Sora sat uncomfortably in one of the chairs in the waiting room at Dr. Lee’s office. Her stomach grumbled; it was lunchtime. She’d scheduled her doctor’s appointment during her lunch hour because she didn’t want to miss any more school than she already had.

Her foot jiggled nervously against the leg of the chair. She was nervous about so many things that they all seemed like one big jumbled mess somewhere in her stomach. Or maybe that was just the baby.

The baby.

She’s gone from calling it an “it” to a “baby” in what seemed like no time. Even knowing that there was a tiny human leeching off her, it seemed surreal. Like it was some elaborate joke that had just gone too far. She let her hand rest on her abdomen. She wondered if the baby could feel her.

“Ms. Kwon,” a nurse called her back.

Shouldering her bag, Sora followed the nurse into the examination room. It felt like it had only been a few hours since she’d last been here, when Ms. Lee had dropped the bomb.

She didn’t have to wait terribly long; because of the hour, the hospital wasn’t as busy as it might have been at another time. Dr. Lee came in smiling.

“So I heard you’ve come to a decision regarding your pregnancy?” she asked, taking a seat at the computer and pulling up Sora’s information.

Sora took a deep breath and nodded. “I-I’ve decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. I don’t want an abortion.”

Dr. Lee nodded almost as though she’d expected this. “Wonderful. I can refer you to some obstetricians here in this hospital that you can work with during your pregnancy. If you choose to keep the baby after birth, we can also help you find some good pediatricians.” She looked up from where she was typing. “Have you decided if you want to keep the baby or look for adoption?”

“I-I want to keep him. Or her. Whatever it is, I want to keep it,” Sora said breathlessly. She felt dirty for even saying something like that out loud. How would she provide for this child? How would her child deal with the stigma of having no father? But whatever the consequences, Sora was already attached. She was only a quarter of the way through this and already she was attached. Giving the baby up didn’t seem like a viable option anymore.

Dr. Lee smiled gently and patted Sora’s hand. “We’ll find you some good resources to help you, Sora. Don’t you worry.” She finished typing her notes on Sora’s chart. “I’d like to schedule you an appointment when Dr. Kim. She’s a very good obstetrician, and she typically works with younger mothers. Would you like to meet with her? She’s free this afternoon, I believe.”

Sora glanced at the time on her phone. Her lunch hour was already almost over. She was already going to be late.

“We can write you a note to excuse you from class,” Dr. Lee told her kindly, almost as though she’d read Sora’s mind.

Sora forced a little smile. “Okay, then.”

“Okay. You can meet with her in an hour,” Dr. Lee said, typing it into the computer. “In the meantime, I’d like you to meet with Mrs. Yoo again. She can talk you through any questions you might have.”

So Sora found herself back in Mrs. Yoo’s office, sitting in the cushioned chair across from the counselor’s desk. “Have you told your family yet that you’re expecting?” she asked gently.

“No, I haven’t told anyone,” Sora answered honestly. “I-I can’t.”

“I know it might seem like that now,” Mrs. Yoo said. “But trust me, Sora. Things are going to get harder and harder. You’re going to need that support. Your parents might be angry with you at first, but they’ll come around.”

Sora didn’t answer. The thought of telling her mom and dad was terrifying. She couldn’t do it.

“What about the father?” Mrs. Yoo pressed when it became clear Sora wasn’t going to answer. “Have you told him yet?”

“No,” Sora muttered. “I’m not going to tell him.”

Mrs. Yoo was genuinely surprised by that. “What? Not tell him? Why?”

But again Sora remained tight-lipped. She wasn’t going to bring up Jongdae. Not here. Not to Mrs. Yoo.

Mrs. Yoo sighed, checking the time. “Well, go along to your appointment with Dr. Kim then. We’ll meet again soon, Sora.”

Dr. Kim turned out to be a pretty middle-aged woman with curly hair and a mole next to her lip. She had a nice smile and a soft voice and Sora liked her immediately.

