This is based off an April Fool's prank on a teacher who had students answer phones in class if they rang. The student had a friend call and tell the student she was pregnant.
This is a scenario where what if something like that happened but it was real, not a prank.
For now it is a stand alone.
Lots of Love,
CBC
MENTION OF RAPE TRIGGER WARNING.
Andy felt the bile rise in her throat and swallowed several times desperate to get rid of the sick feeling sitting in her stomach. Her whole world could implode today, and all because of a phone call she was waiting for.
Stepping into her English classroom, she noted that very few students were already there, and was happy she came early from lunch. She took a breath when she noticed the pantsuit Dr. Priestly was wearing. Damn. Pantsuits usually meant the woman was in an even less forgiving mood. Sometimes she wished Dr. Priestly wasn't her favorite teacher, especially when the professor was always on her case. It was difficult, but she was also getting the highest grade in the class, having set every curve on every essay and test so far. It was confusing, to have the best grades all the while Dr. Priestly was being so hard on her in class.
"Ok, you can do this," she murmured to herself. "Just. Go. Ask."
Her footsteps felt heavy as she approached the formidable woman who was sitting like a Queen at her desk, glasses perched on her nose as she read through someone's essay. Andy cleared her throat and waited for those sharp blue eyes to flick up in her direction. "Dr. Priestly. May I speak with you?"
The woman's gaze narrowed, but her pen settled onto the desk. "Andrea." She motioned to the chair sitting beside the edge, where students could sit to speak with her.
Andy shook her head, "No, it won't take long. Just, I have an important call that I might be getting during class, and I-"
"What is it?" The woman's gaze left her face and returned to the essay in front of her.
Andy felt her heart drop to her feet. "Dr. Priestly, I would just need a moment to step from class to take the call, and it's really important-"
"Andrea. We have a rule in my classroom. It's on the syllabus and I do recall you signed and turned yours in. So you can tell me what this important call is, or you can wait until after class."
Andy swallowed. "My mother has to call and-"
The older woman's eyes snapped up. "I do not appreciate lying, Andrea. Take a seat."
"But-"
"No. The rules are there for a reason. I am appalled that you would try to lie to cheat the rules. You can wait till the end of class, just like everyone else."
"Dr. Priestly, ple-"
"Class starts in five minutes. Take a seat. This conversation is over." As if she had summoned them herself, the classroom door opened and a number of students filed in.
Andy turned and moved to her seat, her stomach heavy like lead and her heart beating painfully in her chest. She hoped that the call wouldn't come during class. She couldn't miss it. She pulled out her notebook and pencil case, then reached into her bag to pull out her phone when Dr. Priestly stood up from her chair. Sighing, she turned her attention to her notes and swallowed back the desire to throw up.
"Good afternoon class."
Andy turned on the little recorder she kept in her pencil case, grateful that it was easy to hide, because she knew she wasn't going to learn very much today.
She had never been more grateful that there was a clock on the back wall that she could see if she tucked her head just right without actually have to turn around. She had gotten used to having to read the time upside down and could feel her nerves building as class continued on. She just had to make it to one forty-five and then she was in the clear.
One fifteen.
Dr. Priestly was going on about grammar, using examples from the essays to show how to not do it, and how to do it. Andy was pretty sure Dr. Priestly used her essay a few times to show how to do it, but she was barely paying attention.
One thirty.
Oh god. Fifteen more minutes. Andy's stomach was in knots and she could barely breathe.
One thirty-five.
Her essay was just used again as a good example for appropriate grammar. Ten more minutes. She was counting down the minutes, practically counting down the seconds for class to end. She just needed class to end then she had a ten minute break before her next class and she knew Professor Kipling would let her step out of class. She just had to make it eight more minutes.
She felt her whole body freeze when her phone went off. Oh. Oh no. She hadn't turned the volume down after lunch. She had forgotten. Oh no. This was even worse than missing the call.
The class fell silent as eyes turned to look at her. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of what was going to be happening. She looked to see Dr. Priestly staring at her as well.
