I groaned waking up at precisely five thirty a.m. rushing to the attached bathroom throwing up last night’s dinner in the toilet just as time. I stayed there for a couple moments throwing up violently being sick shaking with worry about it since I had never really been sick before. I sighed in relief as the nausea slightly stopped sitting down on the tiles flushing away the vomit before I could look at it and become sick again. Sitting down made me uncomfortable for some reason. I just couldn’t get comfortable no matter what I did. My stomach hurt like hell for another unknown reason. I’m hungry, I thought to myself. I nodded standing carefully wiping the sides of my mouth with a napkin throwing it out brushing my teeth three times to get the taste of prior stomach contents out.
I then walked into my room frowning still feeling uncomfortable. Today was just one of those days. I picked out a shirt and jeans then went back into the bathroom to go pee since my bladder was practically bursting. After I did my business I got changed and groaned feeling the jeans extra tight around my thighs and butt. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was a bit bloated. Stomach cramps, nausea, bloating. I sighed. I hated this time of the month. I pulled my jeans off slipping on yoga pants instead. It was a cooler day today and I was stuck in an air conditioned room most of the time for cheerleading practice.
I brushed my long chestnut hair that went down to the end of my back and the beginning of my butt putting it in a ponytail heading downstairs. My older brother, Joshua, was already downstairs. I rolled my eyes at the McDonald’s sign on his breakfast.
“That stuff makes you fat,” I said walking past him to the cupboards reaching for the bowls.
“At least I’m not already fat,” he retorted back. Ouch. That hurt. I rolled my eyes feeling a sudden urge to either strangle him or kill him but I kept my cool. After all, he was my brother. I grabbed a bowl pouring cereal in it sitting down pouring milk as well. Turns out Joshua was still on his hashbrowns. Finally he got to his breakfast sandwhich and I was already on my third bowl of raisin brand. He opened his wrapper and immediately I scrunched my nose in disgust.
“Ew,” I drawled. “Onions.” He shrugged and ate his sandwich then burped loudly in my face. My stomach did a flip. Oh god, I thought. I was about to put my glass of orange juice down when my breakfast came back up. It overflowed the cup and I bolted to the kitchen sink throwing up the five or so bowls of cereal feeling my stomach twist and turn.
“Gross!” Josh exclaimed standing and getting out of the way before I could throw up on him. I rolled my eyes. He usually got drunk he should know what an upset stomach feels like. I sighed leaning away from the sink turning the water on along with the garbage disposal pouring some Lisol in it to make it smell better and disinfected.
“That’s what you get for burping in my face,” I sighed tiredly. Today just wasn’t my day. My dad would make me go to cheerleading anyways so why bother telling him I was sick? I walked to my glass dumping it in the sink with the running water then putting it in the dishwasher. I stood back up turning to get my plate when Josh smirked and burped in my face again. This time it reeked more like onions than ever.
“Extra onions,” he smirked stepping away. “For good luck at eighth grade.” He ran upstairs. I was too sick to think. The sink was too far away (only a couple feet) but I could only stumbled backwards into the dishwasher hearing acracking sound then the sound of me vomiting all over the place. I didn’t know I had eaten that much.
After another few minutes I was done and started cleaning up quickly frowning at the few broken dishes and the now broken dishwasher. I sighed shaking my head walking upstairs quickly getting in the shower feeling another lurch in my stomach as the hot water hit me. I didn’t get sick since there was nothing left in my stomach but my migraine worsend.
I got out a few minutes later getting changed once again heading downstairs with an awful stomachache and headache. The even worse thing? I had to walk a couple blocks to practice. I walked those painful blocks getting to the building leaning against the wall. It had gotten hot outside and I was feeling the nausea creep back. Maybe I should skip. But then they would call my dad and he would completely freak. I sighed shaking my head putting on my best poker face walking in putting up my ponytail with a smile. My face fell. They all had their uniforms? I looked at coach Berkeley.
“Ah, Jessica Walker,” she said. Uh oh.
“Yes?” I asked walking over. She handed me a bag. I opened it and inside was a plastic waterbottle a cheeleading outfit, new socks, new sneakers, and some hair ties and bobby pins.
“Here you go. Get changed in the locker rooms. Two weeks until school starts. You better shape it up. I smiled feeling the compulsion to hug her but avoided it.
“Thank you so much, Coach Burkeley!” I exclaimed then hurried to the lockers getting ready. I frowned at myself in the mirror. I was bloated. Or at least felt bloated. Super bloated. My head hurt and my stomach felt worse pains than period cramps and my lower back hurt. Just at that moment my best friend, Lexi, walked in. Her eyes boggled and then she ran with me to the end of the lockers in a small closet up a hidden staircase into an old storage room yanking me by my wrist. When she finally let go I massaged my aching wrist.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said. Her blue eyes were huge and her light blonde hair was straightened and pulled back. Her fair skin was flawless and her face was morpher in shock. I was confused and trying to think made my head hurt.
“What?” I asked.
“You slept with Tony and now this!” she exclaimed motioning to my stomach. I blinked confused. Who was Tony? Oh right. Lexi’s boyfriend. The captain of the football team. Wait…what did I do?!
“I didn’t sleep with him,” I said. I sounded as if I was on a hangover which I swore I wasn’t. Tony?! Tony Lansing?! He rarely would talk to me even though I was captain of the cheerleading! Lexi scoffed.
“Enough with these lies!” she exclaimed chucking something at me. I caught the box. I looked at it. I stood there. I was shocked. Purely shocked. It was a pregnancy test box.
