“Who was the guy? Is it somebody I know?”
“It was an older boy in the twelfth grade. And yes, you know him. Doesn’t everybody in Clifton know everybody else? It’s one of the smallest towns in Arkansas. And Bell High School is only so big,” she said, snapping her fingers. “If you blink while driving through here, you’ll miss the whole town.”
“Well, who is he? I didn’t know you were dating someone in a higher grade. Heck, I didn’t know you were dating anybody at all.”
“Of course, it wasn’t a date. You know I’m not allowed to date anyone until I turn sixteen. It’s just something that happened. Something that I wish had never happened.” She gulped.
“With who?” I asked, throwing up my hands in frustration. I was about done with Joyce. I could have pulled out two of her wisdom teeth by now.
“That’s not important. I’d really rather not tell you his name.”
“Why not? I’m going to find out eventually anyway so you might as well tell me now.”
“That may be true. I’m just not ready to face the music right now. I know what you’re going to say, anyway, Reecy Jones. I know exactly what you’re going to say, and I just can’t deal with that today. Please, give me some time to think about all this.”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I still can’t believe this. You mean to tell me that you did it with a boy and didn’t use protection? And now you won’t even tell me his name?” I gave Joyce a blank stare. She had me perturbed to say the least. I desperately wanted to know what was going on with my best friend. Right then, I felt like I didn’t even know the person who was in the room with me. The person I’d known and befriended for most of my young life. This sure didn’t sound like the young girl I’d known since kindergarten. Joyce had always been a very confident, level-headed person. Now, she was acting like we were back in grade school.
“He told me that he didn’t need to use anything, because he was going to pull it out before we finished. But it didn’t happen like that and—I just can’t discuss it anymore, Ree. Let’s talk about something else,” Joyce said, closing her eyes; she took a deep breath and exhaled. She turned away from me. Facing the wall, she stared at a picture of a smiling Michael Jackson holding a microphone. I guess we were both thinking about Michael and wishing we were with him.
Peering at my friend’s back, I sighed, trying to relieve my frustrations. I didn’t understand why I was feeling guilty about this situation, but I decided to do the right thing. “All right, I’ll do it. I’ll go with you to see the school’s nurse in the morning.”
Joyce turned around. She reached out and hugged me as tight as she could. “Oh, thank you. I knew I could depend on you.” I wasn’t so sure about that. I just knew I had to be more than a friend to her. After that experience with trying to help Lena Turnipseed last year, it was the least I could do for my best friend.
At that point, we heard a knock at the door, and we jumped apart. We looked up to see Mama poking her head through the door. “Dinner’s almost ready. You girls can go wash up now.”
Chapter Two
The following Monday, Joyce and I left our first period class at Charles E. Bell High School and went to see Ms. Stanford, the school’s nurse. She was a short, friendly middle-aged woman with a soft voice who wore her hair pulled back into a bun that was so tight, she could have passed for a dark Chinese woman. Ms. Stanford had a reputation for making students feel comfortable when they came in for an office visit. Her “motherly” advice wasn’t always followed, but it was normally appreciated. “Reecy, thanks for accompanying Joyce to the clinic. You can wait out here, and I’ll let you know when we’re done,” she stated, standing in the doorway to the examination room. I nodded my head, watching the nurse’s white uniform disappear behind the closed door. I prayed that Joyce would be all right and disease free.
While sitting in the empty waiting area, I was reminded of a similar situation that had occurred around this time last year. My classmate, Lena Turnipseed, had confided in me that she’d done it with Rodney Payne, a junior and captain of the basketball team, over the summer and thought she was pregnant. Lena persuaded me to go with her to the free clinic for a pregnancy test. Once her pregnancy was confirmed, Lena also confided in me that she was going to run away from home and stay at a shelter for teenage mothers in Shreveport, Louisiana, until the baby was born. However, after much soul-searching and prayer, I reluctantly broke down and told her parents where Lena was living. They rescued Lena from the shelter and a few months later, she gave birth to a bouncy healthy baby girl. She not only forgave me for sharing her secret but thanked me for being a good friend. I had promise Lena that I’d come by to visit her and the baby since she was attending the girl’s alternative school on the other side of town. I hadn’t heard anything bad about the place. I just knew Lena never wanted to go there.
I was anxiously waiting to see if Joyce had contracted a venereal disease. If doing it is this much trouble, I’m never going to do it. I thought only the nasty girls got VD. I’ve known Joyce most of my life, and she’s never been like that. They have the cleanest house in town.
“All right, you can come in here and sit with us for a minute, Reecy,” Nurse Stanford said, holding the examining room door open.
I walked into the room with a straight face, trying to hide my nervousness. I saw Joyce sitting in a straight-back chair holding her face in her hands, crying like a newborn baby. I knew it had to be bad for Joyce to be crying like that.
Taking a seat beside my friend, I snatched some tissues from the counter and handed them to her. I sat up straight with a hand on each side of the chair, trying to prepare myself for the worse.
