Michelle felt numb. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Lately she had felt tired, and generally out of sorts. Jason, her boyfriend had recommended a doctor. They'd been seeing each other for about a year now, and even though she felt he knew her better than anyone else, she'd disagareed and discouraged him, saying it was just because her school teachers were working her hard for her O Level mock final exams, in the following month, January.
Jason had insisted, telling her she was putting on weight, she'd gotten cranky and she'd better go before she had a nervous breakdown. She'd laughed at that, but went anyway, just to please him. She was overworked, that was all, and during the upcoming Christmas holiday, she'd take a well deserved rest.
She had never been so wrong in all her sixteen years.
* * *
Michelle reached her home; it was above the family owned grocery store. Her older sisters helped her middle aged parents in the store. All three girls looked like carbon copies of their mother — washed out, tired and old before their time. They all seemed destined to become spinsters; the last time any of them had bought home a "gentleman caller", as their mother delicately put it, was almost four years ago. Michelle had a theory about them; they weren't born, they were molded and placed there to remind her what would happen to her if her prospects became limited. That was her mother's phrase — girls who didn't marry and start financial independence from their parents became persons whose "prospects were limited". Watching her dour, boring sisters, she had no intention of following in their footsteps.
She entered through the grocery's front entrance.
"Michelle, is that you?" Martha asked, rather obviously, pushing her lank dark hair from her pudgy face. The small store had shelves along each walls and two aisles down the centre, but the raised dias that the cash register resided on afforded a clear view of customers.
"No, its the tooth fairy!" Michelle retorted, and strode to the side door that led to the upstairs flat without looking back.
"Michelle, don't be cheeky!" her sister replied to her younger sister's back, sighed and went back to her romance novel.
Upstairs was empty; Michelle belated remembered that it was Tuesday, and Millie, Matilda and her parents were at the wholesalers, buying stocks. She settled herself on the sofa, turned on the TV and tried to watch the children's program that was showing, but her mind kept returning to the doctors diagnosis.
"Micki?"
She jumped up, startled. She almost fell off her chair, but righted herself at the last moment before she tumbled to the carpeted floor.
"Jason!" she exclaimed. She had been so deep in thought, she hadn't heard him come upstairs.
"Well, how was it? What did the doctor say?" Jason was anxious about his girlfriend. He'd skipped the last class of school to see how things had gone.
Michelle blanched and steeled herself. Jason looked so cheerful, so expectant, so ... young.
"I, ah, I'm, he said —" she paused then plunged on — "he said I'm pregnant."
Jason's handsome blond features collapsed, then he composed himself.
"You're getting and abortion, of course." he said confidently. He knew his girlfriend would do that. Isn't that what happened to sixteen year olds that found themselves in this position? They had an abortion and got on with their lives. The horrified look on Michelle's face to told him that he'd gotten it wrong.
"You arrogant bastard!" she spat out. "Is that all you're concerned about? Abortions? What the hell for?"
"What — what will people think?" He quailed under her attack, and blurted out the first thing on his mind. His affluent parents would be horrified. They would disown him.
"What!?!?" the fury of Michelle's response bought her to her feet. "My god, I thought you were different, but you're not. You're just concerned about what other people think about you, about your appearances. Don't you realise you're discussing a life here? Your son or your daughter? And what about me?" she pushed on, starting forward toward him and causing him to step involuntarily backward. "What do you think I feel? Do you think I wanted this to happen now? My whole life has changed because of this. I cant sit my exams now, I'll be as big as a bloody bus! Ill have to put my plans on hold for at least 15 years while you get on with your life. And don't talk about marriage. I am not getting married just because I happened to get 'knocked up'!" Michelle punctuated each word of her final sentence with poke in Jason's chest with a finger.
"But, Michelle..." Jason looked lost and defeated. He knew it had happened; the first time they had sex. They had gone round to his brother's house to house sit. He had pulled out, because he hadn't wanted to get her pregnant, but he hadn't been sure he'd pulled out fast enough. After that, they had used condoms. Much good that had done.
"Michelle", he continued slowly, "but what can we do? We're both too young...we can't look after this child." He mentally congratulated himself. He'd said the right thing; she'd see reason now, and come round to his way of thinking.
"Well, you should have thought of that before you got me pregnant! You'd better think about how you're gonna look after our child, cause I'm not getting rid of it to please you!" the teen's defiant words dispelled any notion that Jason had of convincing his girlfriend of having the abortion.
"But Michelle, it isn't practical, lets talk —" Jason pleaded weakly to Michelle's back and the slamming door. He buried his head in his hands. He felt so sick...
Michelle strode angrily past her astonished sister, and out into the street.
"Damn fool!" she muttered under her breath. "He was expecting me to atone for his mistake! Good god, he expected me to abort his child, his own flesh and blood...he's so spineless, why didn't' I ever see that before? All he is is a pretty face and nothing of substance to go with it!"
The agonised girl looked neither left nor right as she made her way toward her best friend's house. "I ain't getting rid of my child!" she declared under her breath as she stepped into the road.
She didn't hear the squeal of tires until it was too late.
© Chaynne Taylor/Shateri Jordan, 1997-2004
Comments? sexychaynne@aemail4u.com
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