At home, I remembered I had an English test tomorrow, so I decided to study for a while. I did that before I went to bed two hours later. The next day, I got up feeling nauseous. I knew it was a morning sickness. I didn't want anything.
"Are you feeling alright this morning?" asked Dad who noticed that.
"I'm feeling nauseous," I replied.
"Do you want to stay home from school in case you get sick?" asked Dad.
"That would be a good idea to do," I answered.
Good thing he did because I was like that all day. Thankfully, I haven't been throwing up, but I didn't want that to happen during school. All I had was water. I kept that down. I was afraid to get sick if I try to eat. Dad didn't mind about that. The nausea went away later on that night, however, I wanted to take it slow by having something light for tonight, so I had soup and water. Somehow, it stayed down- thank goodness.
The next day, at school, I did the work that I missed yesterday. Plus, I missed the English test that I studied for, so I asked her if I could stay after school to make it up and she said I could do that. Science was having a test today, but luckily, we can use our textbook for the test, so we did it. It wasn't too hard. I did it in 15 minutes.
After school, I told Dad that I was staying to make up for the English test from yesterday. That's what I did. That didn't take too long. I finished it within 10 minutes later. I passed it in to the teacher.
"Thank you," said the teacher.
"No problem. See you Monday," I said.
Then, I went to my locker and went home.
At home, I did my homework to be all done for the weekend. Dad's vacation ends tonight, so I'm planning to spend the weekend with Mom. Samuel can't leave the house to be with me anyway. I learned he got into a fight yesterday while I was out. He was suspended for two days and can go back to school on Monday. Mrs. Jackson grounded Samuel, so no leaving the house- that includes dates, no phone, and no TV. I told Dad I'd be spending the weekend with Mom. Stephanie is going to be with me. She plans to visit her father every other weekend beginning next weekend.
"You can be with me and my mother on the weekends when you're here," I said.
"I like that idea," said Stephanie.
"I haven't seen my room yet," I said. "I'm sure Mom would show me when I get there."
"Yeah," said Stephanie.
I already packed an overnight bag for the weekend when we left for Mom's.
"At least we get to finish My Cousin Vinny," said Stephanie.
"That's true," I agreed.
When we got there, Mom said, "Let me show you to your room."
She did. It was nice. It has twin beds, which is perfect for Stephanie when she's here with me.
"This is where you'll be staying when you're here. You can either leave it the way it is or design the way you want," said Mom.
"Really? I can get to do that?" I asked, excitedly. "Stephanie and I can come up ideas together."
"We can go out for dinner and we can finish the rest of My Cousin Vinny," said Mom.
"Sounds good," I said.
Then, we went out to eat for supper at Cheesecake Factory, which was good. After that, we decided to walk around the wall to look for good ideas to decorate my room when I'm ready to do so.
"So, uh, how's your Grandma Pat?" asked Mom.
"She passed on when I was 12. It's a long story. Dad was working from 3:00 to 11:00 pm at that time. I found her not responding while she was napping. I thought she forgot to cook me dinner. When I noticed she wasn't breathing, I called 911 and Dad right away, who was very proud of me to handle that emergency. I cried my eyes when I found out she was dead. The cause was a cardiac arrest. I didn't attend any funeral services," I explained. "Ever since then, he decided to trust me to stay home alone as a reward. He changed his shift to work for 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. She lived with us while Dad worked the second shift. I didn't mind. She and I would everything together. She would take me out for dinner and a movie. She used to take me the beach. She would also let me invite my two best friends including Stephanie. I miss those days."
"It's good that you did the smart thing," said Mom. "I remember I did the same thing when I was your age except I saved a life. I was at school when I noticed a teacher was choking at lunch, so I knew what to do and did a hemlock. She was fine after that. She thanked me to take actions in a flash. I earned a reward for being a hero by the principal later on that day."
"Wow," I said.
"I was proud of myself," said Mom.
"I believe it," I agreed.
"That was about a year before your father and I met," said Mom.
I didn't even tell her on how Dad treated me. I was afraid to be in the middle and may get blamed although I would tell her that he lightening up when I told him about my feelings on boys when I first met Samuel. Stephanie didn't blame me when I told her that earlier. I was also worried that could destroy my relationship with my father since we're closer- we were always close while he was strict.
Later, at home, we changed into our nightgowns and finished watching the rest of the movie while we had popcorn. Mom remembered which chapter we were on. I felt nauseous after that. I had watch to make that feeling go away. It lasted five to ten minutes. We didn't go to bed until 11:30 pm. Stephanie and I whispered in bed. We both decided to wait a bit before we start designing the room.
"I think Mom won't mind if we want to for a bit longer," I said in a low voice as Stephanie agreed.
The next day, I told Mom that I decided to wait for a bit to design the bedroom and she was fine with that.
"You're welcome to do so anytime when you visit," said Mom.
"I would like to think of ideas before we start. I might bring half of my clothes here and leave the rest at Dad's. That way I won't have to pack for overnighters," I said.
"Or we can buy new clothes if you like. I'll let you decide to pick any styles. I'll help you if you wish," said Mom.
"Either way works for me," I said. "Dad won't blame me for bringing some of my clothes here and keep the rest at his house."
That afternoon, we went to Wal-Mart. I got myself a few new clothes; three shirts, two pair of jeans, two packs of underwear, a few bras, nightgowns, and pjs with Mom's help to keep them at her house. I find it so much easier to do so than bringing any of that there when I spend nights with her. Stephanie also pitched in. She loves fashion and wants to be a fashion designer.
Later, we had lunch. Then, at Mom's, I put all of my new clothes.
"This is a perfect way to start," said Stephanie, who was helping me.
"I know," I agreed.
