So . . . That Happened

by Laci Maskell

  “Your head straight?” he asks.

  “I’m good, Jesse. I promise. We are going to crush it tonight.”

  “Good. We will have cause to celebrate at your party tonight.”

  “You bet we will,” I say as I am struck by a football to the side of the head.

  Liam laughs beside me. “Watch out, Greyson.”

  “Maybe your aim is why I’m the quarterback, and you are not,” I taunt him.

  “I don’t think that’s it,” Liam says, throwing it at my face again.

  I grab it before it hits the mark and throw it at his nether regions.

  Amelia sidles up to me. Her arm snakes around my waist.

  “Maybe at the party we can finish what we started in the locker room,” she says.

  I smile my sly smile, lean close, lick her ear, and say, “I do believe we finished down stairs. I don’t leave anything unfinished. However, we could always start something new.”

  She giggles beside me, making the rest of our group fake gag. They know what that giggle means.

  “Would you two get a room,” Tyler chimes in.

  “We already did,” I tell them.

  Amelia pretends to hit my chest, but uses her other hand to grab my ass. Girlfriends are good for something.

  I throw my book bag into my locker. Who does homework on the weekends anyway? Not that I do homework, period. I’ll just weasel my way out of whatever it was I’m supposed to do when the time comes. The teachers love me. And if they don’t love me, they love the generous donations my father gives to this excuse of a school.

  “Alright, guys, let’s go. I’m starving,” I say.

  I put my arm around Amelia and descend the hallway in search of freedom.

  I see Lux and Leah down by their lockers and try my best not to notice them.

  Liam tosses the football into the air and catches it over and over. Tyler tries to grab the football from him and the two end up horse collared around each other. When they break it up, Liam tells Tyler to go long for a pass.

  Tyler runs down the hallway then turns around to run backward.

  Liam arches his arm back and launches the football.

  My body stills as I see Tyler reach behind his head for the football. He is directly in front of Lux, whose eyes are wide open and locked on Tyler. Leah tries to pull her out of the way, but it’s too late. Tyler trips on his own feet and rams into Lux, sending her sprawling onto the floor. Tyler, steadied by Lux’s tiny frame stays upright. I swallow hard and wait for the shit to hit the fan.

  Tyler turns around, sees Lux on the floor and says, “Watch where you’re going, prego.”

  The crash was Tyler’s and Liam’s fault and yet Lux, the nonpopular person in this scenario, is the one blamed.

  Lux does her best to ignore him, while checking herself out. When her hand goes to her stomach, something clicks in me and I want to scream.

  All of my friends laugh. Liam, Tyler, Haley, Elizabeth, Amelia. Even Jesse has a smile on his face, though it quickly fades, when he too remembers she is carrying an infant. How can they all be so callous?

  When Lux finally looks up at Tyler, he says, “Aw, you going to cry like a little baby?”

  This ignites a new laughter in my friends and I can take it no longer.

  Leah looks as if she is about to say something, but I beat her to it.

  “Tyler! What the Hell, man?” I yell.

  “What?” he asks.

  “She’s pregnant.”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “You could have hurt her. Or it.”

  “What about it, Greyson? Why do you care?” Tyler asks. He’s mad that I have called him out for being an ass, and for embarrassing him in front of low lives.

  I feel anger like I have never felt before. He doesn’t care about the fact that he could have killed a baby.

  “I’m not going to let you hurt her because you think you are better than her,” I seethe. If he speaks again, I may see red.

  Tyler looks as if he might actually come to his defense, again.

  Beside me, Jesse says, “Just drop it, Tyler. Let’s go.”

  I forgot that I had an audience. My vision clears and I can see my group of friends around me. They look almost frightened. Good. Maybe they will leave her alone.

  “Whatever,” Tyler says.

  Amelia puts her arms around me, hugs me, and says, “That’s my sensitive, protective man.”

