Against the Odds

8

Miranda stood in front of her classroom door out of breath. She didn't realize how far of a walk it was from the parking lot to campus. If she wasn't pregnant it probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal. She couldn't imagine doing this at 8 or 9 months.

Walking inside heaving, Miranda couldn't help but notice the curious glances from her classmates and the concerned look from her professor. She had taken 3 of Professor Dunaway's classes before and was excited to have her again for Biomolecules. They had developed a good relationship as well as her other teachers.

"Are you alright?" Professor Dunaway questioned, putting the chalk down.

"Yes, what do you mean?" Miranda asked curiously.

"You are out of breath."

"Oh that, I didn't realize the parking lot to campus was that far of a walk. I'm used to living in the dorms not commuting."

"Do you need water? I have water bottles."

"Oh no thank you. I have water in my bag. I just need to find a seat." She responded, turning to look at the semi-filled room. The only seat available looked to be in between two girls.

The professor looked around and turned to a girl sitting at the desk at the end. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Monica."

"Monica. Nice to meet you. Do you mind moving to the seat right there?"

"Yeah sure, no problem."

"Wait, no she doesn't have to. I can sit in that row."

"It's fine." Monica insisted, grabbing her books and moving.

"Thank you." She smiled softly before sitting in her seat.

"It is now 9 am. So let's get started. I am Dr. Dunaway. You can refer to me as Dr. or Professor. Some people are particular about titles but either is fine. I'm sure a lot of you have already had me before. Whether it was for biology, anatomy, or cell biology..." she started.

Miranda took out her notebook and began writing notes and making a list of everything she would need for this class. Once class was dismissed she grabbed her books and purse.

"Miranda it's good to have you in my class again. Ben proposed?"

"Yeah, he proposed back in April and we got married in June."

"Congratulations and congratulations on the baby. I'm thrilled for you. How are you feeling about everything?"

"Thank you so much and honestly It's been a mix of emotions."

"Care to elaborate, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"It's a long story. You got time." Miranda giggled.

"I don't have another class for 2 hours. What's your schedule?"

"I have another one in an hour."

"That's plenty of time."

"Ok, so you can probably assume that this pregnancy was not planned." Miranda started before going into the whole story and everything that happened this summer. After she finished she paused and looked up at her teacher waiting for her to say something.

"Miranda I can not tell you that this will be easy, but what I will say is that you are right it is not impossible. I commend you for standing strong and keeping your baby. I've only met Ben twice, but I know that he is in love with you and he is going to take care of your family. I don't like the fact that he is slowing up on school. I know that it was his decision and that you did try to persuade him to a different route, but I fear that later down the line it will cause problems. Just be mindful of that. And girl call your parents. Everyone can't be stubborn In this scenario. Your father was wrong, but he is still your dad. Reconcile that relationship because it really does take a village. I should know, I have two of them."