It had been about a month since the party at Leann's, and everything seemed to return to normal. For some reason, though, I always felt guilty whenever Roy was around. I had tried to forget about Orland, but it just didn't work. Even stranger yet, Leonel always gave me a sad-eyed look whenever he saw me.

Unfortunately, I had caught some sort of stomach bug, which made me feel nauseous all the time. I usually wasn't one to complain about being sick, and I kept that up, despite my feeling of misery.

One day in class, though, I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"Aria," Barrett said. He had a tendency of calling on people who never raised their hands. "Can you tell me how to make a flare lance?" I hadn't been paying attention in class, due to my upset stomach.

"Barrett," I said. "I feel sick. Can I go see Ray?" Barrett sighed.

"That may have worked when you were ten," he said. "But now, it's time to answer the question."

"Actually," Cammy said, raising her hand. "She does look a little pale. And Leann is sick today too." Before I had time to wonder what was wrong with Leann, I ran outside as fast as I could, and threw up in one of the garden plots. When I was finished, embarrassingly enough, I saw that everyone had crowded around by the windows. And I still felt sick.

I went back inside the school, and everyone backed away.

"I guess you weren't kidding," Barrett said.

"Yeah," I said in an irritated manner. "You think?"

"You should probably go home," Barrett said.

"Oh," I said. "Believe me, I will."

I left school, and took a shortcut home. On the way, I couldn't help but think about what could be wrong. I never, ever, ever got sick, and when I did, I usually got a cold. But if Leann was sick, she could have possibly given it to me. As I got onto our property, I saw Dad working in the field, and he obviously saw me.

"What are you doing home?" he asked.

"I'm sick," I replied. "Barrett let me out of class. I think I have a stomach problem."

"A stomach problem?" he asked. "You never get sick like that."
"I know," I replied. "But Leann is sick too. She might have the same thing."

"I see," Dad said. "Your mom isn't here right now, so if you need anything, just yell out the window or something. You probably shouldn't get out of bed more than you have to."

"Okay," I said. My stomach was starting to feel sick again.

I went upstairs to my room, and got right into bed. Normally, it would have been like torture to stay there for that long, but for some reason, I was really tired, and fell asleep right away, and didn't wake up at all, except for the occasional stomach pain.

I awoke to see Mom standing over me, with her hand on my forehead.

"Oh," she said. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Not well," I replied.

"Hm," she hummed, obviously in thought. "You don't feel warm at all."

"If you don't believe me," I said. "Ask your coworker."

"Barrett already told me," she replied. "We should probably take you to see Ray…or better yet, Natalie. She's more experienced with strange illnesses."

"I don't even want to get up," I moaned.

"Well," Mom said. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's probably necessary."

"Fine," I said. I stretched, and got out of bed, despite my feeling of sickness.

We went outside, where it was raining lightly. By the sky, it looked to be almost seven at night. I felt dizzy whenever I stood up, so even the short trip to the clinic was hard work. When we got there, Dorothy immediately greeted us. She was very shy, but Mom and Dad told me she used to be even shyer.

"H-Hello," she said. "How can I…help you?"

"Aria hasn't been feeling too well," Mom told her. "We wanted to see Natalie, if she's available."

"Sh-she is," Dorothy replied. For some reason, she looked at me and blushed. Natalie, who had been standing in the other half of the clinic, got up and walked toward us.

"So," she said, always enthusiastic. "You've been sick?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I've had an upset stomach for the past week or so, but it didn't feel terrible until today."

"All right," she said. "Let's take you back, and have a look at you." Mom and I followed her into one of the places where she or Ray did checkups.

I sat down on one of the beds, and prepared to be poked and prodded with random medical devices. I let Natalie do the checkup, and felt more and more dismayed as time went on.

"Well," Natalie said finally. "I just can't figure out what's wrong. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Mom asked.

"You're not going to like this, Mana," Natalie said. "I was going to say 'unless she's pregnant'." My eyes widened, and Mom's eyes got even wider.

"But Aria," Mom said. "I thought you and Roy were abstinent?"

"We are," I replied. My eyes were starting to majorly tear up. I wasn't a crier, but I really felt like I needed to.

"Aria," Mom said, lowering her voice and stroking my hair. "What happened?"

I didn't want to tell her anything. I didn't want her to know about the party, the drinking, going off with Orland. But I knew I couldn't keep a secret like that.

"I…" I started to say. The tears were coming down. "I…went to a party…about a month ago…there was drinking…" I paused, and started crying for real. Before long, I was so upset I could barely talk. "Orland." Through my teary eyes, I could see Mom look surprised, and Natalie looking sad, but calm. I wiped my eyes.

"I knew it from the start," Natalie said, sighing. "Babies with elf blood tend to heighten all pregnancy symptoms." With those words, I started sobbing uncontrollably again. Natalie, being a mother, put her hand on my shoulder. My mom, on the other hand, still appeared to be in shock. But she put her hand on me anyway, and rubbed my back as she usually did when I was upset.

"Mom," I said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Mom said, and sighed. "Your father is going to be absolutely livid."

"If I know Kyle," Natalie said. "Then there's no doubt he will be. But he'll have to learn to accept it eventually." I buried my face in my hands. "Don't worry, dear. Things will sort themselves out."

"Aria," Mom said, turning angry. She never really liked it when Aaron and I cried nonstop as kids, and it was the same when we were teenagers. "Please, pull yourself together. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but drinking yourself silly and running off with Orland was not a good idea. And now, you're going to have to deal with the consequences. Or in this case, a baby."

"Not necessarily," Natalie said. "Obviously, she'll still have to carry the baby to term, but that doesn't mean she'll have to raise it as her own. There's an orphanage in a neighboring village that will gladly take babies."

"I didn't consider that option," Mom said. "But…I guess it's up to Aria."

I didn't know what to say. On one hand, Orland was a jerk, and probably wouldn't be a good father. On the other, it was still my baby, and I didn't know if I would be able to let something like that go.

"Can I answer that later?" I asked.

"I don't expect you to answer now," Mom said. "But you should answer as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid your mother is right," Natalie said. Right then, I made what could potentially have been the dumbest decision I made in my life.

"For now," I said. "I want to keep it." Mom looked surprised, as did Natalie.

"Well," Natalie said. "I'll schedule you for a checkup in a month. And let me know if you change your mind."

"Thank you, Natalie," Mom said.

"Yes," I said. "Thank you."

We walked out from the checkup room, and left the clinic. The rain was really starting to come down. Even though it was the summer, I felt cold. It could have been the fact that I was doomed, or that I had made the wrong decision in keeping the baby. Or maybe it was just the rain. At that point, I wasn't sure of anything.

PLEASE READ: Poor Aria. Or so it seems. To the readers, you completely predicted the future. Now, there's just one little thing: right now, this story probably sounds like one of those "boo-hoo, I'm pregnant" stories, but I guarantee you, this story is going to turn out much differently. After chapters four and five (I think), you will not be feeling sorry for Aria at all. You'll be sorry for Aaron. No! I've said too much! And as it says on my profile, the title and genres are probably going to change. Reviews are much appreciated.