  For a second I was worried she would react differently. I was almost sure she would get mad that I stood up for another girl. But, instead, I am rewarded for something I should never have had to do.

  She kisses my cheek and walks away with the rest of my friends.

  When they all are out of the school building, I look at Lux. She has tears streaming down her face. I am so glad she waited till they were gone to cry.

  I walk over to her, grab her hand, put my arm around her back, and pull her to her feet. Her hand in mine is so small. She’s so like a child, it makes me feel like a giant. She holds on to me tight, like I am a lifeline. I wish she wouldn’t. The look on her face tells me she wishes too she wouldn’t.

  “Are you alright?” I ask.

  Just like that, the spell is broken. She lets go of my hand and turns to Leah for support.

  Leah looks pissed. I don’t blame her.

  “I’m fine,” Lux says, though her voice quivers. She’s not convinced she’s fine.

  “Listen, Lux, I-,” I start to say.

  She cuts me off by holding up her hand and says, “Just don’t.”

  Both she and Leah look at me with cold stares. They both hate me.

  I look deep into her eyes for any emotion besides hate. If she feels anything else, I cannot see it. I look down to her soon to be bulging stomach. My baby is in there. And I let it get hurt. My eyes close hard. I sigh, my breath shaky, then walk past them both, and return to my so called friends.

  Lux

  I bite down hard on my lips to keep myself from crying.

  Being steam rolled by a football player was one thing. But Greyson defending me, then helping me up and asking if I was alright was almost more than I could take.

  He looked broken.

  But that is not my fault. And I refuse to feel bad for him.

  Leah hugs my shoulders and says, “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

  I nod and try my hardest to hold back the tears but they come of their own accord.

  “Are you okay?” she asks. “Like, is the baby okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Mr. Rush picks the worst time to come out of his office. He looks at me, then to Greyson’s retreating figure out the front door.

  “Lux, what is going on here?”

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” I say, wiping at my eyes and try to smile at him.

  Mr. Rush puts him hands on my arms and says, “You and I both know that’s a lie.”

  Leah steps back. She and I are both unsure if he should be touching me. He pulls me ever so much closer. I hold my breath and try not to move.

  Mr. Rush is a twenty four year old who started teaching here right after he graduated college. He has dark brown hair and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. They see right through to your soul. At least I hope that’s what they do. I have always had a crush on him. He’s never treated me like a kid, or like a student. He and I share a passion for books like no one else I know. He inspired me to go to college to be an English teacher. Of course, who knows if I’ll even go to college now. I’ve always wanted Mr. Rush to notice me. To see that I’m not like the other girls. I have depth and substance. Sometimes I think he does, and then other times I’m not so sure.

  Today when he erased the drawing and said nothing about it, I was afraid he didn’t care and was going to let it slide. But then he waited till the end of class, and I swear some of my fellow classmates were shaking in their seats.

  Leah chimes in and says, “Liam and Tyler were playing football in the hall. Liam over threw the ball.
Tyler knocked Lux over. They all made fun of her. Greyson helped her up. That’s it. That’s everything that happened.”

  I turn to Leah with a look that I hope conveys a thank-you. She nods and turns back to Mr. Rush.

  Mr. Rush squeezes my arms with his hands. I’m not sure he knows he’s doing it. It’s one of those things you do when you’re angry.

  He loosens his grip and says, “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to drive you to the doctor?”

  I smile because no guy has ever treated me so kindly. I am well aware that Mr. Rush is my teacher, but I wish he wasn’t. As long as he is my teacher, nothing will ever happen between us.

  And then there’s Greyson. I want so badly to hate him. Most days I can convince myself that I do hate him. But then he does things, like standing up for me, that make it so hard. Sometimes, when he’s not an ass to me, my heart makes me believe that he cares about me. That maybe he even cares about our baby. But my mind knows better. If I could just get my head and my heart on the same page about Greyson, I would be far better off.

  I smile up at Mr. Rush, who rubs his hand up and down my arm, and say, “I’m okay.”

