Accrued Interest

Chapter Seven

SHE WILL kill Dawn. She will poison her with her favorite organic tea and will drop her body off a bridge. She'll definitely kill Dawn.

Lea looked at her gray rubber shoes on the shiny tiled floor. She can't remember the last time she has worn a pair of rubber shoes. It was surprisingly comfortable compared to her two-inch closed formal shoes but that doesn't mean that she's happy about what's going on at the moment. She stomped a foot in annoyance. She shouldn't have trusted Dawn in registering her for a pregnancy/ childbirth workshop. She should have checked the site herself first. She was too busy thinking about the series of unfortunate events in her life these past few days that she forgot to verify what she was getting herself into.

Instead of bending her body and breaking her bones in a pregnancy yoga class, she's now sitting in one of the hallway benches of this two-storey building beside a 12-year-old nerd with thick eyeglasses, while other expectant mothers are already inside the assembly room with their PARTNERS! Lea was not informed that this particular workshop where Dawn enrolled her in is for expecting couples, not SINGLE MOTHERS. Since she had a choice, she'd rather stay in the hallway with the know-it-all girl than being surrounded by chitchatting pregnant people.

She rolled her eyes, for the 60th time today. She spread her legs and slouched further in her seat, feeling exhausted just by thinking about the situation. She made an effort to wear these weird tight yoga clothes and managed to braid her hair and yet she's still disappointed at the turn of the events. This is, by far, one of the most embarrassing moments in her life, and the girl beside her is one of the most annoying persons she has ever met. She really wished she could cut the girl's tongue to stop her from talking too much. She's never been violent and hostile towards children but this girl is testing her patience. Blame the pregnancy hormones.

"So when are you getting in?" Said the girl, pestering her again. She pressed her thick spectacles closer to her Chinese-looking eyes. Lea can tell just by looking at the kid that she'll grow up as an arrogant brat. A smart one.

"Not yet. You said your mom won't be here until after 15 minutes. " Lea said in a clipped tone.

"Yes, she's upstairs. Someone's giving birth. Unexpected." Yes. This girl is the daughter of the doula who will lead the workshop today. She said her name is Cassie and that she's a genius. For Lea, she's just a smart-mouthed spoiled brat.

Now, she's thinking of a way to escape this place. A way that won't bruise her pride, especially by the judgemental eyes of Cassie. She doesn't want to just go looking very suspicious. Yeah, she's an overthinker like that.

"I hate mom's work." Said Cassie.

"Uh-huh," Lea responded, uninterested in what the girl is saying. She tried to clean her shoes off the nonexistent dirt using her hand.

"I don't want to help women give birth, I want to help them get pregnant. I want to be a fertility doctor."

Now, little genius got her attention. She looked at her and raised a brow. Cassie has this look which Lea always sees in the kids in Nido commercials. Ambitious.

"Why exactly? Why fertility doctor?" She can't help but press the kid. The normal Lea wouldn't even bat an eye at this girl but she's stuck there, might as well kill her boredom and turned this nosy girl into her entertainment.

"I have a big heart. I want to help poor souls." Cassie said smugly.

Lea's eyes squinted, not quite catching up on what the girl was talking about. "What do you mean by poor souls?"

"For an old woman like you, you're quite slow." Cassie rolled her eyes at Lea. "I mean, the old single women!!! I want to help them get pregnant. I know exactly why they don't have husbands and kids. That is because they're either unattractive or evil. Or both!!! I can't help them snag a husband but at least I could give them babies through a sperm bank and insemination procedures." She made a face while adjusting thick eyeglasses.