As soon as sixth period was over, you rushed towards the History department and towards his class. Pushing your way through the crowds of people that were leaving and finding Randall inside.
"Dude!" you loudly exclaimed, after the last student had left. Drawing Randall's attention as he looked up at you in surprise.
"Tim? What the..." he began, his voice quickly changing to a whisper as he took off his glasses and stood up. "What are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to just turn up like this." Looking rather annoyed by the fact that you had just shown up out of the blue and referred to him as "dude".
"I know, and I'm sorry," you said, as he rushed quickly past you and looked out into the hall. Still paranoid after all these weeks of pretending that someone might see you and put two and two together. "I just really need talk to you."
"Well it'll just have to wait till later, okay?" he said, grabbing you by the arm then and leading you back out the door.
"It can't wait. Randall, It's important!"
"More important than me getting fired?"
"Yes," you assured him. "Much more important."
Relenting at this, he let go of your arm and sighed, "Jesus! Alright." Closing the door then instead. "Just two minutes though. And if anyone sees you in here just pretend like you're handing in an assignment or something."
"Fine. Whatever," you replied. Caring little of that now. Asking him then if he'd heard any of the rumors about himself that were currently going around.
Returning to his desk, Randall simply rolled his eyes at the question. "Which ones?" he asked. "That I'm a former porn star with fake tits, or the one about me giving out special "oral" assignments to seniors?" There probably being about a million rumors out there concerning Miss. Card. Some of which you were pretty sure that you and Randall had even started.
Only one of these mattered right now of course, and that was "The one about you being pregnant." Randall's slightly stunned, yet not entirely surprised expression indicating that he had. "I've heard like five different people talking about it this past week. Plus a helluva lot more commenting on the fact that your stomach is getting bigger. Which it clearly is!" Looking down then at the offending article. Partially disguised as it always was beneath Miss. Card's trademark dark gray pencil skirt and blue sweater. The small curve that had been there previously, replaced now by a much more apparent bump. It being no wonder then that so many other people had noticed.
"Yeah... I've heard that one alright," he said, slumping backwards against his desk. "Even heard some of the other teachers making comments about it too."
"And...?" you asked. Hoping for some kind of answer. "Is it... I mean, could it be true what they're saying?"
"I don't fucking know!" he snapped, becoming rather defensive, "I've never been pregnant before!" His eyes then drifting downward towards his small, perfectly round pot belly, rubbing a hand gently across it's surface. "All I know is that this thing seems to be growing bigger everyday and I don't know why. I thought it was just lack of exercise and shit, but I don't seem to be putting weight on anywhere else."
This fact was painfully obvious. Randall's curvy, hourglass figure being almost exactly the same proportions as it had been the first time you'd watched the real Miss. Card walk into this very classroom more than a year before. Her stomach and breasts being the only things that had grown in any kind of substantial way.
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything though, right?" you offered. Still hoping to come up with some kind of alternative explanation. "Men get big old bellies all the time. Maybe that's just where all of Miss. Card's weight gravitates to. There and to her tits."
"But what if it's not? What if I am pregnant? We had... unprotected sex after all."
"Wait... what?" you squeaked. Almost doing a double take when you heard this. "Unprotected?! You mean you didn't... you didn't use anything? All those times we..."
"Not all the time, no," he mumbled, looking like a frightened little mouse. A far cry from the confident woman who strutted into class every day. Going on to explain how he had discovered Miss. Card's contraceptive pills a few days after he'd first moved into her apartment. Too late to be of any use the first time you'd had sex... "I...I didn't know. I was drunk and it wasn't like I planned on it happening before hand. Then when I woke up... well, I guess I was just too damn hungover to really give it much thought. That and having to deal with your mom and more of "lessons". After that, I guess it just kinda slipped my mind."
Slipped his mind? How the hell could that have just slipped his mind? you yelled internally, while your brain started to put the pieces together of what exactly he was he insinuating. Asking weakly, "Are you saying that if you really are pregnant, then I could be... I could be the..."
