Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [39]
“Well, not that I know of.”
“See. My point.”
Sophie frowned.
“If you want to be better informed, I suggest you come down to the pregnancy center and spend some time with my girls. Get to know them and get to understand their problems and challenges before you go spouting off your opinions about who they are and how they got there.”
“Well, I don’t—”
“Just as I thought. You don’t care enough about them to actually get involved. You just decided to take potshots from the comfort of your editor’s chair.”
“That’s not true.”
The woman’s brows arched. “Really?”
Now Sophie wanted to sputter.
“I intend to write a letter to rebut your claims, Miss Ramsay. You can count on it.”
Sophie gave her a stiff smile. “And if your invitation is sincere, I’ll come and visit your center and speak to some of the girls there.”
Mrs. Manchester softened ever so slightly. “Perhaps when you see they are human and have feelings, you’ll want to write another piece.”
“Perhaps.” Sophie stood up straighter. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“Yes, I’m sure we all do.” Mrs. Manchester turned and left the room.
Wes joined Sophie. “Looks like you poked the hornet’s nest with that one.”
“Apparently so.”
“Everything okay?” Mr. Young asked. “Mrs. Manchester seemed a little upset.”
“Ya think?” Sophie just shook her head. “She wants me to come and spend time with her girls now.”
“Hey, that’s a great idea. Maybe you could do a human interest piece. I’m sure that most kids don’t know what goes on in the pregnancy center.”
“I’m sure most of them don’t want to know either.” Sophie made a face.
“I don’t know what goes on there.” Wes looked slightly intrigued. “But I think it could be interesting.”
“See?” Mr. Young nodded. “Inquiring minds want to know.” “Yeah, and it’s probably just the kind of story that would fit in the National Enquirer too.”
Just the same, Sophie decided to follow this up. After her last class, she walked across campus to a separate building where the teen pregnancy center was located. It was a modular structure, cheap and slightly temporary looking—and not a place that a girl like Sophie really wanted to be seen going into. But, she reminded herself, this was research.
“Can I help you?” asked a young woman who was sitting in what appeared to be a reception area.
“Mrs. Manchester told me that I could come here and check things out.” Sophie smiled.
“Oh, I see.” The young woman’s eyes looked sympathetic. “When are you due?”
Sophie blinked. “What?”
“Aren’t you here to sign up for the program?”
“The program?” Sophie felt like running away.
“You’re not pregnant?” The woman seemed confused.
“Sophie Ramsay,” Mrs. Manchester said as she came into the reception area. Then she laughed. “No, Lisa, Sophie is not pregnant. She’s the one who wrote that nasty editorial.”
“Oh.” Lisa scowled at Sophie. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“Sorry. But it was an opinion piece.”
“And she certainly has her opinions.” Mrs. Manchester tossed Lisa a knowing glance. “But perhaps we can change some of her views. I assume you came to talk to some of the girls here, Sophie?”
“I’m researching a human interest story,” Sophie said. “If it’s okay, I’ve got a recorder for interviews and a camera to take some shots.” She pulled out some release forms. “But you’ll have to get these signed for permission. Do you think this is a good time?”
“I think we can accommodate you.” She put a hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you sit in on this next class, and when it’s break time, I’ll introduce you and we’ll see if any of the girls would like to talk to you.”
“Sounds good.”
“It’s a child development class and a requirement for all the mothers-to-be.” Mrs. Manchester put her forefinger over her lips, then opened the door, nodding to a seat in the back.
Sophie noticed the glances that were shot her way. Some were suspicious. Others were amused. They probably thought she was one of them. In reality, she was. Not that she intended