The Last Day of Summer
"Cate? Are you going to get out of bed today?" Laverne asked, standing as the threshold of Cate's bedroom. It was almost 2:00 pm and Cate had yet to come downstairs.
Cate lay on her bed. She'd been lying there for hours. She didn't see the point in getting up.
She couldn't leave the house looking like this. She was now nine months pregnant. Her swollen belly was huge and impossible to hide.
It's not like she had anywhere to go anyway, Cate thought bitterly. She'd never had many friends and now she had none. Not being able to tell Alice she was pregnant had ruined their friendship.
"What for?" Cate asked.
Laverne sighed. She entered Cate's bedroom and sat down beside her on the bed. "I know this is hard, but you can't stay shut up in your room."
"No? What should I do, Mom? Because school starts tomorrow and I can't go back looking like this." Cate gestured her belly miserably.
"You're due this week. You'll have the baby and go back to school in a week or two. You'll be able to catch up. You're a smart girl," Laverne said reassuringly.
"Yeah, 'cause all the smart girls get pregnant in high school," Cate said sarcastically.
"You made one mistake. It's very unlike you," Laverne said, stroking Cate's hair. "But it's not going to ruin your life."
"It already has," Cate muttered under her breath.
"What?" Laverne asked.
"Nothing," Cate mumbled.
Laverne nodded. "OK. I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
"Yeah, I need something. I need to know how to make it come out," Cate said glancing meaningfully at her stomach.
"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. Your baby will come out when it's ready," Laverne replied.
Cate finally left her bedroom a few hours later. She was starving. She rummaged through the refrigerator and found a slice of leftover pizza.
She was sitting at the table eating greedily when Abby burst in.
Abby was wearing a bikini and her skinny fourteen-year-old body looked great. She'd been laying out in the backyard and had developed a nice golden tan. Cate couldn't help feeling a little jealous of her carefree younger sister.
Abby sat down next to Cate and smiled hesitantly. They hadn't been on the best of terms lately.
"I got my schedule today," Abby said conversationally.
"What do you have?" Cate asked politely.
"American Literature with Mrs. Mitchell, European History with Mr. Evans, Geometry with Ms. Callahan, Biology with Ms. Plum, Choir with Mrs. Parm and Weight Lifting with Mr. Anderson," Abby rattled off her schedule.
"Weight lifting?" Cate asked curiously. Abby wasn't much of an athlete.
Abby blushed. She'd chosen that elective because Baze was in it, but she would never admit that to Cate.
"I got your schedule for you, too. Mom said to tell them you have Mono," Abby said, changing the subject.
"Mono? How'd she come up with that?" Cate wondered.
"She didn't know how long you'd need to miss school." Abby shrugged.
"Neither do I. I wish it would just come out already," Cate said.
"Really?" Abby sounded surprised.
"Yes, really. What, do you think I like looking like this? Feeling like this?" Cate retorted.
"But aren't you scared?" Abby asked softly.
"Yeah," Cate admitted. She'd never been more scared before in her life. She felt so alone. She didn't know how she was going to do this by herself. But, she also wanted to get it over with.