I woke up the next morning to, once again, vomiting. Luckily, it was before my alarm went off for school, so I managed to have enough time left to get dressed and ready. After French braiding my hair, I went into my bedroom and changed into flowy black dress that cinched at my neck, which sufficiently hid my baby bump. I gathered up my things in my backpack, not forgetting to bring along my gold and white planner, in which I had written down the time and location of my first prenatal doctor's visit that I had in the evening.
Once I exited the bathroom, Josh entered, his hair all messy from bed and his eyes droopy. I don't even think he registered me walking past him, and I couldn't help but giggle into my palm. Morning Josh was my favorite Josh.
Since I had a little time left while waiting for Josh to finish his shower, I proceeded to make him a big breakfast, including some waffles and fruit salad. Josh had this horrible tendency to only eat food loaded with carbs and trans fat, so whenever I cooked for him I always managed to sneak in something with nutrients. Once I was done chopping up the last of the strawberries, Josh entered the kitchen wearing a button up shirt over a tee shirt and some jeans. His hair was tousled wet from the shower and he gave me a smirk that I knew meant trouble.
"You look beautiful," said Josh casually as he grabbed a plate. Trying not to roll my eyes, I went to the fridge and grabbed some lemon water before joining him at the kitchen table. As I sat down, I didn't feel the need to reply to the compliment, as I wasn't sure what to think. Yes, it was nice, but Josh wasn't making this whole "platonic friends" thing any easier by flirting. After a moment of silence, Josh sighed and took a sip of water.
"So," he said "As your friend, I need to know more about you. Tell me about yourself," said Josh. At this, I looked up in confusion. How was I suppose to respond to that? He just sat there smiling, looking interested at how I was going to respond, yet also appearing easy going. His eyelids dropped just slightly with morning tiredness and his shoulders were relaxed
"Uh, what is there to know? I'm not a very interesting person," I said, playing with my hair nervously. Josh shook his head with a white-toothed grin on his face, looking charmed. At this, I blushed and looked down at my half-eaten waffle.
"What's your favorite color?" he asked. I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous the question was. It was like something a kindergartner would ask to his new "fwend." I shook my head and chewed thoughtfully.
"I think turquoise. Or maybe like a light yellow," I said "You?"
"Red and white. The colors for the Blackhawk's team, that really good hockey team before the plague hit," Josh said. I nodded and poured some more maple syrup on my waffles. My stomach grumbled and I wondered how that same maple syrup might taste on cheese puffs. Feeling compelled to try it for my baby's sake, I stood up and walked over to the kitchen cabinet, pulling out the bag of cheese puffs I made Josh keep on hand.
"Next question. What is your biggest fear?" asked Josh. He eyed the cheese puffs ruefully with a smile playing on his lips. As I sat down next to him, I felt my heart flutter at that possessive look in his eyes. What was that all about?
"I guess... Well, it used to be my mother dying," I said sadly. I stopped and sat still for a moment, willing myself not to cry at this reveal. I breathed in and out of my nose slowly. She was in Heaven. I had to hold onto that to keep from feeling too lost.
"What is it now?" said Josh quickly. His voice was grave and dark, and I knew that he understood my sorrow. I looked up with a frown, unsure on how to answer his question, and proceeded to pour some cheese puffs on my plate. Covering the cheesy-wonders in maple syrup, I tasted my creation while thinking on the new question. Of course, the taste of the syrup-dripping puffs brought me to my senses, and the answer made complete sense.
"Losing my baby," I said, putting a hand on my stomach. At this, Josh's eyes widened, and he leaned over, placing a hand on my belly softly. I jerked back out of reflex, but before I could push his hand away, Josh took it in his. I felt my hairline break out with sweat. Certainly, he could feel the throbbing under my skin, the blood rushing in my body, that physical reaction I couldn't help but get every time he touched me-- especially when the baby inside me was being made.
"Me too," he whispered softly. There was a lull in the conversation and suddenly, I came to my senses. Pushing his hand off my belly, I shimmied away from the table and took my plate to the sink. When I turned around and peered through the window separating the kitchen and the dining room, Josh's eyes were cast down and I saw his lips moving in a silent prayer.
