Beautiful Mistake

xlv

The next day arrives and I nearly pass out on the way to school. The baby shower didn't end until midnight and on top of that, I woke up at three in the morning due to Braxton Hicks so my morning has been incredibly sucky.

We arrive at school and I trudge through the main doors. Collin walks me to my homeroom class and gives me a kiss before he takes off to his own room.

Mrs. Gideon greets me with a soft smile and I smile back.

"You look like you've had a rough morning," I rest my head on my hand and nod, "I have some tea that will wake you up. It tastes like crap but it'll help you in the long run," I look up at the insulator on her desk, "Come here Caroline," I stand from my desk and approach her. She pulls a plastic cup from the top of the insulator and pops the top open.

She fills the cup and slides it over to me, "It's an all natural herb tea, boosts your energy and immune system. My husband used to make it for me when I was sick."

I think it's cool that she can look back on her husband and have mementos from when he was living. I have the same thing with Tessa, the things she's given me I still have.

The blue cup is steaming as I pick it up. My hands are instantly warmed and when I bring the cup to my lips, the liquid burns them. The taste registers in my mouth and it's extremely foul. My feet carry me back over to my desk and then the first bell rings. School has officially begun and kids start to pile into the classroom.

"Hey, Caroline!" A girl I've seen so many times before sits next to me with a bright smile.

"Hi," My voice breaks and I clear my throat, "Hi."

"I'm Vienna," She looks down at my stomach and I see the emotion change in her eyes.

"Is there something you need?" I ask in the most polite way possible, she seems so intrigued by my large stomach that she forgets what's she's thinking about.

"Uh, right, is it alright if we talk after class? I have some things to ask you," I nod enthusiastically and sit back in my seat, "Great, that's great, thank you." She tucks her black hair behind her ear and looks up at Mrs. Gideon who's talking about what's going on the rest of the week.

"We are drawing near to the end of the year. Everyone in this classroom is a senior and I'm sad to see you go but I'm proud of you all. A lot of you have to work a bit harder than others but I feel all of you are doing so well."

"The rest of the week is just a relaxing time for everyone. You shouldn't get homework from any of your teachers but that doesn't mean you shouldn't study for your exams."

A kid raises his hand and begins talking, "Mrs. Gideon, are you and Mr. Santiago dating?"

She's obviously caught off guard by the question, I mean it did come from out of nowhere.

"Not that it's any of your business but yes, Mr. Santiago and I are seeing each other." She shakes off the question and continues talking about the next few weeks.

-

After class, I wait for Vienna to come out. She wants to talk to me about something but this is the first time she's actually talked with me. I've seen her around school but her and me never really crossed paths.

Vienna's jet black hair is the first thing I see and then her icy blue eyes make an appearance.

"Is it alright if we talk somewhere a little more private?" Her eyes shift around the hallway where tons of people walk, probably people she knows.

"Yeah, of course," Vienna and I walk down the corridor and find an empty classroom. The both of us sit down in empty desks that face each other and she sighs.

"I know I should be telling a teacher or something but I just want to talk to someone who's experiencing this first hand." I nod and she continues talking, "I think I'm pregnant and I don't know who the dad is."

"Why do you think that?" I ask, crossing my hands on the desk.

"I've missed my last two periods. Like when I was 14 years old my periods were super irregular and I had one like once every three months so I thought it wasn't a problem but recently they were starting to happen every month. Then all of a sudden they just stopped after I had sex with some random guy at a party."

"Who's party?" I'm just concerned with the fact that she's coming to me. I get it, she needs someone to talk to but I know who the father of my child is and he's my age! What if she had sex with some twenty-year-old guy?

"It was one of your boyfriend's friends, Ryan I think?"

The bell rings but I ignore it, "Do you remember what the guy looked like?"

She squeezes her eyes shut like it's helping her remember, "Uh, he had brown hair, brown eyes, super tall and like an accent? I'm not sure what kind...maybe British?"

"A British accent? Or Australian?"

"What's the difference?" She asks clearly dumbfounded by the distinct fact the two accents are not the same.

"They pronounce things a lot different. I'm not sure, but is there something else you remember about the guy? What he was wearing maybe?"

"He was wearing a black shirt and black skinny jeans. His shoes were really old converse." She looks up at me and I hear her feet hit the floor lightly in a pattern.

"Was there a hole in the back of his shoes, like right above his ankle?"

"Yeah! Yeah, why? Do you know who it is?" She asks excitedly, her pale white hands press hard on the table as I bite my lip.

"I think the guy is Warren, my best friend," I say quietly, furrowing my eyebrows in thought.

I understand that Warren was hurting when Tessa died but I didn't think he'd be so careless, AGAIN. Two months ago he may have gotten another girl pregnant because he was grieving on the girl he had gotten pregnant before.

"Warren? Does he go to school here?" Vienna eyes are concerned and shocked like she just found out about the father of her child. Which I think she has.

"He did, but his girlfriend died in a plane crash and he dropped out."

She slowly looks up at me, "You mean that pregnant girl everyone was talking about? That was his girlfriend?"

"Yeah." I reply, biting the nail on my thumb, "Okay, I'll call Warren after school and we can meet up with him alright? I just want to make sure that you are pregnant and that he's the guy you remember."

Vienna nods and picks up her backpack.

"Thank you so much for helping me Caroline, this means the world to me."

I smile weakly and once the door to the classroom shuts, I put my head down on the table.

This is way too much for me to deal with only 2 hours of sleep.