That Stupid Little L-Word:

Chapter Forty Nine:

"You have a choice to make," my mother says solemnly around a mouthful of pizza. She half-covers her mouth in an attempt to look more polite and then sets her cheesy slice down onto her paper plate. She swallows and looks to me pointedly. 

I sigh. 

"I know," I grumble under my breath and push at my slice of pizza absently. My gaze skirts over the packet of papers that sit between us, half hidden by a box of pizza. I pick the papers up and scan over them for the hundredth time. 

Amanda wipes some pizza grease from her mouth with a napkin. "I don't think that you should quit. I mean, this is your senior year. It's supposed to be special. I don't think that you should give that up just because you're having a baby. But it's really up to you." 

I nod. "I'm just worried about the work-load."

"And what about Miley?" Amanda asks. 

I press my lips into a firm line. The stress that Miley will most likely add to my load could possibly beak me. I'm not sure whether I can handle the bullying on top of school work. But at the same time, I'm not sure that I can't handle it either. Other's opinions have never really bothered me. 

"Who is that?" My mother asks, her brows crinkling with confusion. 

Amanda briefly explains while I contemplate the pros and cons. The bulling would have to eventually stop. My main focus should be my grades; dating Blue-Eyes proved disastrous for my GPA, and I won't be able to graduate unless I get them back up into the A-B range. I'm not sure that I could do that from home. I have tried online classes before, and I know that I definitely learn better in a classroom.  

"I think that I'll duke it out for a while longer," I say finally. Amanda takes a bite of her pizza and my mother arches her eyebrow. I explain, "I don't want to spend my senior year hiding out at home. And I honestly think that it will be beneficial for my grades, that I stay in a classroom setting. But I don't want to completely close that option off yet. My opinion might change in the next few months." 

My mother nods with understanding. She stands and starts toward her bedroom. "Then I'll go email the principal and let him know what we've decided so far. Hopefully the teachers will be able to keep an eye on that Miley girl and help out if necessary." 

Amanda snorts, but says nothing. My mother vanishes without another word and Amanda glances at me, her eyebrow arched. "Are you sure about this?"

I shake my head. "Nope. But I'm going to give it a shot anyways." 

She nods and shoots me a wide smile. "I'll be here no matter what."

That brings a smile to my face. "What did I ever do to deserve a best friend like you?" 

She closes one eye in a wink and takes another bite of her pizza.

The rest of the night passes pretty quickly for a Sunday night. Amanda decides to spend the night, much to my mother's delight, and we end up conked out on my bed by eleven. Neither of us are prepared for the alarm clock to scream the next morning. 

I shower first. I notice, as I stand naked beneath the stream of water, that I have a tiny bulge budding at the base of my stomach. It hardly extends further than an ant bite would. I touch it hesitantly and then shake my head. I can't get carried away. Amanda needs to shower. 

Amanda hops in when I finish with the bathroom, and I hastily try to get dressed. I grab the first thing that I can find, which happens to be more yoga-pants and an old Batman t-shirt. I dry my hair and pull it back as Amanda exits the bathroom. She squints at me. "What size are you?"