"Come in."
Jess took a breath before pushing open the door to her Mum's office.
"Hi love. Everything ok."
"Yeah. I just...well I needed to talk to you about something."
Karen smiled at her. "I already know darling. Mr Mead has been up to see me."
Jess looked at her Mum. "About what?"
"Your coursework of course. Why didn't you tell me that you got a B. That's amazing Jess...I'm so proud of you. Come here." Jess walked over to her Mum into her outstretched arms. She held her tight, not wanting to let go.
"Thanks Mum." She let go and smiled at her. "I'll see you later." Jess turned and walked out of the office.
She walked straight past the class she was meant to be in and towards the school entrance.
"Jess!" She didn't turn round when Chris Mead called her name. "Jess. Where are you going?" She didn't turn. He didn't need to see the tears streaming down her face. She got to the reception area and stopped. She realised that she couldn't leave the building. She didn't have a pass. Instead she pushed open the door of the closest toilets.
Sitting down on a toilet seat she put her bag onto her lap. She took a deep breath before pulling the simple plastic stick out of her bag. The double blue line still screamed at her...pregnant. She had meant to tell her Mum...she had wanted to tell her Mum, but how could she after hearing she was so proud of her. Maybe it was a false positive like they talked about in soaps. She couldn't afford another test to check...and she didn't fancy that trip to the doctors.
A vibrating noise signalled a call on her mobile. Lifting the phone she saw 'Mum' light up on the screen. Great. Chris had blabbed already. Hitting the ignore button she slipped the phone into her bag. Not before turning it off. The bell rang for the next lesson and she slipped out of the toilet to join the crowds in the corridor.
She walked looking straight ahead. She was walking away from her Mum's office. If she kept moving then it would be fine.
"Jess." She heard her Mum's voice ring out behind her. Was it ever possible to get some privacy in this place? She made the decision to keep moving. She hoped that her Mum would give up until after school. That would buy Jess some time to make a decision.
"Jessica Fisher." The commanding voice rang out and Jess knew that everyone around her was looking at her and pointing. She started running through the crowds. She couldn't talk to her...not now. She wouldn't understand. Jess sped up and didn't stop until she reached the English classroom. Mr Clarkson was setting out the test exam papers. She had never been so relieved to see an exam. Surely her Mum wouldn't disturb her during this? She shook her face and hoped the waterproof mascara had been worth the money.
"Jess you ok?" She jumped as she heard Bex's voice.
"Course. Just a bit hot." She sat in the seat next to her sister.
"Ok. Just people have been saying that you ran away from Mum." Bex gave her sister a nudge. "You can tell me you know."
Jess looked at Bex. She knew what she meant, she had done worse and it couldn't be that bad...she was so wrong. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes...what was she going to do?
There was a knock at the door. Jess put her head in her hands. She could tell what was coming. "Sorry to disturb you Mr Clarkson. Can I have a word with Jess please?"
"Jess...what's up?" Bex looked at her again and Jess could feel the tears falling down her cheeks.
"I've screwed up big time...I'm..." She couldn't say the words. Instead she picked up her bag and followed her Mum out of the classroom. She had made sure that Bex had seen the test in her bag and she knew. She didn't want to keep any more secrets from her sister.
...
"Jess I don't understand what's going on. This morning I was telling you how proud I am of you and then you skip class and run away from me...what am I missing?"
Jess didn't look up. She didn't want her Mum to see the tears. Instead she turned her head away further.
"Jess. I can't help unless you tell me." Jess let out a sob and her shoulders shook.
"You'll...hate...me though..." Each word shook with a sob.
"Come on darling. Haven't we been through this enough times? At the of the day, I'm your Mum...and I love you so much." Jess looked into her eyes. There was nothing else she could do. She couldn't find the words to tell her. Instead she reached into bag and pulled out the plastic stick. She turned it over so her Mum could see the positive mark. Then she dropped it as her tears became torrents.
"Oh darling." Karen didn't know what to say but she instinctively pulled her daughter close and rocked her. "We can deal with this. We'll sort it."
