Manny walked home. When she reached her house her mother was sitting by the van with the car keys in her hand.
"Ready to go to the doctors?" asked her mother.
"Yeah," said Manny.
They both sat in the car and drove to the doctors office. They didn't talk at all in the car. Manny looked at her stomach. She
could tell that she seemed a little heavier the usual but it wasn't that obvious.
They parked the car in the parking lot and they walked in the building. Her mother stopped at the front desk.
"Manuella Santos," she said, "For Doctor Jameson."
Manny sat down as her mother signed some papers. She looked around. The colors in the office were so bright and cheery but
inside she felt so dark and gloomy. Her mother sat next to her.
"So did you sign all the papers?" asked Manny with a forced smile on her face.
"Yes, I did," her mother said sternly.
"So having memories of your first pregnancy?" Manny asked jokingly.
"No not really," her mom said, "I went to an adult doctor when I was pregnant. Not a child's."
Ohhhh...thought Manny. That was a diss. She thought her mother was being cool and supportive about this. I guess not
anymore, thought Manny.
"Manuella Santos!" a nurse called.
"Let's go," said Mrs. Santos.
They walked to another room and sat down.
"Alright Manny," said the nurse, "I'm going to need to ask you some questions."
"Personal or medical?" asked Manny.
"Medical," said the nurse, "But we'll get into personal in a little bit."
"Okay," said Manny looking diwn at the floor.
"When was the last time you had your menstrual period?" asked the doctor.
"Maybe the begining of November," said Manny, "Or it could of been the last week of October...I don't exactly remember."
"That's okay," said the nurse, "Now, how many sex partners have you had?"
"Just one," said Manny.
"Okay and so you have been sexually active since October?"
"Yes," said Manny.
"Alright," said the nurse, "Did the person have a sexually transmitted diease."
"No," said Manny, "Can you really tell?"
"Well, was he a virgin when you had sex?" asked the nurse.
"Yes," said Manny, "I'm 99.9% sure."
"Okay then he probably didn't," said the nurse
"Have you ever had any discharge or spottings between periods?" asked the nurse
"No," said Manny who looked like she was about to cry.
"Do you smoke, drink, or take any drugs?" asked the nurse.
Manny didn't exactly know how to answer this. She never took drugs but she smoked and drank a couple of times before she
got pregnant.
The nurse must of noticed her hesitation, "During your pregnancy I mean."
"No. Never," Manny lied, "Not even when I was pregnant."
She had to lie. Afterall her mother was sitting right next to her.
"Mrs. Santos," said the nurse, "I'd like to talk to Manny alone if you don't mind."
"Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Santos.
"Mom..." Manny said with the kind of whiney voice when you want your mother to stay out of your buisness.
"Okay," she said as she walked out.
When her mother was gone the nurse talked to Manny about more personal questions.
"What are you going to do with the baby?" asked the nurse.
"I don't know," said Manny, "Every choice seems like the wrong one."
"I understand how that feels," said the nurse, "Have you done any babysitting for infants?"
"I actually babysat my friend's little baby brother this afternoon," said Manny.
"And how old is he?" asked the nurse.
"About four months," said Manny.
"And how did you do?" asked the nurse.
"Not so good," said Manny, "My boyfriend helped me though."
"Is your boyfriend the father of the baby?" asked the nurse.
"Yeah," said Manny, "But it's really complicated."
"How?" asked the nurse.
Manny explained the whole story starting from Paige's birthday party to Christmas.
"Wow that's a lot of drama," said the nurse, "And from the looks of it Craig is being supportive?"
"Yeah," said Manny.
"Okay," said the nurse, "So, let's get down to buisness."
"Okay," said Manny.
"You're a small girl Manny," said the nurse, "And that could add some health risks to your pregnancy."
"What do you mean by health risks?" asked Manny with tears in her eyes.
"I'll give it to you straight foward," said the nurse, "You could die during labor."
"What!" Manny practically screamed, "Get real! I can't die!"
"Manny I am being real and it's only a 3% chance," the nurse said, "Now if you want an abortion at this stage in pregnancy it
will have to be surgical."
"How does that work?" asked Manny.