  Leah, who again, I’ve forgotten is present, says, “I’m going to take her home.”

  “Thank you, Leah,” Mr. Rush says, finally letting me go.

  He steps back, looks at me for a long moment, causing my heart to flutter, then says, “Good night, ladies,” and walks out the front door.

  “Bye,” Leah and I say together.

  Leah grabs my bag off the floor, hands it to me, then we walk out to her car.

  She is quiet on our walk to her car. She is quiet as she drives. She may be quiet, but I can hear her mind screaming at me.

  Before we get to my house, her damn bursts. “Okay, you have got to tell me what is going on.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She smiles so big. It’s an are-you-kidding-me smile. “Um. I was there. Don’t think you can hide anything from me.”

  I was there too, and I’m not sure I know what she is referring to. “You got me?”

  Leah pulls up to my house, parks, and cuts the engine. She turns to me in her seat with that I’m-your-best-friend-I-know-everything-about-your-life look.

  “Oh please. Mr. Rush was all over you. Don’t tell me there is nothing going on there.”

  I thought I felt something from him, but I wasn’t sure. It was an intense ten minutes.

  “There’s nothing going on between me and our English teacher,” I say, though it comes out forlorn.

  “You can’t tell me that was just a concerned teacher. If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought Mr. Rush is that baby’s father.”

  “What?” I ask, the question coming out loud and full of shock.

  “He had his hands on you. He rubbed your arm. He totally wants you.”

  “I’m pregnant, Leah. He just feels bad for me.”

  “Yeah, you’re pregnant, which makes his lust for you kind of gross,” Leah says, leaning away from me into her car door.

  “Can we please just stop talking about this,” I ask. “I don’t feel the greatest.”

  Leah’s face turns from inquisitive to furious in a matter of milliseconds.

  “Oh. My. God. I cannot believe the nerve of Tyler. I wanted to claw his eyes out. I wanted to ring his neck. And did you see Greyson? He was just as pissed as I was. I thought he was going to kick Tyler’s ass. Not that he didn’t have it coming to him. Are you really okay? Like, do you need to go to the hospital? I can drive you there. Or I can call your parents.”

  “I am perfectly capable of using a telephone. But thank you. You can come in if you want. We can hang out.”

  “Like I wasn’t already coming in,” Leah says, opening her door.

  “I love you, Leah,” I tell her, because I mean it, and because I feel like I don’t say it enough.

  “Yeah don’t get touchy feely on me,” she says, opening my door. “By the way, I think Greyson has a thing for you, too. Mr. Rush is going to have to fight for you. Though, maybe Greyson has a claim on you, you know, since you are carrying his child.”

  “You talk too much,” I laugh at Leah.

  I try not to take anything she is saying to heart. I have liked Greyson for as long as I have known him. I’ve always known he is out of my league and will never be mine. But I also know Mr. Rush is my teacher and will never be mine. If I let what Leah is saying sink in, I may just let myself believe that maybe one of them could be mine.

  I shake my head to rid myself of these ridiculous thoughts and walk into my house.

  Leah and I sit on the couch watching Gilmore Girls reruns. If I do end up keeping this baby, I totally want to be Lorelei. I always thought she was the coolest lady I had ever seen. She is her kid’s best friend. She is childlike herself, but she has always provided for her child. Always done what is best for Rory even if it meant going against everything she believes in. She is someone more people should aspire to be like.

  Leah looks straight at the TV, purposefully avoiding my eyes and says, “So, are we going to the game tonight?”

  I used to like going to the football games. Leah and I go crazy. We cheer with the best of them. We get so excited about every touch down, and extremely offended by every flag. We yell at the refs and scream for the boys to get that next first down.

  Now, it’s different. I feel like everyone will be staring at Lux the pregnant girl, rather than watch the game. I also don’t want Greyson to know I’m there. He reacts strangely when he sees me, and despite how I feel about him, I actually like it when our football team wins.

