Dallas, Texas

Dace

"Congratulations, Ms. Valéhez! You're pregnant!" the doctor announced excitedly as he burst through the door of the clinic exam room.

He was a perky old man with salt and pepper streaks going through the center of his hair and a harsh odor of coffee snaking off his tongue. What disgusted me wasn't the irritating smell that invaded my nose every time he opened his mouth, but rather the smile that just planted itself on his lips like it belonged there, causing his baggy eyes to crinkle giddily with crows feet.

It was nauseating, really. There was nothing to be happy about. While he looked like he was about to have a joyful conniption, I felt my life had just ended and I'd just gotten socked in the chest.

"Excuse me?" I coughed.

"You're pregnant!" he repeated even more excited than the last time, bouncing on the tips of his toes.

"Yeah, I get that...but how?" Dr. Rey furrowed his brow.

"Now, Dace, you're almost 27 years old. I'm quite sure you know how the birds and the bees works right?"

I rolled my eyes. He was starting to get on my nerves. I just wanted to know how this was possible. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off.

"I know all that. But how did it get here?"

"Are you sure you want to call your baby an 'it'?" He looked concerned, worriedly rubbing my file in his hands.

"It doesn't have a gender! And can we get back on the subject of how this even happened? I'm on birth control and I've used condoms every time. How did this happen?"

He leaned back on the counter behind him and rubbed his fraying beard thoughtfully.

"Well, considering that you still have a very small percentage of birth control or a failing, I would say it's either a miracle or the ripped. Did you skip any days with your birth control?"

"Of course not," I huffed. "I would never...do...that."

Oh God. Oh dear God. Oh . ty .

"Damn." I cursed and clenched my eyes together. Maybe if I clicked my heels together I'd magically wake up and be back home.

"What?" he asked me.

No chance of that.

"I'm screwed," I whispered and fell back on the exam table. 