"It's about a 15 minute surgery and we take the fetus out of you with medical tools and you go home not pregnant anymore."
"It sounds so happy and easy," Manny said with a sort of grin on her face, "But, is it really has good as you make it sound."
"Manny," said the nurse, "It has a lot of emotional side affects. You may not feel them right away but in time it could be bad."
"To be honest I want an abortion," said Manny, "But my parents will never let me. It goes against my religion."
"This is your choice Manny," said the nurse, "Don't let your religion get in the way."
"Okay," said Manny, "I won't."
"Have you thought about adoption?" asked the nurse.
"No I don't want to go through labor and then just give the baby away," said Manny.
"Why not?" asked the nurse.
"It's just to much," said Manny, "Labor, going to school, taking care of the baby, morning sickness."
"I know it's a lot," said the nurse, "But I also really think you should talk to a guidence counsler about this."
"We have one at our school," said Manny, "Ms. Souve."
"That's great," said the nurse, "You can talk to her."
"If I want an abortion," said Manny while standing up, "How long to I have to think about it?"
"Well," the nurse said, "You're about 3 months pregnant so I'll give you 2 more weeks to think about it."
"Thank you so much," said Manny.
"Now the doctor will be in here in about 5 minutes to examine you but if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask her
about anything," said the nurse.
"Okay," said Manny.
5 minutes later the doctor came in and examined Manny. She was really nice and didn't call Manny a slut or anything.
"Alright," said the doctor, "Pregnancy is going great and you can have your mother schedual another appointment Febuary."
"Okay," said Manny, "I'll do that."
Manny's mom schedualed the appointment while Manny read a magazine. She talked to Dr. Forest about the examintaion.
She heard the doctor say, "Manny is doing very well but she needs to rest a lot."
"She'll do just that," her mother said while glancing at Manny.
Manny and her mom got in the car and listened to music on the way home.
They reach their house and pulled up in the drive way.
Manny opened the door and walked in the living room.
Sitting there were her dad, David, Craig, Joey, a police officer, and a lady in a buisness suit. Manny's mother joined them.
"What's going on?" asked Manny.
~~~~~~REVIEW~~~~~~~~~
"Ready to go to the doctors?" asked her mother.
"Yeah," said Manny.
They both sat in the car and drove to the doctors office. They didn't talk at all in the car. Manny looked at her stomach. She
could tell that she seemed a little heavier the usual but it wasn't that obvious.
They parked the car in the parking lot and they walked in the building. Her mother stopped at the front desk.
"Manuella Santos," she said, "For Doctor Jameson."
Manny sat down as her mother signed some papers. She looked around. The colors in the office were so bright and cheery but
inside she felt so dark and gloomy. Her mother sat next to her.
"So did you sign all the papers?" asked Manny with a forced smile on her face.
"Yes, I did," her mother said sternly.
"So having memories of your first pregnancy?" Manny asked jokingly.
"No not really," her mom said, "I went to an adult doctor when I was pregnant. Not a child's."
Ohhhh...thought Manny. That was a diss. She thought her mother was being cool and supportive about this. I guess not
anymore, thought Manny.
"Manuella Santos!" a nurse called.
"Let's go," said Mrs. Santos.
They walked to another room and sat down.
"Alright Manny," said the nurse, "I'm going to need to ask you some questions."
"Personal or medical?" asked Manny.
"Medical," said the nurse, "But we'll get into personal in a little bit."
"Okay," said Manny looking diwn at the floor.
"When was the last time you had your menstrual period?" asked the doctor.
"Maybe the begining of November," said Manny, "Or it could of been the last week of October...I don't exactly remember."
"That's okay," said the nurse, "Now, how many sex partners have you had?"
"Just one," said Manny.
"Okay and so you have been sexually active since October?"
"Yes," said Manny.
"Alright," said the nurse, "Did the person have a sexually transmitted diease."
"No," said Manny, "Can you really tell?"
"Well, was he a virgin when you had sex?" asked the nurse.
"Yes," said Manny, "I'm 99.9% sure."
"Okay then he probably didn't," said the nurse
"Have you ever had any discharge or spottings between periods?" asked the nurse
"No," said Manny who looked like she was about to cry.
