Sydney to the Max Season 4: Episode 7 - My So Called Pregnancy

Written By: Katy Kear, Edited by: "Fun But Shy Girl", Based on Characters Created by: Mark Reisman

1994:

Alisha Webb walked towards the front door of Max's house.

"Alisha, don't leave," Max told her, standing up, himself. She reached for the door handle. "I love you."

She stopped and looked at him.

"Max…"

"I love you," he repeated. "We're best friends. You can talk to me about anything. Please stay."

She looked at him, turned towards him, and walked a few steps forward.

"Max... I'm pregnant," she announced, raising her arms in a defeated fashion.

Max just stared at her, obviously not prepared for those words.

Alisha walked over to the couch and sat down again.

"Kevin... he broke up with me a few days ago after I told him."

"I'm sorry," he said. "He's a jerk to have done that."

"I don't know what to do," she said. "I don't even know how to tell my mom. I didn't even want to do it. He pressured me into doing it a bunch of times. But as soon as I tell him he got me pregnant, he breaks up with me, and then skips town." Max looked at her shocked. "His dad told me he moved in with his mom."

"I'll help you any way that I can," Max promised her.

"It's not your responsibility, Max," she told him.

"That doesn't matter to me," he stated. "I'll always be here for you."

Without a thought, he pulled her into a hug. Alisha laid her head on Max's shoulder. She grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers.

"I shouldn't have had sex with him," she said. "It should have been when I was older with someone that actually loves me."

Not even knowing if it was the right time, Max lightly squeezed Alisha's hand.

TWO WEEKS LATER:

Max approached Alisha who was standing nervously by her locker at school.

"Hey," Max greeted Alisha, walking toward her locker.

"Hey," she said. She looked around to see if anyone was in earshot of them. "I got an ultrasound yesterday."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my sister, Sydney, took me," she informed him. "She's in college. She bought me some prenatal vitamins."

"Cool," Max commented. "So, did you get the picture thing?"

"No," she said. "I decided to wait until I find out if the baby's a boy or a girl."

"Okay," he said. "So, how old is your sister?"

"19," Alisha answered. "I still haven't told my mom."

"Why?"

"I don't really know," she replied. "I'm hiding the vitamins in my room."

"You shouldn't be doing this alone," Max told her. "Kevin should be here too, for one."

"He's a jerk, anyway," she said. "Maybe it's best he broke up with me."

"I'll never leave you," he told her, "I promise."

"I know," she acknowledged. "That's what makes you such a great guy. You care about me."

"I always will," Max told him. "With both of you."

"Thanks, Max," Alisha said. She looked and saw the hallway empty. "We should get to class."

ONE WEEK LATER:

Max got off a bus and walked into a grocery store. There, he saw a teenager bagging groceries. After the teen finished the with his customer, Max approached and began to speak with him.

"Kevin, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Who's asking?"

"Max Reynolds," he introduced himself.

"What do you want?"

"I just want to know…" Max began, "...how someone could break up with his girlfriend after she tells him that she's pregnant."

Kevin looked at Max with a bit of nervousness in his face.

"This is about Alisha," he understood. "Listen. I don't get why she told you, but I would appreciate it if she wouldn't blab about this to everyone. I can't handle having a kid. It would just screw up my life."

"She doesn't see it that way," Max told him.

"I have a big chance of early admission to college," he informed Max. "I worked hard to get into and pass all my Honors and AP classes. I'm not giving that up for something that she should have just gotten rid of."

"What?!" Max nearly yelled.

"That's why I broke up with her," he stated. "I told her that it was me or that thing."

"Thing?" Max questioned, angrily. "It's a baby, not a Dr. Seuss character!"

"She can deal with it on her own," he said. "That's what she chose."

A customer approached Kevin's checkout and he started working again.

Max walked out, irritated.

EIGHT WEEKS LATER:

Max and Alisha walked into a clothing store in the mall.

"So what kind of stuff do you want to get for her?" Max asked.

"I guess, like dresses," Alisha answered. "What do you think?"

"What about this?" He questioned. He walked over to a button-up shirt for a baby girl.

"I like it," she said.

Max looked over and smiled. Alisha looked over to see what he was looking at. It was a onesie that had the words "Daddy's Girl" on it. He looked away and went to look at another outfit he saw. Alisha started looking at other clothes but looked back at the onesie.

