Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [43]
“Look, I’m sorry I wrote that opinion piece, okay?”
“Sure, you can say that now. But isn’t that kind of like pulling the trigger and then saying, ‘Oops, I’m sorry’? Some bullets can’t be retracted.”
Sophie nodded. “You’re right.”
“Do you honestly think I made the choice to be here? To be pregnant? To be humiliated by girls like you? To be stuck in this—”
“Just a minute.” Sophie held up a finger. “Are you saying you didn’t make the choice to have sex? Like this is some kind of immaculate conception or virgin birth?” The truth was, Sophie wished she could use that excuse for herself.
“No, you moron.” Natasha narrowed her dark eyes. “It’s not immaculate conception. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what you decide to write in your stupid article. Might get a laugh too. Kids like to laugh at us. Don’t think we don’t hear it.”
“I’m sure you do hear it.” Sophie felt like her head was spinning. Natasha was smart. Almost too smart. And she was saying just the kinds of things that Sophie didn’t really want to hear.
“You asked me about choice,” Natasha continued. “Well, sometimes it’s not about choice. Have you ever heard of date rape?”
Sophie tried not to look shocked. “Is that what happened?” “Yes.” Natasha nodded.
“Did you press charges?”
Natasha just looked away.
“Did you?”
“No, of course not. I’m not a fool.”
“But why? Why didn’t you?”
“Do you have any idea what happens when you press charges for date rape?”
Sophie considered this. “I suppose I can imagine.”
“Well, imagine this. The boy is a friend of my parents. His dad plays golf with my dad. He’s in an Ivy League school. It’s his word against mine.”
Sophie leaned forward. “So what’s he doing about it now? Is he taking responsibility for—”
“Oh, sure. His parents are paying the bills. Terrence admitted that we’d had sex. Of course, he made it look like I had seduced him!” She swore.
“I’m sorry.”
“Well, don’t be,” she snapped. “Be glad.”
“Glad?”
“That you’re not me. That you still have your life ahead of you.”
Suddenly Sophie felt like she couldn’t get her breath, like the room was beginning to spin. She closed her eyes and tried to think. Why had she come here? Why was she talking to this girl? Was she just a glutton for punishment or what?
“Are you okay?”
Sophie opened her eyes to see Natasha staring at her with concern. “Sorry.”
“Are you sick or something?”
“I just got dizzy.”
“Maybe it’s low blood sugar.” Natasha reached for her bag. Sophie wasn’t an expert, but it looked like an expensive bag. In fact, everything about Natasha, despite her simple clothing, seemed to suggest this girl came from money. Natasha pulled out a bag of hard caramels and handed it to Sophie. “I get it sometimes. This helps.”
Sophie nodded as she unwrapped the candy and popped it in her mouth.
“We can end this interview now,” Natasha said. “If you want.”
“Can I ask a few more questions?”
“If you can take the answers.”
“Well, this isn’t a hard one. You don’t seem familiar.”
“That’s because I went to Maxwell. They don’t have a pregnancy center there. Not that they don’t need one.”
“But they act like they don’t?”
“Bingo.” She kind of laughed. “They send their disappointments to Brewster. It keeps Maxwell looking good.”
“So, did you consider having an abortion?”
“Oh yeah.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t do it.”
“Is it for religious reasons?”
“Nope.”
“Do you mind saying why? I mean, some pro-life people use rape as one of the justifiable reasons for abortion.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“So . . . ?”
“The truth is, I didn’t think I was pregnant at first. It seemed impossible. I mean, who gets pregnant on their first time?”
“It was your first time?”
Natasha looked down at her lap and nodded.
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“Oh . . . Okay, so you considered abortion but decided against it?”
She nodded again. “If I had known that there was any chance I was pregnant, I would’ve gotten that next-day pill.”
“If you’d reported the