"Pregnant?!"

"Yeah, I overheard Manny telling Paige in the bathroom," Ashley said, adjusting the phone on her shoulder so she could type on the computer as she spoke. It was almost midnight that evening. Ashley had been eager to share what she had overheard but had been forced to wait until Ellie returned her phone call.

"Wow," Ellie replied. "Wow, that's crazy. She's only fourteen. And Craig's the father?"

"Yep." Ashley couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction. "Serves her right for what she did. She knew I was dating Craig and went after him anyway."

There was silence at the other end for a few seconds. "I thought you forgave them for that whole thing."

"Wrong, El, I forgave Craig. Not Manny. She never once apologized for what she did. At least he showed some guilt and made an effort to tell me that he was sorry."

"I guess. But I mean, you don't feel bad for her at all?" Ellie asked.

"Sure I feel bad. For that poor baby. I don't know how she's going to raise it. She might have to drop out of school."

"It's a wonder that I haven't heard about this already. I've been online most of the day and no one's said a word. You'd think since Paige knows it would have been all over the school and the next few towns over."

Ashley shrugged. "Paige promised she wouldn't tell anyone. I guess she feels bad for her or something. Don't worry, though. Everyone will probably know my tomorrow."

"What makes you say that?" Ellie asked.

"Oh just a little e-mail I am sending right now to Terri."

"What? Terri loves juicy gossip like that, though."

"Exactly." Ashley clicked her mouse on the send button.

"Ash." Ellie sounded disappointed.

Ashley frowned. "What?"

Ellie sighed. "You know, I was thinking about it and I respect what you did when you told Craig you forgave him. At first I was against it, but I realized that you were being the bigger person and that takes a lot. But now you're being a little."

"A little what?" Ashley demanded.

"A little vindictive. I mean, sure Manny did a bad thing and now she's paying for it. But don't you think that the punishment might be a little harsh for the crime?"

"She wanted to be an adult with an 'adult' relationship and now she's going to have to deal with the 'adult' consequences," Ashley said firmly.

"I guess. But how would you feel if you were in her shoes?"

Ashley paused. She couldn't imagine the idea of becoming pregnant at such a young age. Still, she was convinced that she wasn't doing anything wrong by telling Terri. "Well, I wouldn't get myself into that situation."

"But you could have," Ellie challenged. "I mean, accidents happen all the time. You were going to have sex with Craig. What if the condom broke, or something and you were the one who got pregnant?"

Ashley sighed. She had to admit that Ellie was making some sense. Maybe she had made a mistake. But it was too late to do anything about it today. She would just have to try to find Terri the next morning before the rumor spread.

+++

Manny walked to school, exhausted. She had spent almost the entire night replaying the events from Craig's house over and over in her head. She still couldn't believe that he had reacted the way he had.

It was a dreary day with heavy rain clouds hanging low in the sky. The air had the smell of water and beads of condensation covered most cars. Most of the people hanging outside Degrassi School were wearing hoods or carrying umbrellas.

Before Manny even entered the building, she noticed the whispers and the staring. Unsure of what was going on, Manny walked slowly into the school and down the hall. As she walked, she noticed many girls laughing as she passed. Manny picked up her pace when she heard the words 'slut' and 'baby'. Soon, she was almost running and nearly ran straight into Emma as she was coming out of a classroom.

"Come in here," Emma said quickly, grabbing her friend's arm and dragging her inside the room.

"What's going on?" Manny looked around to see Mr. Simpson sitting at his desk, watching them.

"It's out," Emma said breathlessly. "Look." She pulled Manny over to the computer and Mr. Simpson tilted the screen so they could see. It was a forwarded email that had been sent to dozens of people.

"I even somehow got the email from someone in my class," Mr. Simpson explained as Manny scanned the screen in horror

"Oh God." She sank heavily into a chair. Suddenly, she looked up. "Who sent it? Paige?"

Emma shook her head. "No. It was Ashley."

"What? How did she find out?"

"It says here that she overheard you talking about it yesterday," Emma told her, pointing to the screen. "I can't believe you told Paige."

"She kinda found out on her own." Manny explained about the dropped pamphlet.

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked.

Manny shrugged, feeling helpless. "What can I do? Everyone was going to find out eventually. At least it's over with now." She sighed. "I just can't believe Ashley did that. She didn't seem that evil."

"Well you can't blame her." Emma stopped abruptly as though the words had slipped out of her mouth without her consent.

Manny raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, you can't blame her?"

Emma shook her head quickly. "Nothing."

"No you obviously meant something or else you wouldn't have said it. Do you mean to tell me that you think it was fine for her to have told the world about this?" Manny asked, rising from her seat.

"No," Emma said hesitantly. "It's just that.well I can see where she's coming from. After all, if you hadn't have messed around with Craig while he was going out with Ash, none of this would have happened."

Manny felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. "Well, I'm glad you're on my side."

"Manny, I am on your side. I just think that you can look at it from two different points of - "

"That's fine," Manny said evenly. "You go look at it from your two different points of view. I have to get to class and be stared at some more." She gathered up her belongings. "Oh yeah, and you don't have to come with me to the doctor tomorrow. I'll manage on my own. Gotta get used to it." She turned and walked out of the classroom letting the door slam shut behind her.

As she headed off to class, trying to keep from turning and running out of the building, she spotted Ashley and Terri talking. Manny walked directly up to them. Terri spotted her coming and quickly alerted Ashley who turned to face her.

"Manny-"

"I know what you did, Ashley. So now everyone knows about me. No more secrets."

"I didn't mean for-"

"For what?" Manny snapped. "For your little email to wreck the very little time I had left to be able to hold my head up in this school? Well let me tell you something I learned-your actions have consequences." With that, Manny spun on her heel and quickly stalked down the hall, nearly blinded by tears and rage. Surrounded by people, she had never felt so alone.