“This is probably going to be a bit boring,” Dr. Kim warned with a laugh, offering Sora a lollipop. “I apologize in advance.” She settled herself down in front of her computer screen. “Alright, let’s get started. Are you menstrual cycles regular?”

“They were,” Sora replied, a little sarcastically. “Been a little M.I.A. lately, though.”

Dr. Kim chuckled. “And how long did your periods used to last, back when you had them?”

Sora shrugged. “Five days or so, usually.”

“And when was the first day of your last period?”

This elicited a blush. “It was in July. I don’t remember the exact day.”

“What symptoms have you been experiencing?”

“What haven’t I been experiencing?” Sora muttered. “Nausea, exhaustion, more frequent bathroom trips, headaches, lower back aches, sore s. I feel like I’m dying.”

Another chuckle from Dr. Kim. “These symptoms will pass in the next few weeks or so. I’m guessing you’re about eleven weeks in, so just a couple weeks from your second trimester. Once you get to the second trimester, most of these symptoms will ease up. At least until the third trimester.”

“Well, it’s something to look forward to, at least,” Sora joked.

“Have you ever had any gynecological problems?” Dr. Kim asked. “Any ually transmitted infections or anything?”

“God, no,” Sora assured her quickly. “I’ve only ever had once and look what happened.”

“So no previous pregnancies to note?”

“Definitely not,” Sora said firmly.

“Do you have any chronic conditions?”

“No.”

“Any drug allergies?”

“Nope.”

“Any psychiatric problems? Past surgeries or hospitalizations?”

“No, no, and no.”

Dr. Kim continued, asking about Sora’s smoking, drinking, and drug habits. She asked about Sora’s family’s medical history. She asked if Sora, the baby’s father, or anyone in either family had a chromosomal or genetic disorder, had developmental delays, or was born with a structural birth defect – Sora wasn’t really sure about any of them aside from her own immediate family. Then Dr. Kim asked about any medications and nutritional supplements Sora had been taking, which was nothing except for the prenatal vitamins Dr. Lee had prescribed her before.

“Now, there are various screening tests we can do to give you some information about your baby’s risk for Down syndrome and other chromosomal problems and birth defects. We can perform two important ones right here at this hospital. We’d like to do a blood test, which we can do today. I also suggest the nuchal translucency screen, which is a type of ultrasound. It won’t be done for another week or so, if that’s okay with you.”

“Will it hurt?” Sora asked uncertainly.

“No, not at all,” Dr. Kim assured her.

Sora swallowed thickly. “Will it hurt the baby?”

“Definitely not.”

“Okay then.”

“When you’re a little farther along, I’d like to schedule you for a multiple marker screening,” Dr. Kim went on. “It’s just another blood test. If you’re interested, we can also do a carrier screening which will test for genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and Tay-Sachs disease, but that won’t be until much later. We can talk about that more later. So far everything looks good, so we won’t put you down for a chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. I might change my mind if things seem to be high-risk, but as of right now everything looks to be in good order.”

Sora felt like her head was spinning.

Dr. Kim smiled wryly. “I know. Information overload. Don’t worry too much about it yet. Today I’ll do the blood test, and then we’ll discuss the next test after that.”

Sora smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

“Right now, I need to do a physical and a pelvic exam. I’ll also do a Pap smear to check for abnormal cells, though at your age you should be quite alright,” Dr. Kim went on. “I also need a urine sample. What do you say we get started?”

Sora made it back to school just in time for her last class. She handed her note to the teacher, who accepted it without question, and Sora sank down low in her seat. Amber and Krystal were glaring at her, silently probing her with questions, but Sora was too tired to answer. Her visit with Dr. Kim had been exhausting.

She couldn't avoid their questions forever, however. As soon as the final bell rang, they cornered her in the hallway.

“Where have you been?” Krystal demanded shrilly. “You skipped out on lunch and then nobody saw you afterwards!”