Nurse Stanford sat on a stool across from us. Her soft voice took on a serious, deeper tone as she spoke. “I want you both to know that there are consequences to having sex. And I’m pretty sure your friend here has contracted a case of chlamydia,” she said to me, but pointed at Joyce. “I’m not able to do the specific testing at this clinic, but according to the symptoms she told me about, I would bet it’s chlamydia which is the most common venereal disease for teenage girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. It’s also known as a “silent” disease because about three quarters of the infected women and about half of the infected men have no symptoms. But if it’s left untreated, it can damage your reproductive organs,” she stated, looking at Joyce this time.
Joyce arched her eyebrows, and mumbled, “Huh?”
Nurse Stanford decided to further explain her last statement. “What I’m trying to say is that although this is a common disease, it’s also very serious. You can end up with PID if it’s not taken care of right away.”
“What’s PID?” Joyce asked, looking confused. Of course, I didn’t know what it meant either.
“It stands for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease which is an infection that spreads from the vaginal and cervix to the lining of the uterus and can lead to sterility. This means that you could have some physical problems later in life and not be able to have children. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ah, yes,” Joyce replied, using a tissue to pat her eyes. “I think I understand.”
“I recommend you ask your mother to take you to your primary physician in the morning so you can get tested and started on some antibiotics, if you need to. A number of different medications can be used, so it’ll be up to the doctor to find out what might work best for you. It’s too soon to take a pregnancy test, so I’m not worried about that, but they should still be able to give you some medicine. And you’ll probably have to take it every day for seven to ten days or maybe even longer.”
“Will they have to give me a shot?” Joyce asked. Only I knew how much she dreaded that procedure.
“No, I don’t think so. The penicillin shot is not effective against chlamydial infections. They’ll just give you a prescription for the pills.”
Then, the nurse asked me, “Are you sexually active, too?”
“Oh, no,
ma’am,” I replied, stretching my eyes. Sex wasn’t even a thought in my mind after what she’d just told us. I wanted to have children, just not in my immediate future. And sex was out of the question. I mean, it was completely off the table for now.
“Well, when you do make that decision, I hope you’ll use some type of protection. Condoms are not that expensive, and they’re the best way to prevent pregnancy and venereal diseases.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, turning my attention to Joyce. She was just sitting still as if she’d been hypnotized or something. I’d seen zombies on television with more life in them.
“That’s about it. Do either one of you have any questions for me?” Nurse Stanford asked. Her eyes roamed from me to Joyce, and then, back to me.
“Ah, no, ma’am,” I began, twisting in my seat. “We saw a filmstrip in Health class last week, and that’s how we recognized the symptoms.”
“That’s good, I’m glad to know you girls were paying attention in class.”
Nurse Stanford pushed away from the table she’d been writing on, stood up with us, and said, “Here’s a pass for both of you young ladies to get into your next class. I hope everything works out, and I don’t have to see either of you again this semester.” She handed the pass to Joyce and patted her on the back. “You take care and keep your head up. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Joyce mumbled, sniffling as she looked at Nurse Stanford.
“You’re not by yourself, you know. A recent study showed that one in four teenage girls has a venereal disease. With all of this sexual freedom going on these days, more and more teenagers are becoming infected each year. Just make sure you go see your doctor tomorrow. And as soon as you know something for sure, you need to let the young man who infected you know something, too. I don’t need any more students coming in here with this problem.”
Joyce didn’t verbally answer. She simply responded by nodding her head. I think she was still too shocked to speak. I know I was.
I noticed the look of horror in my friend’s eyes and hoped that I would never have to know what Joyce was feeling at that moment. Just being there with Joyce and seeing the emotional condition she was in, had put me into panic mode. I couldn’t imagine what Joyce was thinking now or why she’d had unprotected sex in the first place.
Heading to the nearest restroom, we checked to make sure we were alone before either one of us spoke. “You can’t go back to class looking like that. Why don’t you wash your face and try to calm down a little bit?” I asked.
Joyce was still choked up. She went to the sink, turned on the cold water, and splashed her face several times. I handed her some paper towels and stood back observing her slumped composure. “It’s going to be all right,” I said.
“No, it’s not. How can you say that?” Joyce asked. “You know, I can’t tell my mother why I need to go to the doctor. She doesn’t even know I’ve had sex. She’s going to kill me if she finds out.”
“Well, you could go to the free clinic and get tested. They’re not obligated to tell your parents anything over there.”
“Hey, you’re right,” Joyce replied, showing a sparkle of hope in her eyes. “I could probably go over there after school tomorrow if I can come up with a good reason not to come home right after school. Can you come with me, Ree?”
“Ah, no, I can’t make it. You know, I have to go directly home every day and take care of my grandmother unless I’ve arranged something with Joshua. And he has basketball practice tomorrow afternoon, so it’s out of the question.”
“So what am I going to tell my mother?” Joyce asked, in a voice laced with desperation.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll come up with something by the end of the day,” I responded, opening the bathroom door. “We just need to get to our next class if we don’t want to get in trouble.”