Father. It was a word you couldn't actually bring yourself to say. Having thought him simply being pregnant was bad enough. Now you were facing the prospect of actually having a child together. Oh Jesus no... you whimpered, feeling suddenly rather feint. Stumbling backwards onto a nearby desk and chanting away to yourself, I can't have a baby. I can't!
And you had both thought getting caught by Principle Johnson would be the worst possible outcome of all this.
"I'm really sorry, " Randall tried to apologized, even though deep down you knew it wasn't really his fault. "I should have clicked to all this sooner, but I guess I just didn't want to face the possibility that I might actually be pregnant. I mean, what the fuck am I gonna do? What the fuck are we gonna do?"
This was when you suddenly remembered something. Something very important indeed.
"Wuh-wuh...wait a second though," you said, jumping back up and looking at your friend. "Didn't you tell me that you'd had your period, that first day back at school? Didn't you tell me that after we'd had sex the first time?"
"Well, yeah," he replied. The conversation in question having taken place inside the very classroom you now stood. Recalling then how he'd told you that it wasn't actually all that bad. Not really knowing why girls complained so much.
This was the exact response you were hoping for. Feeling a wave of relief rushing over you like you couldn't believe.
"Then there's no way you can be pregnant!" you told him, grinning now from ear to ear. "Don't you remember health class, dude? Chicks don't have their periods when they're pregnant, and you're clearly still having yours!"
"Yeah. You're right!" he agreed. His face similarly lighting up. Though unfortunately, only for a moment. "Or at least I think you are..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I did have my period that first time, but now that you mention it, aren't you supposed to have one like once a month? Cause, well, I haven't."
"You haven't?" you shrieked, not entirely sure what he was now telling you. It still not making much sense even after he'd expanded upon it. Explaining that after the first month, there was nothing. No blood, no pads, no tampons. No nothing. "Holy shit, dude! Why didn't you say anything? Didn't you realize something was up?"
Once again getting defensive, he angrily replied, "Uh, surprisingly enough, no. No I didn't. I've never been a woman before, have I? I'm not a fucking expert on how all that works!" Having obviously not paid close enough attention during your mother's lessons.
With this revelation about his periods throwing a giant spanner in the works, you were at a complete loss now to decide whether he was actually pregnant or not. Crying out in anguish, "Fuck! I don't know what this means then." If he didn't know, then how the hell were you meant to?
Managing to calm himself slightly after his tirade, Randall took a deep breath and began rubbing at his temples. Suggesting after a moments contemplation, "We could always try and find out. You know, take one of those pregnancy test."
Of course! This seemed the most simple and obvious solution. Being the only real way to know for sure.
Agreeing on this course of action then, and figuring that the sooner you found out whether he was actually pregnant or not the better (there still of course being a chance this was all in your heads), he grabbed his stuff and the two of you hustled quickly out of the classroom. Caring little whether anyone actually saw the two of you getting into his car. Having much bigger things to worry about right now.
Once inside, you drove to the nearest pharmacy you could find and waited patiently while Randall went inside to buy a pregnancy test. Taking the opportunity while he was gone to text your mom and tell her that you wouldn't be home till later, seeing as you were "helping out Miss. Card again". While on your phone, you also received a text of your own from Gretchen, who in the past two weeks you'd actually been hanging out with more and more.
Gretchen: Hey Tim. Whatsup? A few of us r going 2 watch a movie 2nite. Want 2 come along? It'll b fun! Get back 2 me asap. xxx
While normally you might have jumped at this chance, having hummed and hawed about whether or not you should actually try and ask her out, right now she would have to wait. Texting her back an apology, you watched then as your incredibly nerve wracked looking best friend stumbled his way back out of the store. Clutching a small white paper bag in his hand. This, right now, being far more pressing and more important than any date could ever be. The fate of both your lives now depending entirely on what the contents of that bag had to tell you...
Comments