Chapter 25:
A/N: Okay, so I still haven't decided if she's gonna keep it or not, so I think I'm gonna leave it to you guys and message me with what you think she should do!
Karen made her way down the corridor to Grantly's English classroom, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked. She needed to speak to Sami, and even though Chris was going to talk to her again at lunchtime, Karen wanted to find out why Sami had been absent from registration and her Chemistry lesson that morning. She eventually reached the door and knocked on it. Grantly looked up from his desk and Karen opened the door, stepping inside the classroom. 'Ah, Mrs Fisher.. What pleasure do I owe you this afternoon?' Grantly said, his voice practically oozing with sarcasm. Karen fought the urge to roll her eyes, this definitely wasn't what she needed right now. 'Can I have a quick chat with Sami, please?' She asked, looking around the sea of faces in classroom. Sami looked up, worry filling her eyes. 'It's nothing too serious, I promise.' The class tittered a little bit, and Grantly waved a hand. 'Yes, fine.. She's no trouble anyway.' Karen smiled her thanks and Sami got up, nervously placing her bag on her shoulder. She walked down to where Karen was stood and stopped beside her. Karen pulled the door open and held it, allowing Sami to pass through and into the corridor first. She stepped outside too and closed the door behind them.
There was a long, awkward silence between the pair of them as they ambled down the corridors and into Karen's office. Sami kept her eyes firmly on the ground and Karen kept hers straight ahead, unsure what to say to the young, teenage girl who was walking alongside her. What she didn't quite understand was how Sami had a hundred percent attendance throughout the whole term so far, until that morning. She'd always been shy, but was never this quiet before. Taking both of these things into consideration, Karen was positively sure that there was something wrong. Thankfully, they eventually reached her office door and Karen pushed the door open, again letting Sami in first. Luckily, Janeece appeared to be absent, clearly out somewhere around the school or taking her lunch break in the staffroom. Karen breathed a silent sigh of relief and she walked up to the main office door, with Sami trailing after her. She opened the door and stepped inside, walking up to her desk and sitting down on the chair behind it. Sami hovered in the doorway, nervously fiddling with the strap on her bag. 'Come in and take a seat,' Karen said calmly. Sami slowly walked inside properly and put her bag down next to the chair on the opposite side of Karen's desk, then sat down. She bit her lip and looked down at her feet, worrying. 'Okay, so you do know why I've asked to see you here, right?' Sami nodded, still not looking up. 'First of all, how d'you think you're doing as far as settling in here?' Karen asked, resting her elbows on the desk and leaning forward a little bit. Sami finally tilted her head up a little bit, still not looking at Karen. 'Fine, I suppose.. I've made three new, really good friends,' she mumbled. 'And your subjects are going okay?' Karen said gently, not wanting to get straight to the point just in case she'd make the younger girl close up straight away and upsetting her. 'Mm, they're all going well, I guess,' Sami replied, still not looking into Karen's eyes. 'Sami, is there something wrong at home?' Karen decided she needed to get to the point now, forgetting about what she'd previously thought. Sami's eyes widened in surprise and she actually looked at Karen this time, shaking her head rapidly. 'Oh no, of course not!' She said, with genuine surprise.
Karen frowned and leaned even further forwards. 'Okay.. So explain to me why you weren't here this morning then,' she said firmly, still remaining calm. Tears started to fill Sami's eyes, but she swallowed hard and spoke anyway. 'I had to go to the doctor's, because..' She trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence. 'Because..?' Karen prompted her, gesturing with her hands. Sami took a deep breath, there was no point in hiding it as she needed to tell someone other than Chris and Kate. 'B-Because I'm.. I'm pregnant.' The tears that had been collecting in her eyes streamed down her face and she mashed her lips together to prevent herself from sobbing. A look of shock appeared on Karen's face. She was expecting something completely different, and Sami was the complete opposite of the girls who managed to get themselves pregnant at such a young age. 'Oh, Sami..' She got up out of her chair and walked over to where Sami was sat down. 'Come and sit over here with me for a minute..' She gestured towards the small line of comfortable looking chairs that backed against the wall next to the door and sat down in one. Sami nervously got up too, shaking as she placed herself down in the seat next to Karen. 'I just.. Don't know what I'm gonna do,' she said, still fighting back sobs. 'Well, do your parents know for a start?' Karen asked her gently. Sami shook her head. 'N-No.. I don't want to tell them unless I decide to keep it.'
Karen nodded understandingly. 'Right.. How many weeks are you?' 'Th-three,' Sami stammered. 'You have plenty of time to decide what you'd like to do, then,' Karen replied. 'Does the father know?' She hated questioning her like this, but she felt as if she had to. 'Yeah.. He's been perfect with me about it, he said to me that we'd sort it out together and that I should try not to worry.. He's only a year older than me, but he's at a different school in the area.' The second part was a complete lie, but she'd almost stopped crying now and was just sniffing a little bit. 'That's really good of him,' Karen said, smiling at her. There was a sudden knock at the door and Karen called out 'come in!' The door swung open and Chris was stood there with a pile of paperwork in his hands. He saw Sami's tear-stained face and a wave of panic spread through him. 'Thank you for letting me know about this morning, Chris.. I know everything now,' Karen told him, her face remaining completely serious. 'I-I'll just leave this paperwork with Janeece, then and I'll leave you to it,' Chris stammered, quickly closing the door behind him. Thankfully, neither of the two women saw the look of pure horror on his face as he numbly stood there for a moment. His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would burst out of his chest and he felt all of the colour drain out of his face. There was no question about it, Sami had clearly broken down and told Karen about everything that had happened between the two of them.
'Want me to take that paperwork for you, sir?' He heard Janeece ask him, and he turned towards where she was sat to find her staring at him, a look of both suspicion and concern on her face. 'Yeah.. Thanks.' Chris placed the paperwork down on the desk next to her and he went to walk towards the door. 'Mr Mead, are you alright?' Janeece asked again. 'You look a bit ill..' Chris looked down at the floor, then back to her. 'I'm fine, thanks..' He carried on walking towards the door and out into the corridor as fast as he could.