On the Plus Side

by P. A. Kurch

  One of the teachers raised her hand. “And we did step in,” she said. “We took care of the issue.”

  “Except you didn’t.” Alyssa replied. She didn’t shout or yell. She held her ground. “You removed her from the Student Council, but you did nothing to make sure that I was okay. You did nothing to make sure that the bullying stopped.”

  The board members didn’t seem too bothered by it.

  “And then,” she continued, “the following day, she and five of her friends confronted me in the hallway. I was pushed up against my locker. I had every right to fight back to protect myself and my child.”

  Everyone at the table took notes. They didn’t show any sign of emotion, just like Principal Stewart.

  “People saw the fight, and they say you acted first,” Principal Stewart said. “You wanted to get back at her for starting rumors. It all adds up.”

  “Except that’s not what happened at all,” Alyssa replied. “You would know that if you had watched the tape.”

  Just the mention of that tape made the room even quieter. Principal Stewart glared at Alyssa. “You have cameras in every corner of this school. I know that fight is on tape,” Alyssa went on.

  Principal Stewart laughed uncomfortably. She mumbled something. “The tapes,” she said, “are too blurry. We can’t make anything out.”

  Alyssa kept pressing the issue. “I believe I’m in my right to ask to see the tape for myself. Or, even better, see the tape with everyone here.”

  Principal Stewart suddenly looked tense. She told the board: “Let’s move on!”

  And they did.

  Principal Stewart began reading a detailed list out loud. Dates of Alyssa’s absences and late arrivals. All the times she had to leave class to see the nurse. The board members listened. Alyssa did too. I swear—that girl didn’t even blink at them.

  Alyssa pulled out a large envelope from her folder. “Here are all of my notes,” she stated. “Every note from every one of my doctor’s visits. I personally handed in copies to the main office. So where did they disappear to?”

  Principal Stewart pretended not to hear. She continued reading. Finally, she stopped. “With this in mind,” Principal Stewart said, “we need to make a decision. We need to decide whether or not this… very young… and very pregnant girl… will be joining us on graduation day.”

  Alyssa was ready to strike back.

  She took out ten stapled packets of paper from her folder. She stacked them all up neatly on the table in front of her. And then, very coolly, she slid a copy across the table to every board member.

  Some looked curiously at their packet. Others looked surprised. One started to wipe sweat from her forehead, and Principal Stewart’s jaw dropped. She looked to each side to see the reactions from everyone. The room fell absolutely silent as they read what was in front of them.

  And Alyssa. With a smile, she directed them to look at every line she had me highlight.

  Alyssa began listing off every law. Every court case. Everything that protected pregnant students like her. And then she listed every school that had tried—and failed—to silence students in similar situations.

  “You can’t punish me because I’m pregnant.”

  The board members all looked at each other for a moment. They closed their notebooks. Principal Stewart knew that was it. One of the assistant principals stood up. “I believe we owe you an apology, Ms. Holbrook,” she said.

  She then promised a full investigation into the girl who started the fight. They also promised Alyssa that she could return to school. Immediately. She would be able to walk across the stage for graduation.

  Principal Stewart put her face into her hands. We had won.

  JUNE

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Alyssa walked across the stage just weeks later. Proudly. More pregnant than ever. The baby was due any day.

  And me? I graduated the day after her.

  We both decided that we’d throw one big graduation party. Our parents weren’t too sure, though. “Please. It’ll save everybody time. And money. Two things nobody has enough of right now,” Alyssa told our parents. They agreed, reluctantly.

  Alyssa did ask for one thing. “My dad! I want him there, too.”

  Her moms couldn’t say no this time. It was her graduation party, after all. Little did Alyssa know that I had already reached out to him. I figured she’d want her dad around for when the baby arrived.

  I almost told her mom in private, but then her mom suddenly went off. “He’s always trying to outdo me!” she yelled. I knew from the stories that he was her ex-husband for a reason. I ended up telling Alyssa’s stepmother instead. She was happy to hear it.

  We had the party in my backyard. Evan was the first one to arrive—four hours early. He asked where we needed help. “How about you clean out the pool for us?” my dad asked. So Evan did, and then he stayed in it for the rest of the day. Well, until the cake came out, at least.

  The party was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect. We had more food than we could possibly eat, and Alyssa was getting a lot of attention from both of our families. Maybe too much attention.

  I was talking to Alyssa during dinner when her mom suddenly got very quiet. Alyssa looked up and screamed—her dad had made it. Alyssa wiped happy tears from her eyes.

  In all my years knowing Alyssa, I’d never met her dad. He was different than I expected. Alyssa looked just like him. The first thing he did was thank me for reaching out to him. He was so friendly. Alyssa was smiling from ear to ear.

  “This kid,” he said to Alyssa as he put his arm around my shoulder. “He’s a keeper.”

