"Jenna, is that you?" I hear Kyle call from the living room right as I walk into the door of our apartment.
"Yeah." I let out a sigh of exasperation. Life was giving me hell at the moment; I barely had time to do any homework because I ran around from rehearsals, Power Squad practice, and the doctor's office every day. I was starting to fail my classes even, my attendance suffered, I blew money on uniforms I out grew in a month, nothing was going right.
"Everything okay Sport?" Kyle sympathetically chimes in. He knew that I was killing myself trying to hurdle over all obstacles life was throwing my way, but he also knew that I wouldn't give up.
"Well, I have an extra few hours added to my week," His eyebrow gave a raise to the statement as I plopped down beside him on the couch, cushions seeping in around me. "No more Power Squad. They say it's too dangerous, but they're just shallow, they don't want a fat girl on the team."
"Jenna you and I both knew this was going to come eventually, but they're right. What would happen if one of them fell on you? That little guy would be done with."
"Whatever."
"By the way, the Next Teen Star called, they scheduled yet another fitting." He nags. Kyle started being such a mom since the whole pregnancy thing; Jenna take your vitamins, Jenna don't wear yourself out, Jenna no caffeine, Jenna this and Jenna that. I just want to have fun, have my boyfriend back, and have my life back.
"They are just trying to keep up with this growing belly of mine Kyle." I attempt at sounding cheery, yet it fails miserably.
"That growing belly of yours isn't going to pay for itself either. You can't rely on the whole becoming famous thing to work in your favor Jenna, and I we can't support this kid on my income alone." Again with the nagging he has so recently mastered.
"What do you want me to do? I'm a sixteen year old with no job experience, and a pregnant belly." I argue.
"Jen, even if KC doesn't want to deal with this baby, he still needs to help pay its bills."
"Don't call my baby an it!" I hate when he does that.
"If you would just open the damn sonogram packet, then I wouldn't have to."
"Just because you don't like a pleasant surprise doesn't mean I can't enjoy this."
"Stop being so immature. Were you even listening to what I said?"
"Yeah, KC needs to help out with the money situation. Like that'd ever happen." I sputter, tagging along a quite necessary roll of the eyes.
"It's called child support Jenna! It's his legal obligation!" Kyle's even tempered manor spikes, voice rising.
"How am I supposed to know what to do though?" I plead, instantly feeling tears well up in my eyes.
"I'm sorry," He whispers, "Please don't cry. How about you go to the library computers, do some research you know." I bite down on my lip, nodding in agreement to the plan.
"I'll look tomorrow at school, I need some sleep." Just another symptom of pregnancy.
XX
I'm so glad the school realized it was unfair to make the pregnant girl continue to wear clothing that wouldn't fit after a week. I still have to wear my purple polo shirt, but I'm given free range pertaining to the bottom half of my wardrobe selection. Another plus side to pregnancy, you don't have to worry when you wear white pants.
I just barely make into homeroom when the bell rings, and I easily get myself excused to the computer lab a little bit early, my free period is next anyway.
I take a seat on one of the green oversized plastic balls used as computer chairs, these were one of the only things that had stayed the same throughout all the changes Degrassi had undergone. It was slightly comforting, thinking of how it used to be, thinking how KC and I would sit side by side, slightly bouncing as we kissed, swinging our hands in between the two of us. We were inseparable until my life had flipped upside down.
"C-h-i-l-d S-u-p-p-o-r-t" I spell to myself, it sounded all too much like a chant from my days of cheerleading. Once I pressed search, I was off. Different websites, different information, some confusing, others seemed easy enough for a first grader to comprehend. I print both, one to seem professional, and the other just to understand what I was really saying. The bell rang once again, echoing through the empty lab, alerting everyone that first period was done. Now I just had to wait until I saw KC again.
XX
By the time the clock struck three thirty, notifying the student body that the day had ended, I had still yet to seen KC. Trust me, I would've noticed if I saw that boy in the hallway. He crossed my mind every hour of every day; the sad truth was I desperately missed him. I wanted him back in my life, I wanted him to love me again, and I wanted to be the power couple we once were. This child just made it impossible.
Basketball season had already started, so I was sure I'd find KC in the gym. I ditched my backpack in my locker, knowing I wasn't going to do the work assigned to me anyway. I did, however, grab the infinite number of papers I had printed this morning, stapled neatly together and the top left corner.
I waltz my way into the gym, noticing him right off the bat. I loved his hair, you never got to see it whenever he would wear that atrocious beanie hat, but now that this uniform policy has been established, he was not longer allowed to sport it, thank God. He towered over the other players, all six feet two inches of him was adorned in basketball practice gear. I wanted to waddle over him and jump into his arms, but that would be highly inappropriate, and highly unlikely.
I clear my throat, all the player in the other wise silent gymnasium turned towards me. "KC, we need to talk."
"Sure Jenna, what is it?" Even after the mess I'd put him through, he was still the nice guy I loved.
"I don't think you want to discuss this in front of your team mates,"
"Gotcha," He turns back towards his fellow players, "Cover me, alright?" A few of them nod in agreement, as he turns back to my direction, hurdling to me.
We step in unison all the way out the door, taking our old shortcut to The Dot, neither one of us daring to speak.
"So what are those papers for?" He questions, gesturing towards my research.
"KC, you don't have to father this kid, but I need support, specifically child support."
"What are you talking about?" He takes a step closer to me, seeming a tad bit on edge.
"It's a monthly payment to your child, to help pay for the basics; food, diapers, clothing, you know."
"How much are you expecting me to pay exactly?" He takes another exasperated step towards me, as I try to step back, my heel slams against a wall of another building.
"Just a few hundred dollars a month. Nothing extreme." I say meekly.
"For how long?" The palms of his hands press the wall on either side of my face.
"Uh, eighteen years."
"Even if the kid wasn't around anymore?" KC steps back, leaving little space between us.
"That's kind of pessimistic of you,"
"No, it's kind of opportunistic of me."
"KC, I don't understand."
"Nothing to understand Jenna, now this will only hurt for a bit. Then everything will be back to normal." His clenching fist slowly moves back.
"KC..." I feel the blow to my stomach, knocking me out of breath and to the floor. Once I'm there, he continues to wail on me, not stopping with punching; kicks begin to fly towards my abdomen. Then I feel it, the thick warm liquid flows out of me, staining my white sweatpants scarlet. I start fading away, his feet rush by my face, stomping away.
XX
My eyes slowly open, like the sun coming over the horizon. I'm in an all white room; white walls, white tiled floor, white bed that I'm tucked under. I see Kyle sitting to the side of the bed.
"Kyle, where am I?" I manage to conjure up out of all the confusion swirling around my head.
"Sis, you're in the hospital. You had a miscarriage."