Page 73 of Finding Fate

“Alright, I believe I’ve gotten all of the necessary information out of the way for our first visit. Is there anything else you’d like to talk to me about while you’re here?”

“Do you think you could tell me how you found out?”

Ms. Lane pulled her lips into a thin smile and shook her head slowly. “No, I’m sorry. That information is confidential.”

Isabel nodded. She’d thought as much, but she still thought she’d try.

“Is there anything else? Perhaps how you’re feeling about the situation? What some of your plans are?”

“By plans you mean?”

“What are you going to do? Do you plan to keep the baby? Have you considered other options like adoption? These decisions will make a dramatic difference in our conversations throughout the next few months.”

“Tucker and I plan to keep our baby. I know that means I’ll most likely have to go to summer school to finish high school, and I’m okay with that. Whatever we have to do to make it work, we will. That’s about all of the plans we have so far.”

Ms. Lane again jotted down the newfound information. “That’s going to be a huge responsibility, having and raising a baby so young. Have you weighed all of your options to know that this is definitely what you want to do?”

“There is no other option for me, Ms. Lane. It would be against who I am as a person to give up my child.”

The counselor’s lips pursed then. “Well then, you and Mr. Patterson have a lot to consider over the next few months, but you won’t have to go to summer school. We have a homebound program that will let you keep up with things while you’re out.”

Isabel nodded again. That was actually good news and one thing off her list of unknowns. She knew she and Tucker had a lot to plan still, but neither of them seemed to be able to sit down and make the other one do it. Just the thought of the conversation was terrifying.

“Can I go back to class now?” she asked then, suddenly having no interest in continuing the present conversation.

Ms. Lane looked up at the clock above her door. “Well, there’s only ten minutes left of class. I tell you what. Why don’t you wait in the office until the bell rings and then head over to second period? You can look over this packet I have for you.”

Isabel took the small packet she held out and looked down at the title, In High School and Pregnant.“Great,” she thought with cynicism.

She stood then, grabbing her bag and purse from the floor. A few minutes of looking through the packet couldn’t hurt while she waited for the bell.

“Oh, by the way, I’d like for us to meet on Mondays after lunch for now on. Feel free to drop in during that time on another day of the week as well if you need to.”

Isabel stopped, looking back. “That’s when I have my dance team class. Shouldn’t I come in during homeroom or something?”

Ms. Lane looked up and smiled, almost laughing softly under her breath. “Oh, no, dear. Ms. Teiger won’t allow you to keep performing in your condition. Especially now that you’re getting further along.”

“I have clearance from my doctor, though.”

“Well, perhaps some of your captain’s duties will be fine for now, but I just don’t see Ms. Teiger approving much past that.”

Isabel stood there stunned, her mouth hanging open. She felt as though she had been kicked in the gut. Dancing was her world here at school, where she fit in. Where wasn’t just Annie’s twin or Jet’s best friend or Tucker’s girlfriend. She had thought she would at least be able to dance through football season. This could not be happening.

“I can’t dance anymore?” she squeaked. She recognized how pathetic her voice sounded, but it was the only thing she could muster at that moment.

“Not with the team, dear, no,” Ms. Lane replied. “Ms. Tieger is only looking out for your safety. You’ll still go to class and the games, but you won’t be participating in much.”

She could feel the tears welling up under her eyelids. She had known this was coming, but to have dance cut out so soon? What else was going to change? People were going to start talking and speculating after practice today, and it wouldn’t be long before they figured out why she couldn’t participate.

Before her tears could spill over, Isabel pushed her way through the door and out into the empty hall, her heels making loud clicking sounds on the tile floors. Forget reading the stupid packet. All she wanted to do now was cry. Cry about nothing and anything and absolutely everything.

She burst through the red, metal door to the girls’ restroom and rushed to the far back corner where she collapsed into a tight ball. Her bag and purse flung against an adjacent wall.

Her tears flowed then, hot and fierce down her cheeks. How could her day suddenly turn so awful when it had started out so wonderful?

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