Teen-Adulthood 101

Chapter Seven

The next morning, I awoke at 6:00 a.m., took a hot shower, and emerged from the bathroom with my hair crinkled and wearing a red, split halter mini-dress, black tights, and black ballet shoes to find Jake in the kitchen, cooking breakfast.

"Smells good, honey!" I smiled, walking behind him. "What are you making?"

Kissing me, he answered. "I am making scrambled eggs, grits, sausage links, biscuits, and our personal favorite: bacon."

"You are so awesome, baby." I laughed. "I'll pour us some orange juice!"

We spent the remaining few hours talking while listening to countless songs of Atreyu and Paramore when Jana's Ford Escape pulled up.

"That's them!" Jake laughed as he kissed me. "Come on, let's go!"

Entering the car, we greeted Jana and Ryan, as well as Amanda and Kyle who were sitting behind us.

"So," I asked, "where are we going for lunch, guys?"

Looking back, Jana answered. "Ryan's wanting to go to Grumpy's in Starkville because of their chicken."

"They make awesome chicken," he replied, driving down Highway 25, "and they also make great burgers and fries!"

"So, is that okay with y'all?"

We all agreed and arrived at Grumpy's twenty minutes later, sitting on the patio.

"So, where are Sara and Austin?" Amanda asked, eating a chicken sandwich.

"They had their own thing to do, so they're meeting us later." Ryan answered, then turned to me. "So, Haley? Are you ready for girl time, today?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while, though, and now I'm a little nervous!"

"What's there to be nervous about, hon?" Jana asked. "I don't bite!"

"I know that! I meant going maternity shopping. What if the stuff is too expensive?"

"Don't worry about that, Hales! It's on me. All I want you to focus on is relaxing and having a good time. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

After lunch was over, we went to Bulldawg's Tattoo to meet with Sara and Austin; then, we separated with the guys going to State, while us girls are heading to Leigh Mall in Columbus.

"So, which store are we heading to first, Janey?" Sara asked when we arrived twenty-five minutes later.

Pondering for a minute, she took a deep breath and answered. "I was thinking of the maternity places to let Haley pick out her clothes and then, to the Barnes and Nobles to get her some pregnancy books and other books we'd like. After that, we can go to Hot Topic and see what they have for sale. That sounds good?"

Agreeing with Jana's suggestion, I was suddenly grabbed from all sides and was pulled up the escalator.

When we reached the maternity stores, I started looking around and found fifteen outfits that I really adored, such as a white knee-length dress, black top with black pants, and a pink blouse with a white skirt. The other outfits consisted of tops and blue jeans and everything rang up to $250, but Jana was not worried about it. She just paid the cashier and we headed to the bookstore.

"I can't believe all the stuff they have on pregnancy and child rearing." Amanda said as we were going through the books. "It's like they think all the girls are going to get pregnant at once."

I just laughed. "Well, Mississippi has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates, so they probably feel that it is best to stock up, as with religion. People here think that if you're not Christian, then you are damned forever."