***
Walking down the hall of my school, I was amazed at how little everything had changed. Girls still bitched and gossiped, boys still acted like perverted weirdos even thought most, if not all, were now getting some. The jocks tossed around paper balls and the anime nerds sat outside the art class drawing. Near the trash bins, the burn outs and stoners chatted about the latest drugs at Crystal's party, making me scrunch up my nose in disgust. The main difference, in my eyes, were the girls with swollen bellies and the now-mandatory classes and seminars we had to take for parenting; in fact, over the weekend everyone had received new schedules in the mail. Apparently, the government had finally created some mandatory parenting-programs and forced the schools to teach them right at the end of fall semester. Personally, I thought it was pointless, as I knew that my mother taught me way more about parenting then any of these bozos could. Nevertheless, when I met Cally at my locker, the first thing I asked her about was her schedule.
"Yes!" screeched Cally, peering over my shoulder "We have birthing class together! This going to be so fun Adira!" I couldn't help but smile as Cally leaned further into my shoulder, her belly grazing my back. She smelled sweet like candy, which I knew was her fancy honeysuckle perfume, and I was hit with the fact that she was going to be an excellent godmother to my child. She was just as sweet as she smelled, and her enthusiasm was contagious.
"So what kind of birth were you thinking? I just don't know! I want to go natural, but what if it just hurts too dang bad?" asked Cally, as we made our way down the hall.
"I haven't even thought about that," I said. At this, Cally reached over, squeezing my hand.
"Don't look so nervous babe! I know this past weekend has been crazy, but everything seems to be turning out a lot better. Besides, now you finally have class with me!" squealed Cally. My heart fluttered. This was the Cally I loved-- the upbeat friend who could find happiness in any situation.
As I strolled to class listening to her talk, I remembered first meeting her in grade school, on the third day of second grade. I was the shyest girl in school, so none of the other kids talked to me; actually, a lot of them probably thought I was mute. Our teacher decided to pair Cally and I together for a cursive writing project, hoping to get my to socialize, and to her delight, I did. Something about Cally brought that out in me and she encouraged me to be my most confident self. That day we ended up playing on the playground together, writing our names in cursive with chalk until the bell rang, and ever since we were as close as could be. It wasn't until middle school that we became a bit different, with Cally starting to hang with the popular kids, even having a crush on Josh for a while that made me gag at age thirteen. Unlike a lot of the popular girls, though, Cally refused to abandon me and defended me against any bully who came my way. As I result, bubbly, beautiful Cally never ascended to the throne of popularity, but was still one of the best-liked girls at school. Sometimes, I even teased her and called her the Golden Girl that everyone loved. In a few ways, I was jealous of Cally, wishing I could have that type of confidence and prowess that she had shown since being a tiny little second grader.
"So yeah, maybe natural birth, maybe a water birth, I don't know yet," said Cally as we entered the classroom. To my embarrassment, I realized I had been spacing out the entire time she was talking, so I simply nodded in agreement and sat down.
Class went by quickly, and before I knew it, I was carrying my new birthing-class book to my locker across the school. Cally and I parted ways by the drinking fountain, and I mindlessly made my way to my locker, avoiding eye contact. A few people were looking at the embarrassing cover of my text book, I picture of a see-through woman's belly with a baby floating inside, all pink and scrunched up. I ignored them and kept my head down, some loose hair falling from my French braid and into my face.
At my locker, I was greeted by Keon, who smiled brightly when I arrived.
"Hey Keon," I said. My cheeks tinted pink at the sight of him, and I was surprised by how genuinely happy I was to see him. He turned a bit pink too, practically reading my mind.
"Hey," he said softly. I turned, expecting him to say more, and started to do the code on my locker. Unfortunately, my hands were suddenly cold, sweaty, and shaky, so it took me a few times to get the code right. Keon just seemed to have that effect on me.
As I put my book away, Keon shuffled his feet nervously, and even from crouched over on the ground, I could hear his gentle breathes getting faster. What was going on?
Standing up, I gave him an odd look as I grabbed some pencils from my backpack, preparing for the next class. When I looked at him again, his crystal blue eyes were looking intense, and suddenly his nerves seemed to have disappeared. When I shut my locker, he made me gasp as he grabbed my face. I panicked, dropping my books as I pulled away, stupidly thinking he was going to headbutt me or hurt me for some reason. Instead, he did much, much worse.
He kissed me.
A/N-- Hey loves. Sorry for the wait. Just a quick update here with news.... 1. There are a few fanfictions up for this story, so don't be alarmed because many people have asked to use my ideas for their version of this story. Since this situation affected all high school students at this time, I think it's cool if you all write fanfiction. If enough people write them, maybe I could hold a contest of some sort. Yay! 2. Yes, I am still updating. No I am not sticking to the schedule I promised. It's just too hard with my busy life right now. I will try to update frequently, but I ask you all to be patient. Thanks for the love and support all, can't wait to see you all at the next update!