*
When I stepped off the bus that afternoon, I was happy to see that my mother’s red Buick was not parked in the driveway. Hopefully, things would be better for us today than they were yesterday. Tyrone had called last night before we left for the basketball game, and he’d been able to offer some consolation to the entire family. He was being a man about being drafted, and assured everyone that he was planning to make it back alive. Tyrone said he had prayed about it and was ready to serve his country wherever they needed him to serve. He assured us that God would take care of him.
Mama and Daddy both tried to be strong and put up a good front. Only I knew them well enough to see how upset they really were. At bedtime, Daddy led us in prayer. He had his eyes closed, but I saw the tears staining his puffy cheeks. I didn’t say anything else, because I was fighting the tears more than anyone.
I walked through the living room, turned down the hallway, and peeped in the room at Grandma Gladys. She was sitting there in front of the television watching Dark Shadows like she did every weekday. “Hi, Grandma, how’re you doing?”
“Hi, sweetie, I’m doing fine. How was school today?” she asked. Grandma looked up for a second, then returned her attention to the black and white television set.
“Oh, it was fine,” I replied, remembering what an exhausting day it had been. “What would you like for your snack today?”
“Some peanut butter and crackers will be fine, baby,” Grandma replied, rocking back and forth.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute with your snack and medicine.”
Minutes later, I returned holding a red snack tray and placed it on the bed. For as long as I could remember, Grandma had been my strongest supporter and someone I could talk to about anything. Grandma Gladys always listened to me without judgment. I wanted to confide in her at that moment, but something was holding me back.
“What’s the matter, Reecy?”
“Nothing, Grandma, I was just thinking about a project I need to finish for school. Enjoy your snack, and I’ll be back to check on you later.”
I rushed out of the bedroom. I didn’t give Grandma a chance to ask any more questions. That certainly wasn’t something I could share with the older lady regardless of how close we were. Joyce would never forgive me for breaking her confidence. Having a venereal disease was considered worse than having a baby out of wedlock, because everybody thought you were nasty. She’d probably have a stroke from just wondering if I’d told anyone.
An hour later, I had finished up my studying session. I stepped into the hallway just as the telephone began to ring. Answering in a cordial voice, I said, “Hello, this is the Jones residence.”
“Hey, Reecy, you’ll never guess what happened when I got home today.”
“What happened, Joyce? Is everything okay?”
“I wish it was. My mom was cleaning my room this morning, and she found my journal. Well, to make a long story short, she broke the lock on it and read it.”
“Oh, no, you didn’t write everything in there, did you?” I asked, fearing that she had. My heart was racing faster than a racehorse. It seemed like things were getting worse for my friend, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Yes, I did. It was my personal diary. It contained all the details of, you know. She had no right to break into it, and…”
“What did she say?” I interrupted.
“Well, she’s upset, to put it mildly. But she promised not to tell my father. I’m so happy about that, because he would beat me to death if he ever found out, with his mean self. That’s why Alfred joined the Army as soon as he graduated from high school. He didn’t wait to be drafted. He just went down there and signed up. He said he’d rather fight the Vietnamese than get beaten by my father again. You just don’t know how it is over here, Ree.”
“I’m sorry, Joyce. When is she taking you to the doctor?”
“We’re going in the morning. I just wanted to let you know I probably won’t be in school at all tomorrow. I’m praying that Nurse Stanford is wrong, and it’s only a yeast infection. I’ll never be able to live this down if it gets out in the community th
at I have VD. You know how these people around here feel about that kind of thing. I’ll be labeled a nasty girl for the rest of my life.”
“Yes, I know. And I’m sorry for what I said about only nasty girls getting VD. I know now that it’s not true. You’re one of the cleanest people I know. Your room and house are always spotless. Shoot, I’d eat off your kitchen floor if I had to.”
Joyce chuckled, and said, “Thanks, Ree. I’m glad to know your opinion of me hasn’t changed. You don’t know how much I appreciate having you as a friend. I’ll call you back tomorrow evening. Hopefully, I’ll have some good news for you.”
“All right, Joyce. I’ll say a special prayer for you tonight. Don’t forget to call and let me know what happened. I want to be the next person to know after you and your mom.”
“Okay, I won’t forget to call you,” Joyce responded, hanging up.
Returning the telephone to the receiver, I wondered what I would do in Joyce’s shoes. I shuddered to think about how my own mother would react to the fact that I’d had sex and contracted something like chlamydia. I had overheard my parents talking about another girl, Debra Hopkins, at school who had contracted a venereal disease last year called syphilis that had left her nearly crippled. They said that everyone in the community was looking down on Debra, and she’d brought shame to the entire Hopkins family. Even my pastor, Reverend Jameson, had preached against young people having premarital sex and catching bad diseases. At the time, I didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. Now, I silently prayed that Joyce’s family would not have to go through the same awful experience because of her decision to have sex.
I stepped on the school bus Wednesday morning searching for Joyce’s face. I sat down beside her and instantly knew something wasn’t right. Joyce’s face was swollen, and her eyes were red like she’d been crying all night long. I didn’t know what to think. I turned to Joyce, and asked, “What happened? Why didn’t you call me last night?”
Bell Bottom High: Book 2: Sophomore Sorrows Page 2