  He then told us both, “Oh! And my gift to the two of you. Well, the three of you, actually,” he said. “My company just fixed up a nice little apartment downtown. It’s close to a couple of the schools over there. And I thought, ‘You know, it’s just the right size for a small family.’ I want you two to have it. Live your life. Raise that kid. And please, just stay in school.” I couldn’t believe it. Things had been hard, but we had so much support, and I know most people in this situation weren’t so lucky.

  I heard Alyssa’s mother nearly choke on her hamburger. She excused herself from the picnic table. “See!” she cried. “He’s always outdoing me!”

  The party began winding down. We started saying our goodbyes to everyone. Alyssa was sitting with her dad when he called me over. He told me to sit down. Just for a moment.

  “You two,” he said, almost in a whisper. “You’re still just kids yourselves. But you’re great kids. Everyone who was here tonight knows that. Just promise me you’ll both stay happy. In a few days, nothing else is going to matter except that baby.”

  Alyssa and I both locked eyes. In that moment, I felt something change in Alyssa. Things were never the same between us after that.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  In the middle of one balmy night in June, Alyssa’s mom called me. My parents and I raced to the hospital. I don’t know how we didn’t get a ticket.

  Alyssa had a hard time during labor. She screamed and cried and needed more pain meds than she’d thought. I had a hard time just watching it all.

  And then she was here. A girl. Baby Sara was finally here, after all those months. She had a head full of black hair, just like me. Her cheeks were perfectly round. And her blue eyes! They were just like her mother’s.

  We made sure we held her before anyone else got a chance. Our parents couldn’t get enough of Sara Ann. She was perfect. Laura, though, wasn’t amused. “That’s it?” she asked us.

  Evan showed up later that evening with flowers and balloons. One balloon read

  “GET WELL SOON.” The other read “IT’S A BOY!” I took one look at Evan and shook my head.

  “Really, Evan!?” I asked. Evan laughed.

  “This is all they had! It cost me like fifteen dollars in the gift shop!”

  Later that night, me and Alyssa sat up with the baby. “I can’t believe she’s finall
y here,” Alyssa said. She held Sara close to her chest.

  “It’s definitely been an adventure,” I replied. “But it was worth it. Wasn’t it?”

  Alyssa didn’t respond for a moment. She was lost in thought, looking into Sara’s eyes.

  “We did the right thing. Didn’t we?” she asked. I looked at her. She looked like she was about to cry. “I mean, we gave up everything. College. Careers. Just so we could go through this all. For us. For her.”

  Sara suddenly started to cry. “Rest,” I told Alyssa as I gently picked up the baby. Alyssa quietly thanked me. I calmed Sara down after minute or two. By the time I turned back, Alyssa was sound asleep.

  DECEMBER

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Six months later, it was Sara’s first Christmas Eve. Alyssa brought her to my parents’ house. Sara met lots of my family and she showed off lots of new skills. She loved rolling onto her stomach and creeping across the floor. Everyone would get so excited for her. Sara would just coo and smile.

  I made Evan honorary uncle the day Sara was born. He helped me babysit sometimes. And by babysit, I mean read a bunch of comics to her. Sara fell asleep to them. I couldn’t blame her for that. The pictures, though. She loved the colorful pictures.

  Evan came over that Christmas Eve and played a bit with Sara. My mom teased him. “You’re a natural, Evan,” she said.

  Evan’s eyes got real wide. “Yeah, no,” he told her. “I’m good until I’m forty, at least.”

  Sara was beyond spoiled that day. She had more toys than I knew what to do with, and I knew Santa would be bringing her even more tomorrow.

  It was a perfectly happy and normal Christmas Eve. That was kind of the point.

  Eventually, Alyssa and I politely began excusing ourselves for the night. My parents both pulled me aside as I put on my boots. “We’re proud of you, Bryan,” my dad said. “Don’t ever forget that. And call us if you need anything.”

  I promised to do that as I gave them the biggest hug.

  I held Sara as we went outside. The streetlights gave us just enough light.

  Alyssa went to her car and came back a minute later. She helped get the car seat into my car. Once Sara was strapped in, Alyssa kissed her goodbye. “Promise you’ll be good for Daddy. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Alyssa then stood up and looked at me. “Got everything you need?” she asked. I nodded my head.

  “My new apartment’s all set,” I said. “Evan even helped babyproof everything. But he hid all my forks and knives! And he won’t tell me where he hid them. I’ve been eating everything with a spoon.”

  Alyssa cracked a smile. We said a quiet goodbye to each other.

  Alyssa watched as we drove away. Sara was cooing to herself, but she got quieter and quieter. The drive into the city was slow. I drove extra carefully in the snow.

  “Rides in the car make me sleepy, too,” I told her. I was always tired, though, between night classes and working full-time. Mr. Jennings found out about Sara. He told me I should have said something sooner, and suddenly he realized why I knew so much about parenting books. He made me a manager. I then rehired Evan immediately.

  For Alyssa and me, work and college classes proved to be too much. We tried so hard to make it work for five months. We took turns getting up to feed Sara. Change Sara. Hold Sara. We fell behind for a little while in school, and then we fell behind with each other.

