GoodJoss mentioned inconsistency in the plot vs the 1980s. I changed a small portion of the last chapter. Thank you for the reviews!
Labyrinth – Lessons Learned
Chapter 8: New School
Sarah tried as hard as possible, to remember more about her time with the Goblin King. Before she went to sleep, she envisioned the crystal ballroom, hoping that it would inspire a dream, a flashback of sorts, like those she'd been having earlier. Something. Anything.
But nothing more seemed to come. That night, she had no dreams at all.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Neither one of them seemed to be home at the same time, and neither one seemed to stay longer than a few minutes. Both Jeremy and Linda had busy lives.
Still, on the first day of her school week, the blond actor managed to make an appearance at the breakfast table. "Have you decided yet?" he asked bluntly.
"Decided?" Sarah asked, wondering what his question concerned and dreading the answer.
"Whether to have an abortion yet."
So much for her mother's boyfriend failing to take a stance on the issue. He had no business asking such a question, but at the same time, he didn't seem to care about her response. Maybe he was just rude.
"No." This was the most that Sarah would say on the subject. Again – it was not his business. At least Karen could get away with her insensitive inquiries, since the stepmother had some sort of stake in the outcome, and Karen was justly concerned.
Abortion was on her mind lots, lately. It would be beneficial, in some ways. It was hard on the body, and it was painful, but she wouldn't have a life-long consequence from an affair that she didn't even remember.
"Hmm," Jeremy grunted, moving on to another topic. "Sorry. In the morning, before my coffee, I am a lot more direct. I shouldn't have said anything."
Sarah nodded slightly, already forgiving the man, since he came to the same conclusion that she did. Coffee. It made the world go around, caused the United States to have productive workforce, and best of all, it suppressed those crude comments one wanted to make in the morning.
"Can I make it up to you," Jeremy continued blithely, "By saying how lovely you look today?"
Hmm. There was another weird remark. Two in a row. She had that creepy feeling again, while she was around Jeremy.
Ignoring his addition to the conversation, Sarah concentrated on her oatmeal. It was really fantastic. Beyond normal, in fact. It tasted like . . .
Was that cinnamon? She couldn't recall putting any cinnamon on top of her oatmeal. Still, it really tasted great, and her energy level seemed fine, this morning. She felt ready to take on the world.
A tiny goblin scurried under the furniture. Sarah tried her best not to respond in any way. The little imp wasn't bothering her, so she wouldn't bother it. Besides, it would make her look insane to notice the little guys in public.
"I have to go," she finally told her companion at the table. "It's my second 'first' day of school."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The first few classes went smoothly enough. It wasn't until lunch when she discovered how difficult and awkward it was to be in a new place, without knowing anyone. Finally, one of the girls waved at Sarah, and she joined their table. "Ah, thanks!" she exclaimed happily. It is much more crowded in this cafeteria than my old school. I can barely hear myself think."
The other girl laughed. She seemed nice enough. Sandy colored hair, with a few freckles spotting her nose. "Are we in class together?" Sarah continued.
"Yup," the girl replied. Her accent sounded less like New York and more like Vermont. Whatever. She was the first person to act friendly toward Sarah, here. That was great! "You were introduced in my math class. My name's Kelli Beck."
"Sarah Williams," she returned. Of course, the other girl probably recalled the name from when the teacher introduced her.
There were a few other girls at the table, and only two boys. The boys didn't seem as excited about lunch as their girlfriends; they talked to each other, primarily. After a round of introductions, full of names that Sarah knew she might not remember, one of the other girls asked the obvious question. "So, why did you change schools? Must be tough in the middle of the year."
All morning, she had debated whether to lie when asked this question. In the end, she decided not to. If she didn't receive an abortion, then the reason for her transfer would soon become apparent. She opted for honesty. It was easier than remembering a fib.
Still, now that the moment had arrived, it was difficult to tell them the truth. How would that make her sound? Maybe she should simply say . . . No, no. Shaking her head firmly, Sarah resolved to stick with the truth. Honesty was easier than making something up.
