Crank (Crank 1)

of Kristina Wagner.

I Already Knew My Options

I listened patiently as the saccharine

Ms. Sweetwater outlined them again.

She did confirm that should I choose

abortion, my parents would not

have to know. All I needed was $500

and someone to drive me home.

She gave me the name of a

local adoption agency,

urged me to consider placing

my baby in a loving home.

And then she asked me

the date of my last period.

Hard as it was, I thought

back to a night up at

Chamberlain Flat, when I used

that period as an excuse to say no.

It was the weekend before school

started. Add a couple of weeks and …

I gained a terrible insight.

Chase was not the baby’s father.

Brendan was.

The Realization

was like jamming a

paper clip

into a light socket:

profoundly stunning;

like cinching

a garbage bag tight