  We reached a tipping point at Thanksgiving. After dinner that night, I asked Alyssa what was wrong. She hadn’t spoken to me all day.

  “What my dad told us at our graduation party… I want to be happy. But these past few months are proof. I’m just not happy being with you right now, with all this.”

  As much as it hurt, I knew it had been coming. We promised to stay friends. Everyone says that, though. The damage was done. We did, however, agree to work together for Sara. And we were, even though it was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

  I pulled into my apartment driveway. I grabbed bags of clothes, diapers, and gifts from the trunk. As soon as I went to get Sara, I could smell it. She needed to be changed, and badly!

  I struggled to open the door as I held Sara in one arm. She was asleep. I tried so hard to be quiet. As soon as I turned on a light, my phone rang, and it was loud.

  Sara woke up screaming. I still had bags sitting on the porch. And Sara’s diaper! It was getting worse. I didn’t know where to start.

  Evan’s name appeared on the screen. I put it on speaker. He heard Sara screaming in the background.

  “I can call you back!” he said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I told him. “I’m just trying to figure everything out.” I brought the bags in from the porch. I pulled a diaper out of one bag. I frantically searched for the wipes. They were buried in another bag. Sara continued screaming.

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” I told her. “Daddy’s still learning! And besides, it’s our first time alone together overnight.”

  “You’ve got this, Bryan,” Evan reassured me over the phone. “Remember that giraffe that I made you change?” he asked. “Just picture that giraffe right now, okay?”

  “But it’s my daughter!” I shouted. Evan laughed.

  “You’re wasting time, Bryan. My timer’s counting down. Go!”

  CHAPTER 1

  Dear Mom,

  Lucas Ross is a dung heap with a tongue ring. How is my best friend in love with him?

  He gets Doritos stuck in his braces. He clicks his tongue ring against his teeth when other people are talking.

  Amy and I usually see eye to eye, but whenever Lucas raises his dumb eyebrows, she laughs. He’s always raising his eyebrows. Or else he repeats what you say in a sarcastic voice. He’s like a walking meme.

  A mean meme.

  The worst part is, I hardly ever see Amy anymore.

  I miss her.

  And you.

  Love,

  Sophie

  “Sophie, you have to go to the Sato twins’ Fall Bash,” Amy says. She swirls her french fries in ketchup. Her boyfriend, Lucas, nuzzles her neck. “Pretty please? I never get to see you anymore.”

  “I don’t know. It’s weird the party’s on a weeknight,” Sophie says. She looks down at her lunch. Limp, slimy school pizza slumps on her tray. “I have to go study for my history quiz.”

  Lucas slides his mouth off Amy’s neck. “Uh, Sophie? What’s a weeknight?”

  His voice is serious, but his face is mocking. He clicks his tongue ring against his teeth.

  “You know. Like a school night,” Sophie says.

  “Here’s the thing: I don’t think weeknights exist,” Lucas declares.

  “He’s right,” Amy pipes up. “The days of the week are just a social construct. You know. Just something humans made up.”

  “Weekends are as made-up as Santa Claus,” Lucas says. He crunches a fry. “You don’t still believe in Santa, do you?”

  “I have to go,” Sophie says. Santa might not exist, she thinks. But Mr. Orr is a real bear. History quizzes are the worst.

  “Come to the party. There’s going to be a bonfire. In the desert! On a full moon,” Amy says.

  “A full blood moon,” Lucas adds.

  “If you come with us, I’ll sleep over Friday and Saturday. I’ll help you take care of Violet,” Amy promises.

  “Who’s Violet?” says Lucas.

  “Sophie’s sister,” says Amy. “She’s in second grade. She’s so cute. She’s obsessed with that cartoon movie—Ice Fairies.”

  “That cartoon one about the fairy princesses? With the song about snow—”

  Amy and Sophie burst out singing “Here I Am,” the hit song from Ice Fairies.

  Lucas scoffs. “I can’t believe you guys like that princess stuff.”

  “It’s about sisters who rescue each other!” Amy says. “And there’s no kiss at the end. It’s feminist!”

  Lucas shrugs. “Is it feminist? Or are they just trying to sell little girls T-shirts?”

&nbs
p; “And tutus,” Sophie says.

  “What?” says Lucas.

  “Yeah,” says Amy. “They sell tutus, too.”

  “Violet only wears Ice Fairies T-shirts and tutus,” Sophie says.

  “Whatever,” says Lucas. “Let’s focus. Sophie. You going to the party?” He clicks his tongue ring, making a tick-tock sound.

  Yuck. Imagine driving to the party with Lucas and Amy. How long would the car ride be? Would his tongue click the whole way?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  P.A. Kurch is a writer and teacher from Buffalo, New York. He is also an avid videogame fan and collector of all things geeky - which lovingly made their way into this book. This is his second novel for young adults, after having released Knights of Suburbia in 2018.