"My stepmother found out that I was pregnant," she said in a small voice. "So, she didn't want me in the house any more. I came to live with my real-mother." This was how it happened, more or less. Painting herself as a victim, instead of the one who made the choice to leave, that would be okay, right? It wasn't a total lie. Just a partial cover-up.
One of the boys perked up, when he heard the reason. "Oh my God!" he groaned next. Standing up, he spoke at the top of his voice. "We have another one! Why do teenage mothers like our school so much?! Come on, people!"
A chill went down Sarah's spine. Should she have avoided the truth, after all? It was very alarming to have the news that she was pregnant shouted, loudly, across the whole cafeteria. Maybe she should have said that her family just . . . moved suddenly, or . . .
The sandy-haired girl apologized. "Eh, my boyfriend's an idiot. Sorry for the announcement."
That was it. The only apology she received. Mediocre at best.
The rest of the day was incredibly awkward, with many odd looks and stares. No one else even bothered to try and speak with her, except for one curly-haired girl, who asked whether she was excited to be a mother. Sarah didn't even want to open the can of worms, waiting for her, if she mentioned the possibility of abortion. So, she just refrained from answering. The other new girl seemed miffed and quickly left her alone.
Sure enough, the next day, no one sat with her at lunch or left any openings at their table. Sarah decided to read in the library. Books had served her well, in her prior school, also.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
That evening, her mom was home, along with Jeremy. Linda went to bed early, claiming a headache. This left Sarah and Jeremy alone, in the incredibly cluttered living room. Like magic, the only available seat was the one right next to the old actor.
For no particular reason, Sarah did not want to sit in that chair. She sat at the kitchen table, instead. The room was much smaller, and the table was a joke, but at least she wouldn't be near Jeremy. As for her room, there was no spot to do homework, in there. Apart from the mess, it was a nice place to stay. Her mother had cleared a corner of the guest bedroom for her. The rest of the bedroom was packed full of miscellaneous objects that Linda insisted she would tidy up, any minute. But there was no chair in the guest bedroom. So, the kitchen, it was!
After doing a few homework problems, she heard footsteps entering the room. Jeremy was hovering beside her chair, evidently unwilling to remain by himself in the other room. "How was the first day?"
Polite conversation was easy enough. Sarah tapped her pen on the paper, and she told him that everything had gone well. Jeremy was trying to be nice, asking about school.
"I thought it might have gone badly," he replied. "You look so stressed out."
"Do I?" Sarah asked, halfheartedly. Why did she have such an eerie feeling of discomfort, around him?
"If you like, I could massage your shoulders?" the older man offered. "I've been told I'm excellent at relieving stress."
"Um . . . no, thanks." Sarah turned him down, naturally. She didn't want the guy to touch any part of her body. No thank you, indeed. Maybe this was why she felt uncomfortable around him for the last two days.
"Hmm," he said offhand, as if the answer didn't matter to him one way or another, "Your loss." Then, he laughed, a dry chuckle, before letting her finish the homework in peace.
Grinding her teeth together, Sarah frowned. What kind of a stupid comment was that? Maybe he was simply trying to be kind, and he didn't know how it made him sound. Trying to give Jeremy the benefit of the doubt, Sarah pushed the incident to the back of her mind. But she made a mental note to mention it to her mother, the next day.
If he made any other peculiar remarks, then she'd tell him how it made her feel very uncomfortable. Right now, she had to finish math homework. This new class was covering a totally different part of the subject than the class at her old school. She would fail for certain, without help.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Do you suppose you might assist me, in math?" Sarah asked the girl with sandy-colored hair. Kelli, that was her name. Right.
"Eh?!" The girl exclaimed. "I'm terrible at mathematics, too!"
They laughed together for a moment. Sarah took this chance to slip into the chair across from Kelli at the lunch table. Nobody protested, so she interpreted this as a victory.
"I only need a little bit of prompting," Sarah insisted.
