On the Plus Side

by P. A. Kurch

  We were young. Too young. There was no way we could’ve been prepared for any of this. At least, not all of this at once. My dad was right, though.

  We had to grow up. We were growing up. Way too fast.

  APRIL

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A couple of weeks later, I was in homeroom when the P.A. system beeped. “Bryan Parker,” a voice said. “To the principal’s office, please.”

  I was half asleep on my desk. Someone giggled and teased, “Oooh! Bryan! Now you did it!” I gathered my books. I nearly tripped right over my desk as I stood up. That got more laughs. I rolled my eyes. Two more months, I told myself, and then I’m out of here.

  I sat quietly outside Principal Stevenson’s office door. That man made me wait nearly twenty minutes. The door creaked open and I heard the voice of my guidance counselor, Julie. “I just don’t know how else to say it,” she said.

  Principal Stevenson shook his head. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at me. I felt smaller than ever. Some people have that power—it’s not a good power to have, but I tell you, it worked. Suddenly, I sat up straight and fixed my shirt. I didn’t even feel tired anymore.

  He pointed to his office. I knew what that meant. Embarrassed, I stood up and led the way. Julie was standing by his desk. She looked nervous.

  “Take a seat, Mr. Parker,” Mr. Stevenson told me. My heart began racing. I didn’t say a word. Couldn’t say a word. Julie sat down in the chair next to mine and opened a folder—my folder, I guess. She looked at the papers and tried to find something.

  The right words. The right tone. The right way to break it to me.

  She coughed and cleared her throat. “Bryan,” she told me, “we have a problem.”

  I looked at her. I looked at Principal Stevenson. They stayed quiet. “What?” I squeaked. My mouth was dry.

  Principal Stevenson stood up. “Your grades, Mr. Parker,” he said as he walked to the front of his desk. He sat down on the edge and crossed his arms. Principal Stevenson then leaned in. “They’re bad,” he said. “Very bad.”

  I gulped. “And your college,” he continued. “Seems they changed their mind. About you.”

  My heart sank. My head pounded. I saw Julie out of the corner of my eye, wanting to help me. Hug me, even. How many times had we talked about my college dreams? She didn’t dare. Not in front of him. Principal Stevenson pointed at the folder that she held in her lap.

  Julie sounded nervous. She paused. Stuttered, even. “Your midterms,” she began. “The grades. They were lower than usual, especially for you.”

  I looked at her. Julie didn’t look at me, though. She kept her eyes on the paper.

  “All of your classes,” Julie continued. “Math. Science. English. All of your grades have dropped.”

  Principal Stevenson stood back up. He circled around Julie and me like a hawk ready to strike. “This college asked us for your grades after the midterms. They didn’t like what they saw.”

  I stared blankly.

  “Do you understand, Mr. Parker? They don’t want you anymore,” he said.

  I tried so hard not to break down. It was like nobody wanted me anymore. Not Evan. Not my classmates. Not even Alyssa.

  So—I walked out.

  Principal Stevenson yelled at me to come back. Julie chased after me. She tapped me on my shoulder. I ignored it. She then grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. I stood with her face-to-face.

  “What is going on, Bryan?” she asked. “Please, tell me! You are so much better than this.” I couldn’t even look her in the eyes. I was too embarrassed with myself. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have met with you. Alone. Not with that—”

  She caught herself before she said something bad about Principal Stevenson. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Julie didn’t say a word as I took out my phone. It was a text. From Alyssa.

  My stomach dropped. I thought about the baby. Something had to be wrong. Julie asked me if everything was okay. I shook my head.

  “I’m here if you need to talk,” she said. “Now go. You’re going to be late for your next class.”

  I walked away feeling so defeated. I texted Alyssa back quickly.

  She replied immediately.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  There were a few hours of school still left. I stood by my locker and stared at my phone. I wondered what to do. I couldn’t wait to see Alyssa. Wouldn’t wait to see Alyssa.

  And then something hit me on my back. I knew what it was. It was a ball of paper. Another one hit me. And another. I heard laughing.

  I stood there, letting it happen. And then, one of my classmates, a jock named Nate, sneered. “Hey,” he told me. “Hey! You! Baby Daddy Bryan!”

  How in the world did they find out? In that moment, something inside of me snapped. Everything from the day just came to a boiling point. I turned around. There were three boys standing behind me. I recognized two of the idiots from my homeroom.

  I grabbed Nate by the neck of his shirt. “I really wouldn’t mess with me right now,” I told him through clenched teeth. His friends cheered in glee. Nate begged me to let him go. One of the English teachers, Mr. Swatsworth, saw what was happening. He rushed over to us.

  “What is going on? Let go of him this instant!” he demanded, so I let go of Nate’s shirt. He looked like he was terrified.

  I grabbed my backpack from the floor. “Stop right there!” Mr. Swatsworth shouted. I ignored him. I disappeared into the stairwell. I took a deep breath. What just came over me? Who was I anymore?

  I panicked for a second as I heard someone coming up the stairs. It was Evan! He had his arm around his girlfriend. He didn’t even acknowledge me. He just kept walking right past.

  Like I was invisible.

