The teenage pregnancy pact

Santiago

Santiago had only one, true rival since first grade: Jocelyn, whom he vied with for the highest grades, sometimes disputing mere decimals and negotiating for extra credits just to outdo each other.

Those memories brought a smile to his face, right in the middle of his last class for the day.

But then he looked at his back, seeing two empty seats at the very back of the classroom, and he scowled.

Years ago, Santiago would have rejoiced at Jocelyn's absences, knowing they would result in removing her as his competitor. But now...

Now he didn't know what to feel, especially after hearing Jocelyn's sad case.

He confided in his parents about that dilemma on the third day Jocelyn failed to show up at school as well as his attempt to reason with her. Surprisingly, his mother frowned at that approach.

"The heart of a woman, even such a young one, is a delicate thing, have some compassion for her, and help her as much as you can." she said.

And so, he texted Jocelyn to request her assignments and offered to submit them on her behalf, hoping that by playing to her guilt she would stop wasting time on that futile pursuit after inevitably failing him.

But much to Santiago's surprise, not only did she thank him with a hug the next day, but she also handed in every pending assignment, eight out of twelve getting a better grade than his own ones.

Before he knew it, Santiago began marking her present on the days she skipped school.

He didn't hold the same level of respect for Lizette however, and with his commitment to Jocelyn, there were limitations to what he could do for the former.

Usually, when a student missed classes two days in a row, or intermittently for two weeks, a call was made to the parents asking for an explanation.

Jocelyn's parents received none after he began marking her assistance. Lizette's mother received one last Friday after the second day her daughter didn't show up.

It was Monday now, and Lizette failed to show up again.

After his last class, he went to the principal's office, a strict but fair man called Mr. Fisher. He received him with courtesy and offered him to sit with him at his desk, but Santiago remained standing.

He asked as casually as possible about Lizette's situation.

"My secretary called her mother this morning again," Mr. Fisher said, "but it went straight to voicemail."

"Blocked?" Santiago asked.

"Looks like it."

"So, what are we going to do about it?"

Mr. Fisher took off his glasses, setting them on the desk with a sigh.

"If Miss Pratt is absent again tomorrow without a reason, I'll have no choice but to leave this to a more competent authority."

Oh no...

Generally, Santiago wouldn't go out of his way to help every single student that decided their personal problems mattered more than their grades, but if the director made good on that affirmation he had little doubt she would forever be separated from her mother, probably taken away from this school, and that would be even a bigger blow to Jocelyn.

After he left the school he texted Jocelyn and she provided him with Lizette's address. A quick GPS search revealed the most direct bus route, which he promptly took after texting his parents where he would be.

Upon arriving at the address, he saw Lizette's mother about to leave the house. He called out to her, introduced himself, and explained Lizette's situation and the urgency of it.