Teenaged
Chapter Twelve
Rylie was cutting up onions as Gabby, Roland, Trent, and I sat at the table, working on the scrapbooks that Trent had been inspired to start crafting after an epiphany while lecturing about open adoptions, ironically, and having his kids give suggestions as a way to keep the lines of communication flowing. “This was brilliant,” Gabby smiled, pulling a tissue out of the box and offering it to the sniffling Rylie. He smiled, dumping taco beef into the sizzling pan with his freshly chopped onions. “Thank you. Several of my students are excited for me to get off the gays having kids topic and onto something else,” Trent joked as Roland got up to start frying taco shells.
“So if it’s a boy you want to name it Spencer Ryan? And a girl...Evangeline Rose?” Trent asked, looking at me as he cut out large squares of orange paper with white circles on it, laying a sonogram picture on top of it and gluing it to the first page. He took a sharpie and wrote in clean, bubble script “Baby’s First Picture.”
“That’s so cute,” I commented, leaning back in the chair and stretching my arms and legs. Gabby leaned over, smiling at the clean script. pushed the book away and started working on the next one, smiling as Gabby started grading the papers she had begged to see. “So,” Rylie said as he and Roland fussed over how cooked the shells were, “I actually had an idea for a name..if you’re interested.” And naturally we were all ears.
“Nolan James. I know Spencer Ryan is probably a better name, but I just wanted to throw it out there,” he said, shifting the meat in the pan. “I love it!” I smiled, as Gabby drew a giant frowny face on a paper and handed it to Trent, smiling herself, “This one has no IQ.”
“That’s Devon, I didn’t think people’s IQ could go negative until I met him,” he turned to me as Roland came to put his hands on my shoulders, “You really like it? Because he has not shut up about that name if it’s a boy.” I nodded, “I do,” as Roland wrapped his arms around me and leaned down, kissing my cheek as he smiled. “I like it better than Spencer Ryan. No offense, babe, but I thought Spencer Ryan was too trendy,” he laughed as I gasped, smacking him lightly on the side.
“Dinner’s ready!” Rylie called merrily from the kitchen and we all gathered around the table. I smiled as Rylie piled the plates high with meat and put the cut veggies and the bags of cheese and bowls of salsa on the table, passing the plates around. As we ate, Gabby continued to grade, discussing with Trent how stupid all his pupils were, save Gabrielle Jenkins “strictly for the name.”
~*~
I sat in the back of classroom, trying to get the attention of Devin or Heather. My teacher ignored me as he scrawled the homework on the board. My feet were aching and I had to sit sideways in order to fit in my desk. I had long gotten over the stares and the sneers, it was the cold shoulders that hurt the most. The coughing “slut” in the hallway and the giggles as I went into the bathroom to pee were fine and dandy, I honestly didn’t give a fuck, but my teachers never called on me anymore and ignored me whenever I handed in my papers. They stopped making comments, just gave me the number and letter grade and went on with their life.
After class I hurried to catch up with Heather, desperate to speak with her.
“Heather! Heath, wait!” I called, running as fast as a pregnant girl could. My stomach weighed about 20 pounds now and after school I was going to find out the sex. “Come on! You can’t stay mad at me forever!” I said, catching her by the shoulder. “No. I can’t. But I can be pissed that you didn’t even tell me you had sex, and then didn’t tell me for three months!” she hissed, her eyes averted as she led me into the girls’ bathroom.
“I didn’t tell anybody except Gabby and Roland for three months. And even then, I told you before my parents, and before my teachers!” my nostrils were flaring and I felt heartburn. God, being pregnant sucks. “So why didn’t you tell me you’ve settled on adoption? Why did Gabby have to tell me?” she asked, looking at the checkerboard pattern on the floor.
“Because we haven’t signed the papers or made it official. The adoptive parents and us have only met a few times and very rarely have we discussed it all out seriously. It’s more of a casual topic. Do I think we’ll go through with it? Yes. But you can’t stay mad at me forever! That’s just not fair!”
“Whatever.”
“So if it’s a boy you want to name it Spencer Ryan? And a girl...Evangeline Rose?” Trent asked, looking at me as he cut out large squares of orange paper with white circles on it, laying a sonogram picture on top of it and gluing it to the first page. He took a sharpie and wrote in clean, bubble script “Baby’s First Picture.”
“That’s so cute,” I commented, leaning back in the chair and stretching my arms and legs. Gabby leaned over, smiling at the clean script. pushed the book away and started working on the next one, smiling as Gabby started grading the papers she had begged to see. “So,” Rylie said as he and Roland fussed over how cooked the shells were, “I actually had an idea for a name..if you’re interested.” And naturally we were all ears.
“Nolan James. I know Spencer Ryan is probably a better name, but I just wanted to throw it out there,” he said, shifting the meat in the pan. “I love it!” I smiled, as Gabby drew a giant frowny face on a paper and handed it to Trent, smiling herself, “This one has no IQ.”
“That’s Devon, I didn’t think people’s IQ could go negative until I met him,” he turned to me as Roland came to put his hands on my shoulders, “You really like it? Because he has not shut up about that name if it’s a boy.” I nodded, “I do,” as Roland wrapped his arms around me and leaned down, kissing my cheek as he smiled. “I like it better than Spencer Ryan. No offense, babe, but I thought Spencer Ryan was too trendy,” he laughed as I gasped, smacking him lightly on the side.
“Dinner’s ready!” Rylie called merrily from the kitchen and we all gathered around the table. I smiled as Rylie piled the plates high with meat and put the cut veggies and the bags of cheese and bowls of salsa on the table, passing the plates around. As we ate, Gabby continued to grade, discussing with Trent how stupid all his pupils were, save Gabrielle Jenkins “strictly for the name.”
~*~
I sat in the back of classroom, trying to get the attention of Devin or Heather. My teacher ignored me as he scrawled the homework on the board. My feet were aching and I had to sit sideways in order to fit in my desk. I had long gotten over the stares and the sneers, it was the cold shoulders that hurt the most. The coughing “slut” in the hallway and the giggles as I went into the bathroom to pee were fine and dandy, I honestly didn’t give a fuck, but my teachers never called on me anymore and ignored me whenever I handed in my papers. They stopped making comments, just gave me the number and letter grade and went on with their life.
After class I hurried to catch up with Heather, desperate to speak with her.
“Heather! Heath, wait!” I called, running as fast as a pregnant girl could. My stomach weighed about 20 pounds now and after school I was going to find out the sex. “Come on! You can’t stay mad at me forever!” I said, catching her by the shoulder. “No. I can’t. But I can be pissed that you didn’t even tell me you had sex, and then didn’t tell me for three months!” she hissed, her eyes averted as she led me into the girls’ bathroom.
“I didn’t tell anybody except Gabby and Roland for three months. And even then, I told you before my parents, and before my teachers!” my nostrils were flaring and I felt heartburn. God, being pregnant sucks. “So why didn’t you tell me you’ve settled on adoption? Why did Gabby have to tell me?” she asked, looking at the checkerboard pattern on the floor.
“Because we haven’t signed the papers or made it official. The adoptive parents and us have only met a few times and very rarely have we discussed it all out seriously. It’s more of a casual topic. Do I think we’ll go through with it? Yes. But you can’t stay mad at me forever! That’s just not fair!”
“Whatever.”