  That was it. I was done for the day. I saw sunlight coming from the bottom of the stairwell. That door! I could do it. I could just walk out. I didn’t care about being caught. It’s like the father in me came out. I needed to be there—for Alyssa and for our baby.

  I looked around before making my move. There was nobody around. I quietly and quickly made my way to the bottom floor. I put my hand on the metal door. It clicked as I pushed it open. Freedom. The sun was blinding. I squinted out at the world in front of me. It felt so wrong. It felt so right. I walked as fast as I could, far away from that school.

  I made it to the coffee shop, my legs burning. I saw Alyssa standing outside. She had this huge gray hoodie on. Nothing could hide her bump at this point, but the sleeves covered her hands. The hood covered her entire face. Any time somebody passed by her, Alyssa looked down. She pulled her hood down even farther, even though it was warm out.

  I approached her. We didn’t say a word. I looked at her as I held the door open to the coffee shop. Alyssa grabbed me by the fingers. She led me to a corner table, still holding her hood over her face.

  I sat down and she followed. She looked around, and then the hood came down. My jaw dropped. Alyssa’s left eye was all bruised and purple.

  “Who did this to you?” I asked.

  “It all started yesterday,” she began. “On Student Council.”

  I reached for her hand. She pulled it away. “Please, Bryan, just let me finish. Everything was going okay. But there’s this one girl who always opens her mouth. She’s been doing nothing but spreading rumors about me.” Anger rose up inside of me. “I called her out on it in front of everyone. She was embarrassed. She rolled her eyes and swore at me. But it worked. It shut her up for a while. And then yesterday, in the middle of Student Council, she started with the namecalling. The other girls told her to stop. But things only got worse.”

  Alyssa’s eyes filled with tears. She dried them with her oversized sleeves.

  “Did you tell anyone about this?” I asked.

  “Of course I did,” she replied.

  “That’s good, right?”

  “Well, they kicked her off of Student Council,” Alyssa answered. I could tell she was trying to hold back tears
. “And then, this morning, she confronted me. She and her stupid friends! They pushed me right up against my locker. They told me to watch my back.”

  All of this was almost too much to hear.

  “There was nobody else around to stop them. So I shoved her back! She fell onto the floor, yelling at me. Her friends helped her up and that’s when she hit me. Right in the face.”

  Alyssa turned, unable to look at me. Her eye looked worse from the side.

  “Is this why you’re not in school?” I asked. Alyssa nodded.

  “But those girls… they’re saying I started it.”

  “There were others around!” I told her. “How is that right? Who does that?”

  “It’s six against one, Bryan!” she said. “They’re making it sound like I made the first move. Principal Stewart says she’s looking into it. The security tapes, I mean. But that’s not all of it. All of the times I’ve been late because of doctor appointments, or the times I’ve missed school because I was sick—they could use that against me.”

  And then she paused. “They want to suspend me, Bryan. I might miss graduation.”

  I sat there. Silent. Hurt. I asked her if her parents knew.

  “They want to fight it, but they’re worried we’ll lose. I’m lost, Bryan,” Alyssa continued. “I mean, what came over me? Was it just me trying to keep the baby safe? Who am I?”

  She put her head on the table. She tried so hard not to cry. I reached again for her hand, and this time, she let me hold it.

  I confessed to her about my incident in the hallway. How I also got into a scuffle of my own. I told her about my college. And Principal Stevenson being a troll. How Evan ignored me in the hallway. How I just walked away from it all.

  And then I had to tell her. How people at my school—her old school—knew about the pregnancy.

  She broke my heart as she cried. “There’s a special hearing with my school board next week,” she cried. “I don’t know what to do. I want my dad here so badly,” she told me. “He’s been all over the state with work. Every time I ask to see him he’s never around.”

  I thought about reaching out to him myself.

  Alyssa asked me to stay with her, so I did. All afternoon. Eventually, I offered to buy her something to eat. She refused. But me? I ordered myself six chocolate donuts.

  I told Alyssa, “Don’t judge me! I’m stress eating.”

  “Welcome to my life,” she said, and finally, she smiled.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A few days later, I decided to skip school. I even called off of work. Just this once. My mom didn’t even fight me on it. It was my first real day off in months. I crawled into my bed. I swore I would never get out of bed again.

  As soon as I got comfortable, my dad called me downstairs. I ignored it, but then my bedroom door flew open. I was shocked by who I saw. It was Evan! With the video game in his hands! The one we were supposed to play together.

  “Bryan,” he told me. “I have some explaining to do.”

  I invited him in. Evan started telling me everything. He began with his girlfriend. “I told her too many things,” he said. “She’s a loudmouth! She’s been telling everyone about you and Alyssa,” Evan said. “It was too late to stop her. I’m sorry. And I know the damage is done, but please! Please forgive me.”

  I could’ve cared less at that point. I had missed him too much. “If it makes you feel any better, somebody recorded it—our breakup. It was during music class. It’s even online!”

  He pulled up the breakup video on his phone. He cringed as we watched. His now ex-girlfriend did not take the breakup too well. It was his first girlfriend, too. That’s always the worst.