"Honestly." Dr. Priestly crossed her arms over chest and nodded towards her. "Well. You know the rules."
Her hands felt heavy and slow as she reached into her backpack and pulled out her phone. She fought back the urge to sob as she stood up while hitting the answer button, and then put it on speaker phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, this is Rebecca calling. Is this Andy Sachs I'm speaking to?"
"Yes. I- I'm Andy."
"You came in for an appointment last week at Planned Parenthood correct?"
Andy swallowed. "Yes."
"We have your test results, Andy. Do you remember everything we tested for?"
"Yes." She could feel the lump in her throat growing and couldn't focus on anything but the words coming out of her phone. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her vision was clouding over with tears.
"Ok. Our tests for any possible sexually transmitted infections came back negative, Andy. The pregnancy test came back positive. We would like to schedule another appointment to go over the choices we have available to help you-"
Andy's ears were ringing, drowning out anything else the woman had to say. Oh. Oh God. Oh God. Her lungs weren't working, she was gasping for air, the world spinning around her as she closed her eyes.
Oh God.
/DWP/
Dr. Miranda Priestly. Sometimes it still astonished her that she had a PH. D. And sometimes she wished she had gotten it in Fashion instead of English. But that was a rare occasion. For instance, reading through one of the worst essays she had ever seen. She was honestly wondering how in the hell this student had made it into a top tier university. Money only stretched so far, and if the student wasn't good enough to keep the school's average they weren't allowed.
A throat being cleared interrupted her train of thought and she looked up to see Andrea Sachs, a student who Miranda actually enjoyed in her class, standing before her. "Dr. Priestly. May I speak with you?"
She let her eyes settle and narrow, but placed her pen down. "Andrea." She motioned to a chair she had beside her desk so students didn't have to stand while talking with her.
Andrea shook her head, "No, it won't take long. Just, I have an important call that I might be getting during class, and I-"
Wonderful. Of course even the good students tried to get around the rules. "What is it?" She looked back down, feigning disinterest, however she would be lying if she said she wasn't wondering what was so important.
"Dr. Priestly, I would just need a moment to step from class to take the call, and it's really important-"
"Andrea. We have a rule in my classroom. It's on the syllabus and I do recall you signed and turned yours in. So you can tell me what this important call is, or you can wait until after class."
There was a short pause. "My mother has to call and-"
Her patience snapped and she jerked her head to look at her student. "I do not appreciate lying, Andrea. Take a seat." She loathed lying. She would rather have someone simply say it was private than lie to her.
"But-"
"No. The rules are there for a reason. I am appalled that you would try to lie to cheat the rules. You can wait till the end of class, just like everyone else."
"Dr. Priestly, ple-"
"Class starts in five minutes. Take a seat. This conversation is over." The door opened and several students trampled in, noisy likely due to so many students having their lunch time right before her class. The downfall of having a class at twelve forty-five. She watched Andrea slowly move to her own desk, then moved her gaze along her classroom to watch as more students came in and settled into their seats.
Taking a sip from her thermos of coffee, she stood and straightened her suit blazer as she spoke, "Good afternoon class."
She got a smattering of "Good afternoons" in return, and gave a tight smile before beginning her lesson.
She was going over their essays, pulling out weak points and strong points. She noticed that Andrea seemed distracted, and she could feel the tug of temptation to call on her and put her on the spot, but she also knew Andrea was very good with grammar, so she put her efforts into calling out the people who actually needed the lesson. Even after a few weeks of mild distraction on Andrea's part, the young woman was still getting the highest grades on assignments, so she'd let today slide by, but if it happened again Miranda would take action. Besides, the student trying to eat a bag of chips needed to get addressed far more than Andrea who was looking at her notebook like she could set it ablaze with her eyes.
"Honestly Christian, do you believe hiding the chips in your bag will make me unable to notice your blatant disregard for the rules of the classroom?" The student in question jumped in his seat, his eyes growing wide, and Miranda sneered. "Do it again and you'll be marked absent from class." He nodded quickly and Miranda went back to her lesson.