I'm so screwed.

~~~~

"You ing idiot," Analise glared at me.

"Gee, Lise. Way to make a girl feel better," I jabbed my spoon back in my ice cream.

I'd known Lise since freshman year in high school. She was the nerdy transfer from Australia and I was the snobby leader of the step team who she knocked down quite more than a peg or two. And we'd just clicked ever since. "Well you are," she sneered and pushed the rim of her bug glasses back up her nose.

"How could you skip a day? It's bad enough you squat around in different beds every night like a lost dog."

I slammed down my spoon. She'd always had a mouth on her and been blunt about everything, but this really just took the cake.

"Are you calling me a ?"

She shrugged and pulled her auburn hair out of its fishtail.

"If the shoe fits. And I'm calling you a bed hopping if you want to get it right. Honestly, Dace. Did it not occur to you that eventually karma would come back on you and bite you six times as hard in the ?"

"Here we go again!" I threw up my hands.

"Look, yes, I wasn't the nicest in school, but I don't deserve this. And six times? Really? I wasn't that bad."

She snorted and took another small bite of her Cookies and Créme Extreme.

"Tell that to the other 454 kids we went to school with." She set her finished ice cream aside and turned fully to me, focusing her hard gray eyes directly on my hazel ones.

"Seriously. What are you going to do?" 

I threw my hands up.

"I don't know! What can I do? I don't want this. I shouldn't have to deal with this. I'm too young!"

Lise pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

"Shut up. You caused this. This is your fault. Deal with it. You made your bed. Guess what? It's time to lay in it and I hope you have a pillow 'cause it's hard as hell."

She wasn't joking. She was deadly serious, no sympathy whatsoever.

"That's it? That's all you can tell me to do?"

"For God's sakes, yes, ! You're a grown woman, Dace. You'll be 27 in a few months. Own up to the responsibility and take care of the child you hoed around to create. You can't run from this and I can't just fix it for you this time."

Her eyes slowly softened when tears started popping up in the corners of my eyes.

"But, I can support you and I will help you anyway possible, but D, it's time to grow up."

She wrapped an arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. "Shh, you got me."

New York, New York
Ronan

“Lift your leg higher!”

Madame Barone demanded and banged her tiger-head cane against the smooth wax floor.  I allowed myself to slip lower to the ground while my leg sat in the sling above me. I hated this part of warm-ups. I’d come to realize that I just wasn’t made to stretch in the way the old bat wanted me to. Quite frankly I think she’s just mad she doesn’t have the body she used to have anymore and she hates on all the girls that are shaped like she wants to be.

She used to be stunningly gorgeous to the point where you couldn’t take your eyes off her. Her once smooth, long hair is now frizzed at the ends and the area around his plagued with frown lines from pinching her lips so much in disdain. The only thing that never lost their youth, or hateful zing, might I say, is her eyes. They were the color of clear fog, stony and hard….and she was glaring at me constantly with them, like right now for instance.

“I said lift it higher! You need to shape up those flabby sausages you call thighs. They’re disgusting.”

She smacked me on the thigh hard. I dropped myself lower with a soft grunt, squeezing my eyes shut, and tried to keep my mouth shut. She was always doing this, berating me as she ‘taught’ me the ways of the performing arts world. It was more like bullying and the only reason I didn’t report her to the board was because she was one of the greatest teachers around, a legend. That, and the fact that the rest of the board was made up of old crones that looked and acted just like her; they didn’t care.

In fact, they believed we deserved to be treated so foul, like dogs that could be commanded to sit, stay, and ask ‘how high’ when told to jump. It pissed me off, but I dealt with it. I had to in order to be the greatest. Even if it killed me I was going to have my name known everywhere and the there could it while I stole her glory.

“Alright; get up,” she checked her watch. 

“You’re done for the day.”

With the last bit of strength I had, I pulled myself up and slipped out of the sling. My legs felt like dead weights but I refused to let her see me fall to the floor like I wanted to. I just needed a few more minutes, and then I could pass out.

“What are you doing for your spring break?” she glared down at me.

The witch was at least a head taller than me standing at 5’11”. There were no short ballerinas and it was only by skill and good connections that I got into Julliard with a scholarship by my side.

“I’m going back home, Madame,” I answered her and wobbled over to my bag to take the bottle of water I had out. I guzzled down a few swallows and put it away.

“Oh,” she sneered.

“To that God forbidden place? I do hope you don’t return with that hick accent it took so long to beat out of you.”

I forced a smile on my face and placed my hands behind my back. I wanted so badly to strangle the breath out of her.

“No Madame. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

She made a noise of approval and smoothed her overly gelled hair back.

“Practice your routines while you’re away. And continue to stretch and don’t eat so much. I don’t want to see you flopping around when you come back. You’re fat enough. I don’t need extra work trying to get you to not look so porky.”

Clenching my teeth, I lowered my head and bowed respectfully, and blinked away the few tears that burned my eyes.

“Yes, Madame. I will see you in two weeks.”

I stayed in my bowed position until she left. ­­­­­Being nice was so hard. I couldn’t wait to just get away for a litle while and let the real me run loose. 

Queen

"Knockout! The winner is....the almighty Queen of the Ring!" the announcer screamed to the crowd as they went ballistic.

At least, that's what I imagined him saying while he waved my arm around in the air like a maniac. I wouldn't know; I can't hear him. I'm deaf. A deaf MMA fighter. And yet, I was still the best. No one could beat me. I was literally the queen of the ring. The audience roared excitedly as I rushed out of the ring and into the locker room. I was already off schedule. I wanted to finish my fight five minutes early but the Barbie didn't want to stay down. Now, I'm about to run late for my flight to Dallas if I don't hurry up and she has a ed up face. Good luck fixing that. I'm pretty sure I screwed her Botox. 

I quickly hopped in and out of the shower and got ready to flag a cab down, luggage already in tow. Legally, I could drive, but I honestly didn't trust myself to. I was almost out the door until I felt a rough hand wrap around my bicep. I whipped around ready to fight if need be, but quickly dropped my arms once I saw that it was just Tim. Tim and I had known each other for three years and we were practically family now.

"I know you weren't about to leave without giving me a hug," he wagged his finger in my face. 

I shook my head and shoved his finger out of the way. I can't stand the boy, but I couldn't stand not to love him either. He always had a way of making someone feel special and he was never angry or upset in any kind of way.

"I'm sorry," I mouthed.

I'd never learned to actually speak like a hearing person could. I tried when I was little and never picked it up. I always got something wrong so I just gave up. Nowadays I just took to silently saying things slow enough for people to "hear". Tim shook his head jokingly and lifted me off the ground. At 235 pounds and 6'6", he was a giant for sure.

"I'll miss you," I signed and buried my face into his neck.

Tim squeezed me again and placed me back on the ground.

"I'll miss you too, pretty girl," he signed, something he'd learned to do just for me, and kissed me on the forehead.

"You have everything?"

I nodded and held my things up.

"Good," he nodded soundly and stared before huffing and swiveled me around.

"Now, you've got a plane to catch. Forget a cab; I took the day off to drive you. No complaints." 

And on the way out the door he slapped my lightly and signed, "And put on a jacket. I'd hate to have to kill a dude for staring at your for too long."