this won't work," Langston, who sat contently in the driver's sit of his Honda Accord, said.

 

"What won't work?" I asked him.

 

"Us. We're an item now whether you or any of them flippant m***********s back there like it or not," Langston said coolly and now I was finally comfortable with what he was saying.

Reviews

[Tina Kline]

Interesting. Langston does seem to be back in her life. At least he's honest about how/who he is. And will he really be there for Myra. So far, none of the guys she's hung out with have been.