Her gaze kept flickering over Andrea, noting the hunched shoulders and the peaking under her arm at the clock. It irked her, but she remained silent on the matter, deciding instead to ask the girl after class to come to her office. Something was clearly the matter, and Miranda was not going to sit idly by. Despite her reputation she was not heartless, and something had been troubling her student for the several weeks now.
As it got closer and closer to the end of class, Andrea seemed more and more enraptured with the clock on the back wall, as if counting down the very seconds until class was dismissed. It grated on Miranda's every nerve, but she held back because Andrea was clearly not causing a distraction to the other students around her.
"Makayla, what is the purpose of-" she stopped speaking when a phone began to ring, coming from Andrea's direction. The girl was tense, and Miranda knew immediately that it was her phone. Miranda could let self-distraction slide, but not this. This was a class distraction.
The class fell silent. Several students looked first at her, and then to Andrea. Many had looks of anger, some shock. To be truthful, Miranda was quite shocked as well. She kept her gaze steady when Andrea looked towards her.
"Honestly." She crossed her arms over chest and nodded towards the young woman. "Well. You know the rules."
Andrea reached with shaking hands into her backpack to retrieve her phone, standing up while hitting the answer button, and then the speakerphone button. "Hello?"
The class was absolutely silent, and Miranda remained at the front of the room as a woman's voice answered. "Hello, this is Rebecca calling. Is this Andy Sachs I'm speaking to?"
"Yes. I- I'm Andy."
"You came in for an appointment last week at Planned Parenthood correct?"
This was not what she was expecting. Miranda watched Andrea swallow before answering. "Yes."
"We have your test results, Andy. Do you remember everything we tested for?"
"Yes." Miranda took a few steps closer to the young woman, a sinking feeling settling deep in her chest and stomach.
"Ok. Our tests for any possible sexually transmitted infections came back negative, Andy. The pregnancy test came back positive." Miranda was nearly sprinting the distance to the young woman whose face had turned ash white as the woman continued to talk. "We would like to schedule another appointment to go over the choices we have available to help you, including therapy, support groups-"
Miranda snatched the phone from Andrea's hand and turned speakerphone off, bringing it to her own ear to speak. "Excuse me. Andy is not handling this well, I am going to have to ask that she take some time to calm down and call you back. Would that be appropriate?"
She payed no mind to her class as they watched and listened in stunned silence as Miranda listened to the woman on the other line. "Oh, yes, that would be fine. Is she alright? I can imagine she is rather shaken. Is she going to be alone any time in the next few hours or-"
"No. I'll be sure she's not. She'll be taken care of. Is this the number she should call back on?"
"Yes, and she can speak to any representative to schedule an appointment."
"I'll make sure she does. Good afternoon." She barely waited for the woman to respond before she had hung up.
Andrea was sobbing. It was the only noise in the room, and it ripped her heart apart.
"This is not to leave this classroom. If I hear one word about this from anyone who is not in this class, I will ensure you will be expelled. Do we have an understanding?" She took her time to look at every single student.
"Yes, Dr. Priestly." They all replied, fear written across their faces.
"We won't be staying late today. Be sure you all have the homework and the reading done for tomorrow. Don't forget, not a word to anyone, don't even talk to each other about this, understand me?"
"Yes, Dr. Priestly." They answered again.
"Good. Now get out."
The classroom was suddenly so noisy she almost clamped her hands over her ears as they grabbed their bags and notebooks and all rushed to get out as fast as they could. Many of them didn't put their supplies away, merely holding it all in their arms as they dashed out the doors. In just a few minutes the room was cleared, leaving Miranda alone with her student who was still sobbing so hard her whole body was shaking.
"Oh, Andrea." She put the phone down on Andrea's desk and then hesitated only a moment before wrapping her arms around Andrea.
The girl sagged against her, her knees buckling and her body pitching forward, nearly knocking Miranda off balance. She continued to sob, crying and hiccuping against Miranda's shoulder, and Miranda's heart shattered. She tightened her arms around the younger woman and brought a hand up to rest against Andrea's head, holding her close.
