• Chapter 4: More Surprises In May

    Christy and Isaac went to all sorts of parties together. Almost all of them had alcohol and/or drugs. They both agreed they would never do drugs, and they would limit their alcohol use so they would never get completely wasted. They still would get a little buzzed. They never drove home after a party: they always just stayed the night in the fear of getting in a wreck and not living to see their future.
    Christy’s heart raced as she held the device in her hand one May morning. Positive!?!?!? No! This can’t happen! Not to me! Christy’s eyes began to water. What will people think? What will they say? How can I tell my friends? How will I tell Isaac? Even worse: How will I tell my parents? Christy’s heart raced. This is the only thing on her mind as she finished getting ready for school. This was the biggest change that had ever happened in her life, and she knew nothing would ever be the same. She drove there, and saw Isaac waiting for her by her locker. She was thankful no one else was around, because she knew she had to tell him now.
    “Isaac, I need to tell you something. Important.” Christy started.
    There was a short silence that told her that he was listening. “Isaac, I’m… I’m pregnant.”
    His eyes got wide. Christy looked at the floor and was afraid to look up at his face. All the sudden, she felt his arms around her.
    “You act like it’s all your fault. We’ll get through this. Together. If anyone says anything to you, tell me, and I’ll kick their a**, ok?” Isaac comforted her.
    His little threat made her smile, only a little. “How will I tell my parents? They’ll never look at me the same way again. Oh, and everyone else. I’ll seem like someone completely different.”
    “Just tell your parents. It’s not like your mom’s never been pregnant. They’ll understand, hopefully. I’ll tell my parents flat out. Everything will be fine. Don’t worry about what people think of you. It’s not like you’re the only pregnant person in Arstan. There are 3 pregnant freshmen, and 2 freshmen have had a baby. You’re the oldest out of all the pregnant people in the whole school. I was told that 2 8th graders are pregnant. You’ll be just fine.”
    “But my parents sent me to Arstan to get me away from this. They wanted me away from all the sex, drugs, and violence in Chicago. I’m pregnant, there’s plenty of fights, and half of the people in this school are drug addicts!”
    “There aren’t that many fights here. We’ve only had about four all year. Also, you know that half of the people in the school aren’t addicted to drugs.”
    “Well, at least a quarter of the people. I know that all but like 5 people on the wrestling team are, and there are plenty of people not on the wrestling team that are, too.”
    “Well, that’s half of what you said before. Anyways, this is completely off subject. We were talking about how to explain them to your parents,” said Isaac, pointing to Christy’s stomach.
    Christy went home after school, instead of being with Isaac. This was the first time this had happened since they had started going out. At dinner, right after she finished her food and before she took her plate to the sink, she decided to tell them.
    “Mom, Dad, I have something important to tell you. I just found out today that I’m pregnant.”
    She looked at her parents, who were staring back at her in disbelief. She was just glad they hadn’t yelled yet, and hoped they wouldn’t start yelling. She got up, took her plate to the sink, and started to go to her room. Once she passed the table, her father spoke up.
    “Sit,” he ordered. “Why did you do it? You know you should always wait until you are at least married. What if Isaac leaves you now?”
    “Dad, he won’t. He’s not like that. Anyways, I love him so much. I know he would never leave me. If I ever had any doubt in my mind about us being together for the rest of our lives, I would leave him. You know I would,” Christy argued.
    He did know that. There had been several boys Christy had broken up with that he wanted her to be with. Every time he asked her why she broke up with them, she would tell them that she had “doubts” that he actually cared about her or she had “doubts” that they would even be together for long.
    “Maybe that’s what he wants you to think. Maybe he’s mastered giving girls that feeling on all his ex-girlfriends.”
    “He’s only has one other girlfriend and she cheated on him. He never dates anyone unless he thinks that he’ll be with her for the rest of their lives and he knows they like him for him, and he likes them for them.”
    “Go ahead and leave. You’re fine; just remember all actions have consequences. If something happens between you two, don’t forget we warned you. You will need come home earlier so you can do your homework and go to sleep earlier to keep the baby healthy. You have to be home by 8 from now on, understand?” her mother said, letting her off the hook.
    “Understood,” Christy said, proceeding to her room.
    That night, as Christy tried to sleep, her parents got into a small argument. Christy found this strange because they normally agree on everything. Maybe Dad thinks I should have gotten punished. In her mind, that was the only logical explanation.