𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 - 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

fourty-three

She sighed and tried to push it out of her mind when she spotted a stall that she couldn't help but drift towards. Noticing her interest, the woman behind the stall offered her a gentle smile. "Hello, are you interested in mental health nursing?"

"Oh, no, I'm just looking for a friend." She shook her head quickly.

"It's an incredibly rewarding job, you know. Making a difference to people's lives, helping them through their recovery. Don't rule it out. Your friend, I mean." The woman gave her a knowing smile.

"What qualifications do you need?" Mollie asked hesitantly, her fingertips edging slowly towards the pile of leaflets. "For my friend, of course."

"Of course." The woman nodded, before picking up one of the leaflets. "Your friend would need 5 GCSEs above a C, as well as three Bs at A Level. It helps if one of them is a science of some form."

"I could never get that." Mollie muttered without realising, eyes widening. "I mean, my friend-"

"Don't underestimate yourself." The woman shook her head, reaching out her hand and passing the leaflet to Mollie. "Here, at least take this so you can find out a little bit more about it. No harm in looking."

"Right, yeah. Thank you." Mollie smiled, accepting it and looking down at the front cover.

If she was honest with herself, it was the first course that she actually felt a pull towards as she'd seen for herself the way in which her dad's life had changed because of the nurses that had supported him from the moment he was admitted into hospital. Part of her wanted to make that kind of difference to people's lives, to help and support people the way her own family had been supported.

But before she could even begin to open it, she felt a sudden tap on her shoulder and when she turned to see who it was, she was met by one of the members of staff.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Yeah?" Mollie asked cautiously, sensing their serious tone.

"Your friend. She's, uh, had an accident." That was all that the member of staff needed to say before Mollie's eyes widened and she felt herself fill with worry.

She was quickly pointed towards the exit, and shoved the leaflet in her bag before rushing out as quickly as she could. Unaware of what to expect, her fear worsened when she spotted Missy lying on a stretcher that was being wheeled towards an ambulance by.

"There you are, Mol." Nas breathed out a sigh of relief when she spotted the brunette, and tugged her towards Missy before she could ask any questions. "Missy, can you hear me? You've just banged your head and they're gonna take you to hospital for a scan, okay?"

While Mollie let out a relieved breath that the girl wasn't seriously injured, Missy began to sit upwards slightly with a frown on her face. "I don't want a scan. No, stop the car! Get your hands off me!"

"Missy, it's just a scan, it won't hurt." Nas reassured her, but Missy only shook her head.

"No, its not me I'm worried about." Missy insisted, causing Mollie and Nas to exchange a confused look as they were completely unaware of just what was about to come out of their best friend's mouth.

"I'm pregnant."

✰ ✰ ✰

"𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐇𝐄'𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓?" Mollie bit down on her lip nervously as she looked between Nas and Hayley, all three girls waiting in a worried silence while Missy told Aaron about her pregnancy.