Out of all her years of teaching, nothing like this had ever happened. Usually the calls were from friends, many who were long distance and didn't realize they were calling during class time. Sometimes the calls were from partners, calling to say they were going to home late. Other times it was an automated sales call that was immediately hung up. On rare occasion it was something about a doctor's appointment, or a boss calling an employee, but never, never had a call like this happened.
Andrea was pregnant, and if the rest of the call was anything to go by it was not a pregnancy to be celebrated. Miranda was well aware what STI testing and pregnancy testing usually meant.
Good God.
Miranda hugged Andrea a little tighter, words failing her as Andrea gripped onto the front of her blouse and held on as if it was all she had left.
When Andrea finally settled down, Miranda would have to make a few calls. She was mandated to at least make a Jane Doe report, and put her own name on file about the incident. She would have to discuss with Andrea that it was ultimately her choice to proceed. She almost hoped that maybe it was just a casual one night stand, but with how Andrea was shaking and crying, Miranda could feel that that was not the case at hand.
Oh God. Andrea was pregnant. Andrea, who was one of her most passionate students, and probably the kindest person she had ever had the pleasure to teach, was pregnant.
Fire burned in her lungs. She took pride working at a school with one of the lowest rates of rape. They took every case seriously and stood beside the survivor. Any student who was accused of rape was immediately investigated, enforced not to go to class until the investigation was over, and was expelled immediately when proven guilty. The school would then help the student with any funds for lawyers and court fees.
Whoever had done this was going to wish he had never been born. She was going to make sure he was punished to every extent of the law that he could be tried for.
"Andrea." She felt fingers nudge against her stomach where Andrea tightened her hold on the front of Miranda's blouse. She felt bile bubbling in her throat, not wanting to ask her student the question that was burning on her tongue, but knowing that she couldn't let it sit any longer. "Were you raped?"
She waited patiently, continuing to hold tight as Andrea stiffened and her sobbing increased. Well, that was answer enough, but she needed a verbal response as well. After a few minutes she found herself speaking again. "This school does not stand for rape, abuse, or violence. Andrea, if you were raped I promise you this school will be on your side, and he will not get away with it."
A moment passed before she felt a very small nod against her shoulder. She waited, her hand smoothing over Andrea's back until she heard what she needed to hear. "He- he wouldn't- stop. I told him- to stop." Loud hiccuping sobs burst forth, and Andrea buried her face against Miranda's neck, her arms looping around to squeeze Miranda tight, holding on desperately.
"Ok." Miranda checked the time on the clock and slowly pulled out of Andrea's arms. "Andrea. Do you want the school to investigate, and have him punished?" She reached both hands up to hold Andrea's face gently in her hands. "The Dean, and the administration, and the faculty do not stand for this, and he will be expelled and prosecuted. Andrea, do you want my help to put him away?"
"I- I want-" Andrea gasped, her whole body shuddering on a sob. "I wanted- him to stop."
"Ok. Then we're going to make sure he goes to prison for what he's done. I promise you that he is not going to walk away from this. What he did was a crime, Andrea. Can you tell me his name?"
Andrea nodded, her movement jerky. "Na-thaniel."
"Nathaniel. Do you know his last name?"
"Bendou."
"Ok. Good Andrea. Ok I have some calls to make, ok, come sit with me. I'll get you a bottle of water."
Miranda gently led Andrea through the side door of the classroom, coaxing the shaking girl to sit down on the couch that Miranda had in her office. She moved quickly to grab her personal cellphone, a packet of tissues, and a water bottle before returning to settle next to her still crying student. Placing the water and the tissues in Andrea's hands, she pulled up the Dean's number on her phone and placed the call.
Nathaniel Bendou was not going to be getting away with anything, and she was going to make sure Andrea got the help she needed.
And that's the end! Tell me what you thought, I am really interested in how I pulled this one off.
Love to SarahStreep7 for being helpful while I was writing this!
I barely read through it to edit it because I just wanted to get it posted. So if you catch a typo LET ME KNOW (or I might catch it when I edit it. I know awful awful me but it's getting late and I want to post it so leave me alone).
Lots of Love,
CBC