“We’ve been really worried,” Amber agreed, shoving the nearly hysterical Krystal to the side. “We texted you about a hundred times, but you never answered.”

“My phone died?” Sora said lamely.

Krystal snatched the device in question from Sora’s hand. “Fat chance. You’re over fifty percent. You better spill. Right now.”

“Okay, fine. I was at the hospital,” Sora mumbled, thinking back on her meeting with Mrs. Yoo. The counselor had urged her to share her burden with someone. Maybe Amber and Krystal were the ones she could confide to. She knew they wouldn’t hang her out to try just because she’s gotten into a bit of trouble.

They were suitably alarmed to discover that she’d been at the hospital. “Is everything okay?” Krystal asked worriedly.

“Is this about the flu that you’ve been having trouble getting over?” Amber, always perceptive, asked.

“Sort of,” Sora said with a wry, almost hysterical laugh. “I never actually had the flu, though.”

Her friends were confused. “Didn’t have the flu?” Amber repeated. “Sora, we watched you throw up for weeks.”

“All over Mrs. Song’s shoes,” Krystal added.

Sora took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no one around could overhear. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

“You’re what?” Both girls leaned in closer to hear her.

Sora cringed. She didn’t want to have to say it twice, but she repeated it again, only marginally louder.

That was all it took for all hell to break loose. Krystal immediately began screeching unintelligibly while Amber stared at her in shock. Eventually Krystal calmed down enough to ask, “But Sora, who’s the father?”

“Nobody,” Sora muttered, turning away. “It’s nobody, so just drop it. And you can’t tell anyone. No one knows but you two.”

“Your secret is safe with us,” Amber assured her, wrapping her arm around her shoulder. “I just can’t believe you’ve been keeping this to yourself all this time!”

“I know!” Krystal agreed, wrapping an arm around Sora’s waist. “When is it due? Is it a boy or a girl? What about names? Oh my god, let’s go buy baby clothes!”

Sora gave her an exasperated look. “What part of secret don’t you understand, Krystal? We can’t go out buying baby clothes.” She sighed. “I don’t know about gender or names yet. It’s too far away to get into all that. But, according to the doctor I saw today, I’m due in April.”

Krystal squealed again. “Oh my god! This is going to be so much fun!”

And, for the first time since she’d found out about her little leech, Sora felt vaguely optimistic about the future.

Until she got home from school that afternoon. She was walking up to her apartment, loaded down with her heavy bag and exhausted from her visit to the doctor, when she heard a familiar voice.

“Sora!”

An unfamiliar panic fluttered in her chest before she turned to look at him. “J-jongdae…” she said uncertainly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m home for Chuseok, silly,” Jongdae laughed, pulling her in for a hug. He smelled of vanilla and Sora was painfully reminded of their night together back over the summer. She quickly pushed away.

“I know it’s the holidays, but you usually stay at school for them,” she pointed out.

He shrugged, a little blush dusting his cheeks. “I know, but I…I wanted to come home this year. I wanted to spend time with my family. And with you.”

He was staring at her plaintively. Sora’s panic increased. Could he tell? Her uniform sweater was baggy, but was it baggy enough to hide the little belly she already had? What about her s? If anyone would notice them growing, it would be Jongdae. It wasn’t safe for him to see her.

“O-oh, that’s nice,” she mumbled distractedly. “I’ve got to go now. I’ve got a lot of homework to do and I promised my mom I would do some chores around the house before she gets home and-”

“I’ll help you,” Jongdae offered cheerfully.

“No!” Sora practically shouted. She flushed at the confused look that crossed his face. “I mean, it’s fine. I’m sure you’re tired from making the trip and all. I’ll just…I’ll see you later.”

“Promise?” Jongdae asked uncertainly.

Sora wasn’t ready to promise. “Sure,” she said instead, and she let herself into her apartment. 

So Sora has told her best friends and Jongdae wants to spend time with her o.O

Sorry for the lack of updating. I myself am pregnant (almost 31 weeks) so I haven't had nearly as much time to myself as I would like lol