  “And then my mom. My stupid mom! Once she found about you and Alyssa, she said that was it. She said you’re a bad influence on me. I couldn’t hang out with you guys anymore. She even made me get a different job. She made me promise to ignore you in school, too. If my brothers ever caught me talking to you, they’d tell her. I just know it.”

  I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Evan was usually such a happy guy. Listening to him, I realized how broken up he really felt.

  “I finally had enough,” he continued. “I told my mom I didn’t care anymore. I miss you and Alyssa too much. I mean, my mom grounded me for life basically, but it was worth it.”

  I chuckled briefly, just thinking of Evan trying to stand up to his scary mom.

  “Have you heard what happened to Alyssa?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “I actually called her on my way over to see you. She and I came up with a plan.”

  “A plan for what?” I asked.

  “A plan to fight her school on this,” he replied.

  I looked at him eagerly. “Well, tell me!”

  “Well, now that she’s had to time calm down, she got to thinking. I reminded her of all the laws and court cases she’s read about. All of it is up in her head. Surely there’s something she can use against them. The school suspending her because of the pregnancy is illegal. They’re just using the fight as a cover—an excuse, even—to suspend her.”

  We continued to talk throughout the night. We played our game, too. For a few hours, my life felt normal again. I hadn’t felt like that in months.

  I don’t think Evan realized how much that meant to me.

  MAY

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Alyssa asked me to come over the night before her school hearing. The kitchen table was filled with her law and history books. She sat typing at her laptop. I stayed up with her all night. None of us could sleep, anyway. Sometimes she’d ask me to run to the printer. I happily did so. Then she had me highlight and circle tons of information. It all looked so confusing. She was confident, though. Her research was on point.

  She just wasn’t confident the school would listen.

  I looked at Alyssa almost sadly. Graduation was two weeks away. This should’ve been the time of our lives. Alyssa should have been excited, but here she was. Worried about school hearings. Worried about if we had saved up enough money for the baby. We should have been out there celebrating with our friends and families!

  All of our friends were looking forward to college. Buying homes. Building families of their own. For them, that was years down the road. For me and Alyssa, a lot of that was being done right now.

  At some point, her stepmom came downstairs. She looked at us lovingly. “Did you two sleep at all?” she asked. We both shook our heads, and then I realized that sunlight was shining through the window.

  We had worked all through the night. I was used to that, I guess. It’s all I was doing for the past nine months. We started clearing the table as the smell of coffee filled the house. All of us got ready to sit down to eat breakfast.

  Well, except for Alyssa. She wanted to go through everything one more time.

  “Please, just take a break,” I told her. “If not for yourself then at least for the baby.”

  Alyssa didn’t hesitate any longer. She closed her laptop and joined us for breakfast.

  The bell ran as we entered Alyssa’s school. The hallway was crowded. Some girls looked at us. They noticed Alyssa. Some of them whispered to each other. Some of them stared. Some even pointed at me, curiously. I can’t believe this is what she’d been dealing with for months.

  Alyssa’s moms led the way toward the office.

  I suddenly felt nervous. Alyssa, though, walked tall. She held her hand over her belly, protectively. She didn’t even flinch as we marched past everyone. Once we stepped into the office, though, I could sense something different.

  Alyssa seemed to be a little nervous, and then the tears started. “I just want all of this to be over,” she cried into my shoulder. Both of her moms helped her sit down in a chair.

  I approached the front desk alone. “We’re here for a hearing,” I told the secretary. She didn’t say a word to me. She pointed to a clipboard on the side of the desk. I wasn’t even finished signing all of our names when the office do
or opened.

  Principal Stewart appeared. “You’re five minutes late,” she told Alyssa. There was no emotion on her face. Just an impatient tone in her voice.

  Everyone nervously stood up and headed for the principal’s office. Everyone else entered before me, and then Principal Stewart held her arm across the door. “You, sir,” she told me. “You have to wait out here.”

  I looked at Alyssa and her parents. They looked at me, and then they looked up at Principal Stewart. There was pure anger on their faces.

  “He has every right to be here for her,” Alyssa’s mother said sternly.

  The principal rolled her eyes. She looked up and down at me. I could feel it. Her judging eyes. “So you must be the father, then,” she said, almost in disgust. Her voice seemed to roll its eyes. “They get younger all the time.”

  I was over this lady already. She dropped her arm from across the door, pointing into her office. I made my way in. As I walked, I felt her breath on the back of my neck.

  A long table sat in the middle of the office. Eight people were sitting on one side. They all had name tags and titles. They were teachers, board members, and assistant principals. Alyssa was told to take a seat across from them. We were directed to sit in the chairs against the wall.

  Some board members began whispering to each other. I don’t think they realized just how pregnant Alyssa was.

  One of the assistant principals started by reading a prepared statement. School rules. School safety. Good student conduct. Being a responsible member of the community.

  Alyssa sat there. I knew she was just pretending to listen. Pretending to care. She waited until they were finished, and then she opened up a red folder she had on her lap.

  “Can I have my turn now?” she asked them. Principal Stewart nearly scoffed. “For weeks, I was bullied by a student on your Student Council. For weeks, I asked someone to help.”