A Mom in Middle School

Us

It took a lot of work, but I was pretty good at hiding my pregnancy. My baggy Aeropostale sweatshirts were my best friend, along with my stretchy jeans. I really, really wish leggings were in style back then.   

Everything was going well, and nobody seemed to notice. I hadn't said a word to Blake and Abbie, because, well, I was totally embarrassed. And at this point, being two months into our friendship, it felt like there was too much at stake.

Blake and I were in science class, gearing up to do the one experiment he'd been waiting for: dissecting frogs. We'd had dozens of hours of prep work and even watched videos. Now, it was the day. The dead frog was splayed out in front of us, belly-up and ready for Blake to rip it open.

"You are so weird," I said to him as he held his scalpel at the ready.

Our laughing caused my safety goggles to fog up.

"Um, Roslyn! Lab coats on, please," said our teacher, Mr. Gomez.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm good," I said, starting to panic.

I did try and get my lab coat on, but it wouldn't fit over the sleeves of my sweatshirt. I was hoping Mr. Gomez wouldn't notice.

"Let's go," he said.

I was so afraid that I started shaking. I was almost sixteen weeks along and wearing a tight t-shirt. Thankfully, Blake and I were in the back of the room, near where the lab coats were hanging up.

I tried my best to get to the back corner of the room, discreetly taking off my sweatshirt and putting my lab coat on. It had no buttons or zipper, so I used my free hand to keep it closed. I had to cover my baby bump somehow.

I sat back down with Blake, and as I was pulling my chair out, my hand slipped away. My baby bump was revealed for a split second, but I had a feeling that Blake saw.

"Good. Now we can begin," said Mr. Gomez. "Start by making the incision down the center."

Blake and I continued as normal, laughing and giggling and cracking jokes the entire time we took apart this gross frog. Mr. Gomez said we were all supposed to get males, but we ended up with a female that was full of eggs which was just...yuck. Just the thought of it still grosses me out.

Everything seemed okay until I was eating lunch. Again, I was alone. It really was a good time to keep going on Harry Potter though. I was already starting the Prisoner of Askaban.

"Hey, care if I join you?"

I looked behind me and saw Trent, a guy from my hall. A super amazingly cute guy from my hall. He was in science with Blake and I.

    "Wow...uh, sure! That would be great!" I said.

    "Cool," he said, sitting down across from me.

    "Thanks. No one ever wants to sit with me."

    "Oh, I'm just dropping by. I wanted to see if it's true that you're really pregnant."

    My slice of pizza fell out of my hand and plopped onto my yellow lunch tray.

    "N-no! Where would you get that idea?" I said.

    "Because Shelby and Lexa said they saw your baby bump this morning when you took off your sweatshirt," he said.

    I bit down on my lip. I hated those two. They were super-annoying, gum–chewing 24/7 prissy girls. Shelby always seemed interested in why I was wearing sweatshirts. I knew she was onto me.

    "Nuh-uh. I'm just putting on weight...I guess," I said.

    "Oh, okay...sure. If you're really just getting fat, why don't you lift up your sweatshirt so I can see. Show everyone that you don't have a baby bump!" Trent said.

    I looked behind me after hearing snickering at the table behind me. Of course, it was Lexa, Shelby, and the few other girls and guys in their posse giggling. I turned back to Trent and said, "No way."

    "You are! You're pregnant!" Trent said. I froze. "Wow. What a ho!"

    He got up and went back to his table, where he immediately told the rest of his group. I tossed the rest of my lunch and hid in the bathroom for the remainder of the period.

    However, hiding only kept me safe for a little while. As soon as I got back upstairs, there were already notes pasted to my locker. One said "slut" and the other said "skank". I immediately tore them off.

    Word spread fast in Norris Hall. By the next morning, everyone was staring. My locker was covered in different-colored notes, which my friends helped me tear off.

    "So, it really is true?" Blake asked.

    "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. I thought you wouldn't want to be friends anymore," I said. "And if you actually don't, it's okay. I get it."

    "I have a family of OBGYNs. Pregnant people don't bother me," Abbie said. "Besides, even if you are pregnant, you're still you."

    "I'm just happy to have anyone that talks to me," Blake said.

    "Well, if you guys are okay with it, and everyone already knows, then I guess I won't be needing this," I said.

    I lifted up my sweatshirt to reveal my pale pink Hollister sweater. My baby bump was pretty visible.

    "Oh...I didn't know you were actually showing," Abbie said, taking a step back.

    "I don't want to embarrass you guys. I can put my sweatshirt back on—"

    "No no, I didn't mean it like that!" Abbie said, shaking her head and waving her hands. "I'm just kinda surprised."

    "To be honest, I noticed it in science, but I wasn't totally sure, so I didn't say anything," Blake said.

    I was about to answer when a few guys walked past me, whistling. I wanted to just crawl inside my locker and shut the door. If I could've stayed in there forever, that would've been great.

    Then, the warning bell rang.

    "Well, I gotta get all the way to the other side of the building. I'll see you guys later," Abbie said before running off.

    I sighed. "I feel like this is gonna be a long day."

    "Hey, at least you have us," Blake said. "I mean, I really can't stand up to anyone and we both picked on a lot as is, but you do have us."

    If I could go back in time, I would've hugged Blake. I would've told him how much I appreciated him and Abbie. But I wasn't nearly as articulate as I am now. So instead of giving a great, thankful speech to Blake, I said, "That's cool. We should probably get to homeroom."

    "Yeah. We really should," Blake said.

    We parted ways and went to our separate homerooms, throwing myself directly into the fire. Everyone got silent when I walked in. They were all staring and whispering. I hung my head low and went to my assigned desk. I liked it better when no one noticed me.