"And I'm the only person you know?" Kelli answered, humorously, not fooled by Sarah's performance. "It's okay. If we work through the homework together , then we'll both improve."
That was how they found themselves working side by side in the library, after school ended for the day. Kelli's boyfriend, the rude one, came along for the trip. He didn't do anything other than chat with other guys. They sat a short distance away, and Sarah ignored them, completely focused on the little numbers and signs flitting across her math textbook's page.
Well, at least, she ignored them until she overheard one of the boys talking about her. Each of the group was discussing what he would do, if his girlfriend got pregnant. So, the dialogue wasn't about Sarah, per se, but it concerned her. She couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"No, that just makes her a slut," one of the boys declared. "If she's pregnant already, that's a sign – she's an easy lay."
They weren't actually talking about her, were they? Sarah worried. Name-calling or making comments behind her back, those were still insults. Glancing over the desk, she saw Kelli wasn't listening to the others.
"I'd break up with her, if my girl told me that," the next guy announced.
"Better to beat the baby out of her," mentioned the third boy, with a snicker. "Then, you don't have to pay for the stupid kid."
"Oh seriously?" Kelli's boyfriend sounded surprised. "That wouldn't happen. Girls don't want to ruin their lives with a baby, either. Just tell her to get an abortion."
Slamming down her pencil, Sarah drew a breath, ready to yell at the idiots having this discussion. How could they be so callous, so rude? Even if they weren't talking about her, the things they said were awful.
From across the desk, Kelli poked her with the edge of her notebook. "Don't! Just ignore 'em," the girl advised.
Evidently, the sandy-haired girl had been listening to her boyfriend too. "How can you just ignore that?"
"Well, duh." Kelli rolled her eyes. "Of course, they think it."
"What?" The casual acceptance from this girl of whatever her boyfriend said, it unnerved Sarah.
"Having a baby this young is very immature and foolish. You can't even take care of yourself without help. No job. Can't drive. Need to finish school," Kelli shrugged as if it was all obvious.
Appalled, Sarah wanted to yell, but the tone of voice this girl had used was positive and friendly – as if she wasn't trying to sound insulting. Also, it was hard to dispute facts. Kelli was right, about the last few things. She wasn't legally allowed to drive or work, at this age. So, it would be a burden to have a baby. She simply hadn't imagined that the burden might fall onto anyone else's shoulders. But anyone who gave her a ride or loaned her money, in the end, that person was carrying part of the burden. So . . .
"You'll either live with your family, or the government will need to help you with finances," Kelli continued. "Although, it isn't like any of THESE people are taxpayers yet." Gesturing with her hand at the boys, Kelli displayed that she was annoyed with them also. "So, who are they to complain?"
"What you're saying is," Sarah said, a trace of anger showing in her voice, "I should have been more mature, and not gotten . . . I'm only twelve weeks along, you know! There's still time for an abortion."
"Hey!" the other girl protested, "I didn't say it like that. Sheesh."
"Well, you certainly said enough!"
Now, Kelli seemed upset too. "Look around here," she waved her hand, once more, "No one likes you. Appreciate the one friend you might have." Then, stacking her math book and papers, the sandy-haired girl stormed off. Sarah bit her lips, forcing herself not to answer. Arguing with Kelli was the wrong person. It was that group of boys which originally offended her.
With a sigh, Sarah decided to finish her homework in the library, before going home. It was less . . . distracting here. Sometimes, being alone could be useful! She would simply avoid thinking about what other people said, behind her back. If she didn't admit it was happening, then it . . . would bother her just as much. Argh!
Maybe Jeremy had the same sort of thoughts, as these silly boys? The first one said that any pregnant teen girl must be an easy lay. Was that why her mother's boyfriend kept saying strange things and why he'd offered a massage, of all things, that morning?
Surely not. Jeremy seemed creepy, but he was hopefully trying to be kind. Typically, teens were more cruel than adults. She would find a way to gently broach the topic with her mother and see what kind of response Linda gave.
