Catch Twenty-Two (Westover Prep 2)

I turn my head back to the principal, refusing to acknowledge the burn in my nose from the emotions threatening to bubble up.

“Mrs. Hampshire knows you’re coming,” Mr. Lockwood says abruptly.

He stands as Ms. Singleton opens the office door and just like that, I’m dismissed. The halls are clear when I leave the office, but I still take a moment to step to the side and shove the offending pamphlets into my backpack. Everyone knows I’m pregnant but the sight of those things in my hands will only give them more ammunition to taunt me.

I do my best to ignore the small group at the end of the hall, but there’s something about the way Linc, Bennett, and Graham look as they form a semi-circle around Drea against the lockers that draws my attention. She’s got her head bowed, and she’s not doing anything to swipe her tears away as Linc speaks to her.

I caught bits and pieces of Violet’s and Caleb’s conversation yesterday at lunch, but even they don’t have a clue about this girl’s fall from grace. One minute she was on the cheer squad, one of Bronwyn’s minions, and the next she was an outcast. The devil girls she used to hang out with aren’t talking to her any longer, but I see these three guys hovering near her almost constantly.

I lower my head as I walk past, hating that they may be being mean to her, but at the same time I’m grateful they’re too busy to direct their anger and hatefulness in my direction.

After clearing the hallway they’re in, I slowly make my way to Room 214, pausing outside the door in an effort to gain control over myself, but all the resiliency I built up in the hallway fades away when I open the door to find Zeke sitting in the front row with a smile on his face. His eyes light up when I walk inside as he moves the chair beside him out so I can sit.

There are several girls in the room, two staring back at me with sneers on their lips. One girl watches me with bright eyes and a flush to her cheeks, and I can tell she’s embarrassed to be in here. I imagine the look in her eyes matches my own.

“Welcome to Family Planning,” Mrs. Hampshire says as I take a seat.

The teacher busies herself with something on her computer, giving me the opportunity to look over at Zeke.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper-hiss.

He smiles at me. “Haven’t you heard?”

He taps his finger to the end of my nose when all I can do is stare at him.

“I’m going to be a teen parent.”

I swallow, refusing to pay attention to the joy rushing through my veins. He promised yesterday afternoon that he was going to prove to me that he wants this baby as much as I do, I just didn’t expect him to do it so openly with others around. If I’m not careful, he’s going to slip past the walls I’ve been trying to build up around my heart.

Zeke presses his lips to my temple before taking out a notebook from his backpack.

“Here,” he says as he slides a protein bar across the desk. Next he pulls a Gatorade from his backpack. “I didn’t know if you had breakfast.”

The teacher doesn’t say anything even though snacks and drinking in class have always been forbidden. Looking around the room, I notice several of the other girls have crackers and drinks on their desks as well.

My eyes catch on Paisley, a girl I had no idea was expecting. She narrows her eyes at me before looking at Zeke, and it’s then that I realize he’s the only guy in this room. Maybe I am the lucky one, having his support. It doesn’t seem these girls have that. I feel both elated that Zeke is here for me and sad that these girls may be facing their pregnancies alone.

“Oh, God,” Zeke groans, dragging my attention back to him, but then I catch sight of the movie playing in the front of the room.

“First, we’re going to discuss vaginal births, then we’ll touch some on cesarean sections,” Mrs. Hampshire says as we all watch with wide eyes as the camera zooms in on a baby’s head crowning from its mother.

I don’t bother with the protein bar or the Gatorade as my eyes lock on the TV. For the first time in weeks, something other than morning sickness threatens to make me sick.

“I’m excited to be a dad,” Zeke says, his face white as we leave the classroom. He looks moments away from either getting sick himself or passing out. “But if I’d watched that prior to today, I think I may have taken a little more effort with that condom.”