They went up to pay.

Alisha immediately said, "It's for my sister. She's having her baby shower tomorrow." She looked at Max. "Max, why don't you go check out the skateboard store next door."

"Okay," he obliged. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. He held out a 20 dollar bill.

"I got it, Max," Alisha, said, rejecting his offer.

"I wanna help, Alisha," Max said. His face was completely serious. She took the money from his hand. "Thanks."

He walked out of the store.

"Is he the dad?" The cashier inquired.

Alisha shockingly turned to look at her.

"What?" Alisha questioned. "No, I said it's for my sister."

"Sydney is my best friend," the cashier informed her. "I would know if she was pregnant."

Alisha looked at the young woman's name tag, which said Alivia.

"No, he's not," Alisha replied.

"Ex?" Alivia asked. "Sydney told me you and Leo have a best friend named Maxwell. That's how I knew it was you."

"Yeah," Alisha admitted.

"You know," Alivia began, "even if Maxwell isn't her father, he definitely seems like he wants to be her dad."

"He goes by Max," she informed her, "and we're just friends."

"Yeah…no, you're not."

"Excuse me?"

"I can tell you like him," she said. "He likes you too. It's not rocket science, Alisha, just ask him out."

"Isn't the guy supposed to do that?"

"Doesn't matter who asks," Alivia told her. "Are you ready to ring up?"

Alisha looked back at the onesie from before.

"Hold on," she said. Alivia smiled. She grabbed the onesie, then walked back to the counter. "Now I am."

She met Max outside the store, holding the bag.

"Hey," he said.

"What did you get?"

"Nothing," he said. "I only have a 5 now. I had 25, but I wanted to help—."

"Max... do you wanna go out with me?" Alisha asked.

"Really? Like... on a date?"

"Yeah," she said.

"When?" Max asked.

"How about... right now. We've got nothing else to do today."

"Sure," Max answered. "I'd really like that."

"I have $5 left," Alisha said.

"We could do Pizza Parade. They have two slices of pizza for $5," Max suggested. "I know it's not really romantic, but—"

"It's perfect," Alisha said.

The two teenagers interlocked their fingers and smiled at each other.

THREE WEEKS LATER:

Max was sitting in his science class. He looked around, not seeing Alisha. He raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Reynolds?" The teacher questioned.

"May I use the restroom?"

"You should have gone before class," the teacher told him.

"It's an emergency," he said.

"Very well," the teacher told him with a nod.

Max left the classroom. He walked down the hall. He came to the sight of Alisha's locker.

"Where could she be?"

"Max," he heard Alisha's voice say from the girls' restroom across from their lockers, "is that you?"

He heard dread in her voice.

He walked to the door.

"Yeah," he said. "You okay?"

"No," she said. "I think—I need you."

"What's wrong?"

"Come in here, please."

He could tell she was crying now.

He went into the girls' restroom. He saw the one closed stall.

"What's wrong, Alisha?"

"I think…" she started, "Oh God, I... I think I'm having a miscarriage."

"I'm gonna call my mom," Max said.

"Max, no—"

He cut her off.

"There's not a 'no' this time, Alisha," he told her. "I'm calling her now, and telling her what's going on."

He left the restroom and and went to the front office. No one was there.

"Oh, well," he said. He hurried to the phone and dialed his mom's work number.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Mom, let me make this short," Max said in a frantic voice, "Alisha's pregnant from her ex boyfriend and she thinks she's having a miscarriage."

It only took two seconds for Judy to process what she just heard, before she responded.

"I'm on my way," she stated. "Both of you wait for me upfront. We're going to the hospital."

Max hung up the phone and hurried to the restroom.

"My mom is coming to pick us up," he told Alisha.

"Umm…" she said. She was silent for a couple of minutes, with only the sound of her backpack being unzipped and the sound of clothing being pulled out of it. "Okay, I'm coming out."

She stepped out of the stall with her pants somewhat bulky in the upper area. She went to the sink and washed her hands. Her face was stained with tears.

SIX HOURS LATER:

Sitting on the hospital room bed, Alisha stared only at the doctor. Her mother Maya was standing next to her. Max was sitting in a chair next to the bed and Judy was standing next to him.