On Sunday, Dad picked me and Stephanie up after he napped since he worked last night. We went out for lunch.
"I got some new clothes at Wal-Mart yesterday so that they can be at Mom's instead of packing for overnighters. Also, I might bring half of my clothes to Mom's and leave the rest at our house. I have two suitcases, so I'll bring one to Mom's in case she decided to invite me to go on any trips with her," I said.
"That's a good idea," said Dad. "I don't mind you doing that."
"I told Mom that I wanted to wait for now before I do my room I'll be staying while I'm there to give me more time to come up with great ideas to design it," I said.
"That's fine. I don't blame you," said Dad.
"I'm still debating to try to talk to Eliza again. I'm not sure how I should deal with her," I said. "Do you have any advice for that?"
"Be firm and make her listen," replied Dad.
"I'll think of a way to talk to her. I could tell her on how I felt by her remarks," I said.
"That's another good way to deal with her," said Dad.
"I'll give that a try tomorrow at school," I said. "I'm worried she might not listen."
I'm not good at confronting anyone, but I feel better when I go to Dad and he gives me advice, which works every time.
"I told her if she doesn't apologize to me before my birthday, I will not let her join," I said.
"Good idea," said Dad.
The next day, at school, I had the test back the day I made up for and I passed it with an A+. I'm glad I'm giving the baby up so I can keep my grades up. I'm always get good grades. I don't want them to go down if I miss too much school. I told Samuel and Stephanie the advice Dad gave me to deal with Eliza..
"I'll talk to her when I'm ready to do so," I said.
After lunch, Eliza came to me by my surprise and told me she thought about what I told her.
"You upset me with your remarks. Wouldn't you want me to support? You would've been hurt if that was me giving you remarks if you were in my shoes," I said.
"I suppose you're right. I'm very sorry to upset you," said Eliza.
"Just think about how difficult it would be to raise a child in a two-bedroom house. Plus, school is number one priority to me. I'm a honor roll student and I don't want to fall behind if I ended up missing too much school. I could be forced to repeat a grade. I don't plan on dropping out of school anytime soon. That's what I've been trying to tell you," I said.
"True. Do you forgive me?" asked Eliza.
"Only if you promise not to do that again. I counted you to be supportive on my choice," I said.
"I promise," said Eliza.
That was when we hugged.
"When are you meeting the couple?" asked Eliza.
"Today," I replied.
At home, I called Aunt Betty about my chat with Eliza and was glad that my cousin finally apologized. I also told Aunt Betty that I made Eliza promise not to make any more remarks when she asked me to forgive her. After that, I did homework. Dad had a meeting and was off today. We have plans to go out for supper after he gets out in five minutes. That would be after I meet the couple. I was done by the time he came for me and I went out in a happy mood.
"Hi, Dad," I said as I got in the car.
"Hi, pumpkin," said Dad. "Were you able to talk to Eliza today?"
"Yes. In fact, she came to me after lunch," I said as I explained it to him. "When she asked me to forgive her, I made her promise to be supportive for now on."
"Good idea," agreed Dad.
"I know. I already called Aunt Betty to tell her," I said. "She was glad. I'm happy that's over now. She should've thought about it before."
"I agree with you," said Dad.
Then, we went off to the adoption center. Dad waited for me in the waiting room while I was with the Turners. The meeting with them went well. The little girl's name is Jessica. The couple are real nice.
"I can relate to that profile when I read that. My mother did the same thing that Jessica's father when I was four," I said. "Only we just reconnected. I came from California and I never knew she was here all these years."
They told me Jessica will be delighted to be the big sister. After I met them, I knew they were the perfect match for my baby. I felt better knowing my child will be in a loving home. Dad liked them, too.
After that was done, we left. We decided to go eat at Dave and Buster's for a change. After that, we went to the store for a few things before we went back home. At home, we put the stuff away. I thought about what I'd do to design my room at Mom's. Dad gave me great ideas to do that when I told him what I'd do. I'll just keep the painting, but I'll add a few posters and perhaps paint some flowers on the wallpaper. Yellow is my favorite color, so I'm not changing the wallpaper. I like roses, turnips, and daisies. I'll put three flowers on each wall or do a pattern. When I told Stephanie about it, she liked them.
"I'm going to visit Dad this weekend," said Stephanie. "Mom said I can bring you with me. Do you want to come along? We can surprise our girlfriends."
"Sure. Let me check with my father," I said.
I did and it was fine with him.
"Sweet. Don't tell the girls we're going to be in California," said Stephanie. "If you do, I'll put duct tape on your lips until your birthday."
I laughed at that joke and said, "Okay. My lips are sealed."
"I'll inform my dad I had permission to bring you with me. He won't mind. I'm sure he misses not seeing you," said Stephanie.
"I'll let my mom know ahead of time I won't be around to spend the weekend with her," I said.
"Good idea," said Stephanie.
"I'll call her when we're done talking," I said.
"That's a better idea," said Stephanie. "Oh, how did it go with the couple that you picked?"
"Very good," I said. "I knew they would be the ones right away."
"Good," said Stephanie.
After we finished talking, I called Mom and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I won't be around this weekend to be with you. Stephanie invited me to be with her in California. She's visiting her father. Dad already gave me permission."
"That's fine," said Mom.
"However, Dad has a double shift tomorrow from 3:00 pm to 7:00 the day after tomorrow morning. I'll go over to have dinner with you," I said.
"Would you like to spend the night with me and I'll take you to school?" asked Mom.
"Sure. I don't mind doing that," I said.
After that, I told Dad what I'd be doing tomorrow night and added Mom offered to bring me to school the day after tomorrow and said, "I figured it would be easier since I'll be in California with Stephanie for the whole weekend."
"That's true," agreed Dad.
I went to bed an hour later.