  “Um, if you want to go, I will go with you,” I tell her.

  “Which means you don’t want to go,” Leah says.

  “I, I, not really. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. We don’t have to go.”

  “Leah, your brother is playing in his senior year. You have to go. You getting pregnant and not wanting to go would not have stopped me from going to see Wren play.”

  “Yeah, but we’re a team. What you do I do.”

  “I certainly hope not,” I say pointing at my stomach.

  Leah laughs hard and says, “Not what I meant. And might I add, do you have any idea how hard it is for me not to tell Jesse that Greyson is the father of your baby? Maybe if they knew, they wouldn’t think he’s a god.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about you not being about to talk to Jesse about it.”

  “It’s alright,” she says, though I know it’s not.

  Leah and Jesse are so close in age they could be twins. And they are so close in their relationship they might as well be twins. They love each other like Wren and I love each other. Or, I guess, how I still love Wren. He isn’t my biggest fan as of late.

  I wish I could ask her if Jesse says anything about me. Or if Jesse says that Greyson says anything about me. I already know the rest of the Posh People talk trash about me, but Jesse isn’t the worst of them. He may act as his friends do when he is with them, but when it is just he, Leah, and I, he’s not half bad. He actually talks to me and is nice to me. He knows I’ll never tell his friends this, even though I’m sure they would never believe me, so we have a mutual treaty.

  “You could always go without me,” I suggest.

  “I don’t know,” she says.

  “I’m sorry I’ve ruined your life, Leah.”

  She laughs at me, but it’s not a mean laugh. She’s laughing at the situation. She’s laughing at how strange our lives can and have turned out. She makes me laugh.

  She doesn’t need to answer me, or to say that it’s okay. I know it is. I know how she feels about me. I would do the exact same if our roles were reversed.

  In the end, Leah goes to the game without me. As much as she loves me, she loves watching Jesse play football. And I couldn’t let her not go because I didn’t want to go. If I was a better friend I would have gone with her. And normally I would have, but the collision with T
yler really rocked me. I ache all over and all I want to do tonight is lie down.

  When my mom comes home from work she asks me to help with supper, but after ten minutes I can barely stand. Without a word to my mom I make my way to my room. I thought I was okay after Tyler knocked me on my ass, but I was either wrong or the fall caused a delayed affect.

  Lying on my bed helps, but only a little. My back and butt hurt from the fall, but there is a cramp in my stomach. It can’t possibly be a good thing. But then again, being pregnant has caused me to have cramps all over my body; legs, arms, head, back. Maybe this is one of those times. I hope this is one of those times.

  After only minutes lying on my back with my eyes closed, I have to pee. One of the many perks or being pregnant. I struggle to get up so I can pee, make it to the bathroom, and pee. It is only after I’m done that I notice something wrong. There is blood in the lining of my underwear. I get up, look down, and notice blood in the bowl of the toilet. This is so not good. I’m not an expert at being pregnant, but I’m certain I’m not supposed to bleed for nine months.

  This isn’t good. This can’t be good. But what do I do? I feel like I should tell my mom, but what if it is nothing? Maybe I should Google it. But then, people always say when you are sick you should never Google your symptoms because it will convince you you’re dying. Ugh. I don’t know what to do. I know I need to do something. Perhaps I should Google it and then tell my mom.

  Once I have sat down at my computer and Googled ‘bleeding while pregnant,’ Google has me convinced that I have had a miscarriage. And I am thoroughly panicking.

  I want to run down the stairs to my mom, but am afraid the baby will fall out of me. How could I have let this happen? What if I killed my baby? What if Tyler killed my baby? I will never forgive him. I could never forgive myself.

  The blood drains from my face as I tread down the stairs. I don’t even feel myself walk into the kitchen to face my mom.

  My mom stands in front of the stove stirring something in a pot, unaware of my presence.

  “Mom,” I say, but my voice comes out as a whisper. “Mom,” I try again, a little louder.