"I'm sorry to inform you..." the doctor began, "...your baby no longer has a heartbeat." He looked down, then back up. "You are, in fact, having a miscarriage."

Alisha looked over at Max, then back at the doctor.

"When is it going to be done?" She questioned, sadly.

"It is not determinable to know that information," the doctor told her. "We will keep you here for a couple of nights and we'll see if it passes by then."

"Okay…" Alisha said.

The doctor left. A few seconds after, Max stood up and left the room. Judy followed him. Meanwhile Maya looked at Alisha with confusion in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alisha's mom asked her.

"Because you would have been disappointed in me."

"That is true, Alisha," Maya told her daughter, "but I would have loved you, and the baby, and helped you through it."

"I... I just found out she was a girl awhile back," Alisha told her. "Max and I just picked out outfits a month ago. I was so happy. Kevin didn't care, but I know Max was happy about it. It... it was only the 18th week… 14 weeks after I found out. We... we even picked out a name and... Oh God."

Alisha then began sobbing as Maya immediately hugged Alisha and held her close.

Meanwhile outside the room in the hospital hallway: Max leaned up against the wall, sunk to the floor, with tears coming from his eyes. Judy sat next to him.

"You were invested, weren't you?" Judy asked him.

"We just picked out outfits for her," Max said. "Why couldn't Valicity make it?"

"There's not always an answer for these things," Judy told him. "Wait. You two already decided on a name?"

"Yeah, I thought it sounded cool and Alisha thought it was pretty," Max told his mom. "It means someone who is amazing and awesome, sweet and kind, and selfless… like Alisha."

Judy then pulled Max into a hug.

PRESENT DAY:

Max sat in Sydney's room looking at his daughter with a serious straight face as a shocked looking Sydney said, "So... mom was pregnant with another baby before me back when she was in high school and... the baby died?"

"Yeah," Max answered, "And when I went home late that night, I couldn't sleep, and burst into tears,"

"Why did you cry?"

"Because I had gotten attached to the idea of helping her raise the baby... being a dad... even though I was 14," Max responded. "I actually had started to love the baby already."

"How did mom get an ultrasound without Grandma Maya finding out?"

"Turned out your mother had an older sister that was in college at the time who took her," Max replied. "You've never met her, because... she passed away from cancer before you were born."

"What was her name?"

Max smiled at his daughter.

"Her name was Sydney," he answered.

Sydney smiled.

"Did mom name the baby?"

"Yeah, Valicity," he answered. "Valicity Reynolds."

"I like that name," Sydney said. "Wait. She gave her your last name?"

"She was even going to put me on the birth certificate," Max said in reminiscence.

"So, why tell me this story now? Are you worried that me and Harry might..."

"Look Syd... I just don't want either of you to ever do something that will cause you to feel what me and your mother felt, especially not so young," Max said.

"I'm glad you picked her up when the other guy wasn't there for her, dad," Sydney said. "Did you ever make something in memory of Valicity... of my sister?"

"Yeah," Max replied. He stood up. "Follow me."

Sydney followed Max into the kitchen, and on the wall was a picture frame with a picture of Max, Alisha, and Sydney inside. The picture frame itself had the word "Valicity" carved on each side.

"Wow..." Sydney said in amazement. "I thought that was just the word 'velocity' because you own a bike shop, and you just spelled the word wrong."

"Nope," Max told her. "Before our freshmen year ended, I made this in wood shop and gave it to her on one of our first dates."

Sydney suddenly hugged Max.

"I love you, dad," Sydney said.

"I love you, too," Max told her. "Wanna see what's inside?"

"Sure."

Max took the picture down and opened the back. He pulled out an envelope. He opened it and pulled out an ultrasound photo.

"That's her?"

"Yeah," Max told Sydney. "Only photo we have of her."

"She was already photogenic, though," Sydney said, half-joking.

"Just like your mom..." Max said, wrapping his arm around his daughter, "...and just like you."

THE END

Coming Soon:

*Episode 8 - Bitter Sweet Family - When Sydney and Sophia's families decide to finally have a vacation together, drama erupts when Sophia's brother shows up.

*Episode 9 - Grave Expectations - When several characters begin making very dangerous choices, it's up to their friends to step up and help them before it's too late.

*Episode 10 - You've Got Resent - Sophia faces great difficulty as she tries to sort out how she is going to deal with her ever changing family and friends.