Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [40]
Instead she took out her laptop and proceeded to take notes, at the same time discreetly observing the students in the class. The girls appeared to be of varying ethnicities, socioeconomic levels, and stages of pregnancy—well, except for the one with an infant in her arms. What surprised Sophie most was the number of girls present—thirteen! If anyone had asked, she would’ve guessed that only about four or five pregnant girls attended her school. It seemed she was wrong. Wrong about a lot of things.
As the teacher discussed the basics of infant nutrition, including the benefits of breast-fed babies compared to formula-fed ones, Sophie could see a diverse reaction among the girls. A few nodded with interest as they took notes, like they were trying to absorb the information. A number of others had blank stares, like they wanted to be anywhere else but here right now. But a couple of the girls looked seriously frightened. Sophie could relate to them best.
After the class ended, Mrs. Manchester returned and introduced Sophie as the editor who’d done the teen pregnancy piece. Naturally this brought some pretty dark looks from the girls.
“I’m here to find out what’s really going on,” Sophie said. “I realize that I was writing out of ignorance and opinion. But my goal is to get to the truth. I hope you’ll help me to do that.”
“Not if you plan on printing our names.” A blond girl scowled at her.
“That’s Serena,” Mrs. Manchester told Sophie. “And she makes a good point. Some girls may prefer anonymity.”
“I can do that,” Sophie told them. “I just want for other students to understand how you’re feeling, what you’re going through, and why the pregnancy center is needed . . . if it is needed.”
Well, that got the discussion started. It’s like Sophie had tripped the trigger, and now these girls were ready to tear into Sophie like she was the enemy—like they might lash out at some of Sophie’s opinionated friends if they had the guts to come here and spout their views.
To be honest, Sophie thought she probably deserved this.
12
“What’s up with you being spotted at the pregnancy center yesterday?” Carrie Anne asked Sophie at lunch.
“Who spotted me there?” Sophie kept her voice level, but she could feel her heart rate increasing. Hopefully no one was getting the wrong idea about her. Well, maybe it was the right idea, but Sophie wasn’t ready to face it yet.
“Drew said he saw you coming out of the building when he was on his way to soccer practice. He asked me why you were hanging with pregnant chicks.”
“What were you doing there?” Kelsey stared at Sophie in horror.
“Does this have anything to do with that scathing editorial you wrote?” Jenny asked. “Man, I’m surprised those girls would let you near the pregnancy center after the way you made them sound like total idiots.”
“They are total idiots,” Kelsey said.
“I did not make them sound like idiots,” Sophie protested. “I just wanted to make the point that kids should not be raising kids.”
“You’re right about that,” Hannah said. “And I think the school is just encouraging it by offering the pregnancy center. It’s like they’re saying, ‘It’s okay, go ahead and get knocked up. We’ll take care of you and your baby.’”
“I agree,” Kelsey piped in. “It’s like these girls get a false sense of security, like everything’s just fine, and decide it’s cool to keep their babies.”
“Well, maybe it is all right for some girls to keep their babies,” Jenny said. “I mean, who died and made you God?”
“I’m not saying I’m God.” Kelsey glared at her. “I’m just saying if a girl is dumb enough to get knocked up, she should be smart enough to know she’s too dumb to raise a kid.”
“Like that’s supposed to make sense?” Jenny rolled her eyes.
“Look, we don’t have to fight about it.” Sophie held up her hands. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, right?”
“Well, some people might take exception to that particular opinion.” Jenny pointed to herself. “For instance, my mom was only eighteen when she had me. And I don’t think she’s doing too bad a job of it.”
“Seriously?” Sophie