"Do you smoke, drink, or take any drugs?" asked the nurse.
Manny didn't exactly know how to answer this. She never took drugs but she smoked and drank a couple of times before she
got pregnant.
The nurse must of noticed her hesitation, "During your pregnancy I mean."
"No. Never," Manny lied, "Not even when I was pregnant."
She had to lie. Afterall her mother was sitting right next to her.
"Mrs. Santos," said the nurse, "I'd like to talk to Manny alone if you don't mind."
"Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Santos.
"Mom..." Manny said with the kind of whiney voice when you want your mother to stay out of your buisness.
"Okay," she said as she walked out.
When her mother was gone the nurse talked to Manny about more personal questions.
"What are you going to do with the baby?" asked the nurse.
"I don't know," said Manny, "Every choice seems like the wrong one."
"I understand how that feels," said the nurse, "Have you done any babysitting for infants?"
"I actually babysat my friend's little baby brother this afternoon," said Manny.
"And how old is he?" asked the nurse.
"About four months," said Manny.
"And how did you do?" asked the nurse.
"Not so good," said Manny, "My boyfriend helped me though."
"Is your boyfriend the father of the baby?" asked the nurse.
"Yeah," said Manny, "But it's really complicated."
"How?" asked the nurse.
Manny explained the whole story starting from Paige's birthday party to Christmas.
"Wow that's a lot of drama," said the nurse, "And from the looks of it Craig is being supportive?"
"Yeah," said Manny.
"Okay," said the nurse, "So, let's get down to buisness."
"Okay," said Manny.
"You're a small girl Manny," said the nurse, "And that could add some health risks to your pregnancy."
"What do you mean by health risks?" asked Manny with tears in her eyes.
"I'll give it to you straight foward," said the nurse, "You could die during labor."
"What!" Manny practically screamed, "Get real! I can't die!"
"Manny I am being real and it's only a 3% chance," the nurse said, "Now if you want an abortion at this stage in pregnancy it
will have to be surgical."
"How does that work?" asked Manny.
"It's about a 15 minute surgery and we take the fetus out of you with medical tools and you go home not pregnant anymore."
"It sounds so happy and easy," Manny said with a sort of grin on her face, "But, is it really has good as you make it sound."
"Manny," said the nurse, "It has a lot of emotional side affects. You may not feel them right away but in time it could be bad."
"To be honest I want an abortion," said Manny, "But my parents will never let me. It goes against my religion."
"This is your choice Manny," said the nurse, "Don't let your religion get in the way."
"Okay," said Manny, "I won't."
"Have you thought about adoption?" asked the nurse.
"No I don't want to go through labor and then just give the baby away," said Manny.
"Why not?" asked the nurse.
"It's just to much," said Manny, "Labor, going to school, taking care of the baby, morning sickness."
"I know it's a lot," said the nurse, "But I also really think you should talk to a guidence counsler about this."
"We have one at our school," said Manny, "Ms. Souve."
"That's great," said the nurse, "You can talk to her."
"If I want an abortion," said Manny while standing up, "How long to I have to think about it?"
"Well," the nurse said, "You're about 3 months pregnant so I'll give you 2 more weeks to think about it."
"Thank you so much," said Manny.
"Now the doctor will be in here in about 5 minutes to examine you but if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask her
about anything," said the nurse.
"Okay," said Manny.
5 minutes later the doctor came in and examined Manny. She was really nice and didn't call Manny a slut or anything.
"Alright," said the doctor, "Pregnancy is going great and you can have your mother schedual another appointment Febuary."
"Okay," said Manny, "I'll do that."
Manny's mom schedualed the appointment while Manny read a magazine. She talked to Dr. Forest about the examintaion.
She heard the doctor say, "Manny is doing very well but she needs to rest a lot."
"She'll do just that," her mother said while glancing at Manny.
Manny and her mom got in the car and listened to music on the way home.
They reach their house and pulled up in the drive way.
Manny opened the door and walked in the living room.
Sitting there were her dad, David, Craig, Joey, a police officer, and a lady in a buisness suit. Manny's mother joined them.
"What's going on?" asked Manny.
~~~~~~REVIEW~~~~~~~~~