Chapter Twenty - Six
Yesterday was unexpected and today was difficult. Last night, I did not tell Shirley about my pregnancy because I could not summon the courage to tell her. Today was not so different from yesterday.
Only things Were different from yesterday.
Today I finally came to realise that I Really was pregnant with Mike's baby. Yesterday, I had been shocked by this information but now it was finally sinking in. I was going to be a mother. At the age of sixteen. During high school. And my family was not aware of it. If they found out then, that day would be my end.
It did not matter though. For now, at least. I will think about it when the right time comes. The only thing that mattered to me was now to figure out what my next step would be. I did not know if I should tell Shirley about my pregnancy or not. Nor did I know if I should confront Mike about this pregnancy again or not.
It was possible that he reacted the way he did yesterday was out of shock. Or nervousness. I mean when I found out about it, I also did not know how to react as well. When I got to know about this, I cried in the bathroom because I did not know how I should react. Maybe, there was a possibility that he reacted like that because he also did not know what to do.
Therefore, I decided today that at lunchtime I would try to talk to him again. I was going to give it one more try. And then I will decide what his real reaction was. I would talk to him about it and then plan out what to do next. After all, this was his baby as much as mine. It was not only my mistake but his too.
I spent my time in class, thinking about what I was going to say to Mike. How was I going to say it? Preparing for all the scenarios that might happen and bracing myself for the worst.
I waited and waited until the lunch bell rang and lunch hour finally arrived. With my nerves getting to me, I picked up my bag and headed for the cafeteria. Our commonplace where I usually meet him whenever we could not in the common hallways.
In a few minutes, I entered the cafeteria and looked around to where he usually hung out with his friends and found him instantly. There he was talking to his friends. I had never met his friends so I did not know if I should approach him since his friends were around, but this matter could not wait any longer. I thought about messaging him to get him out of his friends' crowd.
For a few seconds, I continued to ponder over the idea, then finally decided to go with it. I pulled out my phone and began typing a message to him.
*I need to talk to you. Can you meet me behind the school building now?
And then, I sent him the text. I glanced over to see that Mike pulled out his phone to check his message. Great. Now, he will excuse himself and get out of his group to meet me. Henceforth, I took a step back to get out of the cafeteria when suddenly I stopped.
I saw as Mike read the text that I had sent him and then he snickered. He said something to gain all of his friends' attention. When he got it, he pulled the phone up to his friends' faces and showed them the text message that I had just sent him. I watched in shock as Mike's all friends proceeded to laugh at my text and began to high-five each other. In the next few seconds, I saw him as he began to read the message aloud in front of them all and then shook his head smirking at his phone.
I did not think that they knew that I was there, standing, witnessing his one side that I didn't even know existed. My hands and feet turned cold. It was like my eyes were betraying me. The thing that I was witnessing did not feel real at all.
Soon, I saw Mike type something on his phone and then press a sent button. The moment he did that, my phone pinged with a new message's arrival. Confirming that they indeed were looking at my text. I raised the phone with my shaking hands, to see what message he had sent me.
*Can't, busy with something important.
That's it. That was the only thing he texted in reply. My heart froze and I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach.
With my heart in my throat, I glanced up to see Mike laughing out loud with his friends. Again, he was showing the text message that he had just sent me. I could Not believe what I was seeing. Not moving, I could only stare at the guy whom I came to call my boyfriend. Who I could no longer recognize.
Perhaps, I stared at him too long or too hard because he looked over his shoulder and his gaze met mine, in a second. I stared at him blankly, as his smile that once made my inside warm, slipped away. Even with this far distance, I could see as the wheels turned in his head. Now, he knew that I saw everything and he knew what I knew he knew.
His friends noticed that his attention was not on the conversation anymore and looked up to see where he was looking. I saw as one after the other, all turned to glance at me. For a few seconds, nobody made a move or did anything but then like somebody pressed a button at once, in all of them, they all began to laugh. Including Mike. However, his laugh was not as sure as it was before but he was still laughing.
I could not take this anymore. All this humiliation was too much for me. I was only seconds away from having a serious meltdown, right in the middle of the canteen.
So, I spun around to leave the place when I came face to face with Shirley. She was standing with a plate filled with food and her eyes were darting from me to the group behind me over and over again. I saw it happen on her face, as the realisation dawned on her face. She knew something had happened between me and Mike.
"Viri, what's going on ..." She asked but her question faded into the background as I was already making my way out of the cafeteria. Unable to take this anymore. Above everything that happened, I could not bear to see her face too.
So, I just left.