Even the Sun Sets in Paradise

I spent the whole of the weekend actually looking forward to Monday because I absolutely had to tell Mel what had happened. She had gone away all weekend, and texting wasn’t quite the same. Mel was just so mature and sensible, and I was hoping she could help me out a bit.
The job interview on Saturday went perfectly. The woman who I met was called Sally, and she was so lovely an easy to talk to. It overall went a lot better than I thought it would, and I was sure I had a good chance of getting the job.

When Monday morning finally arrived, I rushed to Mel’s as soon as I could.
“What’s up with you? You look like you’re practising for a fucking marathon, relax,” she frowned, as I pretty much ran to school.
“Mel, I seriously need to talk to you,” I said quickly.
“Ohmigod, what’s up?” she asked, suddenly looking panicked. I grabbed her hand and dragged her through the school doors and into an empty corridor.
“I’ve been an absolute idiot,” I confessed.
“What, why?” she asked, her eyes full of concern.
“When I first moved here, there was a party at our house. Someone spiked my drink, I was totally out of it,” I explained.
“And?”
“Now I’m pregnant.” Mel stared at me for a few seconds, searching my face for a sign that I was joking.
“Holy shit, you’re serious,” she gasped.
“Yeah,” I frowned, fighting back tears, “But I don’t know who the dad is or anything.”
“Fuck, were you raped?!” she cried, and a couple of people nearby turned their heads.
“Keep it down,” I ordered, “I don’t know, I really have no idea.” I could feel my heart racing again, and it took all my strength not to cry.
“Ohmigod, I don’t know what to say! Do you think it was one of the guys?”
“No,” I cried, “Ellis said they would never do that.”
“I guess,” she sighed, “Are you alright though?”
“Not really,” I admitted, “I’m pregnant in high school and I don’t have a clue who the dad is. What am I gonna do?”
“Awww come here,” Mel sighed, pulling me into a hug.
“I don’t have money, or a house or a husband, how am I going to raise a baby?”
“I don’t know sweetie, have you thought about adoption or abortion?”
“No,” I gasped, “I can’t do that, never ever, there’s no way.”
“Hey, that’s fine,” she soothed, pulling me into an empty classroom and sitting me down on the floor next to her so no one would notice us.
“You’ve got your auntie and uncle, haven’t you? You’ve got Ellis, and me, and even the other guys.”
“Yeah, but it’s not your responsibility. I feel terrible already, like I’m sponging off everybody.”
“Then why don’t you go back to your…parents…maybe…for a bit?” she suggested cautiously, and I flinched.
“I can’t really do that,” I confessed, trying to shrug it off.
“Oh sorry,” she mumbled, “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I frowned, “Don’t worry about it.” I could tell she was hoping I would tell her more, but as I said, it was in the past and I couldn’t risk anyone else finding out. Things would be complicated enough once everyone else found out about the baby; I couldn’t let them find out this aswell.
“What am I going to do though? I know barely anything about looking after a baby? I don’t have the money or the time? What will I do while I’m at school? I’m gonna have social services breathing down my neck, everyone will think I’m a slut and for the rest of my life, I’ll be remembered as the girl who got pregnant at fifteen but didn’t know who the father was!” I cried and Mel pulled me into her lap.
“Hey, one thing at a time,” she soothed, “We can sort all of these things. Look, I don’t know exactly what’s happened to you, but I’m guessing things haven’t been easy for you. You’ve survived everything else, so you can survive this.”
“But I’m just tired of it all,” I admitted.
“I know you are, but I’m gonna be here for you through all of this. Everyone else will be too, and if anyone gives you any grief, I’ll punch them,” she decided, and I knew she wasn’t kidding.
“For now, forget about all the shitty stuff, and think about the fun stuff…like a name, we can think of a really pretty name, and we can design him or her the perfect nursery,” she squealed, and for a moment I felt a bit of excitement. I’d pretty much been thinking of baby names since I was a little girl.
“And just because I know you’ll still be worrying, every family gets child benefit so that will go towards looking after it, my mum runs a babysitting service so she’ll look after the baby for free, you’ll hopefully get that job you said about, and as long as you’re being an amazing mum, which I know you will be, the social can’t do anything,” she explained, and I suddenly felt a lot better. Mel somehow had this knack of making even the biggest of mountains seem like molehills. A simple five minute chat made everything seem better. I don’t know whether it was her expert knowledge and reassuring advice, or if it was the sound of her voice which I found strangely soothing, or the pure fact that she was an amazing friend, and I felt reassured she would always be there, no matter what.
Either way, I felt completely calm as we rushed into class. Suddenly it didn’t seem so bad anymore, and I was seeing everything in a totally different light. Ellis had assured me that Julie would throw herself in to being the baby’s second mum, Mel’s mum would happily do the childcare, and if I got the job, then I’d be in a slightly better position financially. Like Mel said, there was all the fun stuff like names and decorating, plus babies were super cute. Maybe this would be fun after all.