Identical

Part 5-When All Else Fails

May 1979- 5 weeks until delivery

Emily

      School is a nightmare. The bigger I get, the more stares I recieve in the hallway. I walk so  slowly that even the Special Ed kids zoom my me. I wish Tommy was here to protect me, but he's out collecting scrap with his dad-I don't know if he'll ever come back to school. I told him he has to because I was the one who was planning on dropping out, not him. The only reason I'm still here is because I can't stand being in that trailer park all day.

       Just as I was about to head up the stairs, Heather popped up in front of me. I nearly peed myself. "God, Heather!" I hiss. "You can't do that!" She giggled, rolling her dark brown eyes at me, the way we used to do together-before she ditched me.

     Heather put her hand on my shoulder. "Emily, relax, I just have to ask you something." Behind her I could see Carri Popwell and a few of my former friends, waiting anxiously for Heather's next move. "Can you forward a message to Tommy for us?"

    She must have read the confusion on my face when she explained. "You see, Tommy's supposed to come to my party tomorrow. He said he'd show up, but I haven't heard anything yet. Do you mind asking him?"

   My face was an absolute blank. I know how Heather works-she used to be my best friend-but I didn't get why she was acting so snobby. She knows I live with him. She knows I could deliver any second now. That bitch. Instead, I kept my cool, even turning my nose up a little at her and her pathetic followers. "Tommy miss a party? Don't worry Heather, I'll be sure to check."

   She smiled. "Good." Before walking back to her group, she turned to me once again. "You're feet look really swollen Emily. Maybe you should get a wheelchair so the nurse can push you from class to class?" They all burst into laughter.

    When I got home I was ready to confront Tommy.  Slamming the door behind me and throwing my books on the table I headed straight for the couch, where I knew he'd be. Instead, I got the shock of my life: it was Mom.

   "Hello, Emily" she said calmly. Sitting across from her was Al in his worn out recliner, smoking a cigarette. Tommy was leaning against the wall. Both looked perplexed.

   "What's she doing here?" I pointed at Mom, my heartburn making me want to vomit and scream at the same time. "Why did you let her in?" I was waiting for Tommy to answer, but he was no use. He just kept staring at the shag carpet.

   Al stood up now, grinding the butt of his cigarette on the floor. "Don't get mad at him. It was your mother's idea to come here. Said she wanted to set things straight or somethin'. Just shut up and listen." I did as I was told, making sure I sat on the opposite side of the sofa as her. I noticed that Mom was sitting close to the edge of the couch. I could tell the grime and smell repulsed her. She held her purse tightly on her lap.

    "I-uh,wanted to make sure you were being taken care of here" she began. "We still care about you very much, and want you to know that we think about you alot." Mom was looking at me, I could feel it, but I refused to meet her gaze.

   "Sara's kind of been keeping me up to date with your progress. I can see you are almost ready to deliver." The words choked in her throat. What mom would be excited for her 15 year old daughter to give birth? "Do you have everything ready?"

    Tommy finally stepped in. "A neighbor of ours gave us their crib and some old toys." He was trying to make it seem like we had everything under control, but we didn't. Tommy still goes out-not returning until the early morning hours, he rarely goes to school, Al calls me fat on a daily basis(today he called me 'Shamu') and, oh yeah I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A FUCKING BABY.