The Unstoppable Zuri

What's Okay and What's Not

I wanted to run, but I was in no position to protest. I sauntered into the principal's office and sat down. All this repeated sitting and standing was driving me nuts today. Could I just be in one position for an hour so I didn't have to maneuver myself in and out of a chair?

    "I don't know what's going on Papa," I said to my dad, who was sitting next to me in his baker's jacket still.

    "It's alright," he said, giving me a warm smile.

    I figured he'd not only be upset that I dragged him out of work during an important project, but now that he was sitting in here instead of quickly dropping me off at home so he could get right back to the bakery.

    "I heard there was an altercation this morning," said Mr. Peterman, folding his hands together on his desk.

I liked him better when he was just a guidance counselor. Sometimes it felt like the whole principal thing was going to his head. None of his fun football memorabilia even moved to this office with him.

"Mr. Peterman, this whole thing is getting blown way out of proportion," I said.

"What? Something happened with Elliot?" my dad asked.

"Look, I don't want to sound like I'm defending him, but he's bipolar, Autistic, and just lost his little brother last year. He's having trouble controlling his emotions right now. It really was a big shock to him that I'm having his baby—"

My dad, without me noticing at first, lifted the sleeve of my crop top, revealing the fingerprint marks from Elliot. He gasped.

"He's very lucky he's not here right now," my dad said, his face turning redder by the second. "I knew I should have waited in the car for a few minutes while you talked to him!"

"Zuri, are you aware that this counts as an assault on another student?" Mr. Peterman asked.

"But I'm the one who made him upset!" I said.

"Zuri, you need to listen to what he's saying. You're pregnant. Eliott could've seriously hurt you!" my dad said.

All I wanted to do was curl myself into a ball and leave this place. I should've just texted him or called him last night to tell him about the baby.

"I checked the cameras. The one right by the gazebo showed me everything I needed to see," Mr. Peterman said. "The next step would be to file a police report."

"Absolutely," my dad said.

"What? No!" I said. "They're not coming here and arresting him. He can't go to jail!"

"Alright. Alright. If you don't want to file a police report, that's your decision, Zuri. But I have to expel him regardless."

I hadn't had any morning sickness yet, but it felt like I was about to. I thought all my Canadian bacon was going to fly out of my stomach and onto Mr. Peterman's very-expensive-looking desk.

"E-expell him? No. Not right before our senior year!" I said.

"It's school policy. My hands are tied. Assault of another student, especially on camera, is an automatic expulsion," Mr. Peterman said.

"But-but where would he even go? None of the private schools around here have special-ed programs...does Hudson Prep?" I asked.

"They'll never take a student that was expelled. Trust me," Mr. Peterman said.

"So where is he gonna go to school? Online? Kathleen works. She can't be there helping him with his work all day!" I said.

"If not there, then Edgewood," said Mr. Peterman.

"Edgewood? The school for the really bad kids? No, no no no! He can't go there! He'll die! He'll legitimately get killed there!" I said.

"He should have thought about that before he shoved you. That little prick," my dad said.

"These are the consequences of his actions. He needs to know what's okay and what isn't. You can't assault another student. Period," said Mr. Peterman.

"So what are you gonna do?" I asked. "He's already really upset today."

"Then he shouldn't have done what he did," said Mr. Peterman. "After you leave, I'm going to call whoever I need to call to come pick him up, then call Officer Truman to escort him to his locker while he grabs his things."

I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Elliot had so much going on right now, and he always had so much trouble regulating his emotions. In one day he was going to find out I was carrying his child and that he was going to be expelled, sentenced to a senior year of misery at Edgewood?

I almost felt like I couldn't live with myself. He was the one who physically hurt me, and could've harmed our tiny baby, yet I was the one who felt like the monster. Everything felt jumbled and nothing made sense.

"Here's what I think. You need to go home, get some rest, and figure out things from here." He typed something up on his computer, then printed it out and handed it to me. "You're granted an extension on any assignments due Monday. Hand this to your teachers when you get back."

"Oh wow. Thanks Mr. Peterman," I said.

"Yes, thank you very much," my dad said.

"Go home, get some rest, and we'll see you back here on Monday," Mr. Peterman said.

He got up and held the door for us when we left. I walked out to the parking lot with my dad and got into his car, looking back at my high school as we pulled out of the parking lot. Elliot thought today was going to be a normal Friday, and now his whole life was about to collapse.

Yes, I understood that it was because of his own actions, but somehow it felt like it was all my fault. If I didn't make him angry, he wouldn't have shoved me and gotten himself expelled. If I didn't get pregnant, he wouldn't have been upset. We would be that normal, happy couple that we were just twenty-four hours ago. How could my whole life turn upside-down so fast?

"I know your appointment is Monday, but I think you should see if the doctor can get you in today."

"What? Papa, I'm fine," I said.

"I think you should call them. Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

I sighed and pulled out my phone, then called the doctor's office.

"Good morning, Doctor Andrews' office," said a lady on the other line.

"Yeah, hi...my name is Zuri Le Fleur and I'm a new patient. I'm uh...confirmed pregnant and was referred...anyway, I have an appointment on Monday for an ultrasound, but I think I may have injured myself today and want to see if I can get in sooner, to make sure my baby's okay."

"Oh absolutely. Does three this afternoon work?"

"Oui. Oui. Tell them that works," my dad whispered.

"Yeah. That's okay."

"Okay Zuri. We'll see you at three today."

"Thank you. Bye," I said, hanging up.

"Good. I'm glad you can go sooner," my dad said.

"Yeah. Me too. At least it'll be one good thing to happen today. I can see my baby sooner," I said.

I put my hand on my flat stomach. I knew my baby wouldn't look like much more than a little blob, but wow, I couldn't wait to see what that tiny little blob looked like.