Fingerprints ( #1 BOOK IN THE SERIES )

March (Part One)

"What's happening here ladies?" asks Mr Reynolds and he then grabs one of the many printed out sheets of paper.

I watch as his face goes from confusion and then into anger as he reads the paper, realising what it is. "Skye, straight to the headmasters office please. I'll be up in a moment to explain what you have done. Kristen, stay there a moment." He tells us both and Skye then leaves the classroom. "Everyone else back to work! Are you alright Kristen?"

"No, I want to kill her and I don't think that is uncalled for." I tell him honestly.

"Well you're not going to kill her because murder won't solve anything. However I will make sure she is severely punished by the headmaster. She has not only invaded the privacy of a student but also a teacher along with lying to me about what she was going to do." I reply by nodding. The only good thing to come out of all this will be seeing Skye get punished.

The weekend finally rolls around, meaning I don't have to go to school and see everyone. The stares have become even more intense as people know for certain now that I am pregnant. It didn't take long for Skye to spread that around the school. I try and push that out of my mind for now as I have another scan today. I just need to focus on my baby being healthy, that is my main priority.

Like before, my mum drives Cory and I down to the hospital and we sign in. The receptionist gives me the same look as before and the waiting is the same judgemental stares. No matter where I go, I always get those stares. Thankfully Jennifer calls our name rather quickly and I make my way into her room.

"Hello again Kristen. How have you been feeling?" she asks me as I walk into the room.

"Alright, I'm just getting more tired really." I tell her.

"Well that's to be expected. Right according to your notes you are now 19 weeks pregnant." She murmurs out loud to herself. "I'm going to do the same as before and place this gel on your belly. It will be quite cold, just be aware." And so she places the gel on my belly and I have to be careful not to jump from where I am laid because of how cold it is.

Jennifer starts moving the transducer around until she gets a good image of the baby on the screen. It startles me slightly how much the baby actually looks like a baby at this stage.

"Would you like to know what you're having?" Jennifer asks me.

I had completely forgotten that I would be able to find out the gender of my baby today and in all honesty, it wasn't something I had thought much about.

"No, I don't think I want to find out what I'm having. If that's alright with you?" I look up at Cory and ask.

"Yeah that is fine by me. We get to keep it as a surprise." He says while holding my hand.

"That's fine, a surprise it will be then. Have you thought about going to any birthing classes and thinking about the supplies you will need for the baby?" Jennifer asks us.

In my head I still have plenty of time to think about things like that but now that she has mentioned it, it seems like I'll have less time than I thought.

"No not yet. But we will. I'll start by making a list of things we will need. Are there any brands of anything you recommend?" I ask, realising I don't have the faintest idea what I should start buying and what is the best.

"I'll make you a list later on and send it home with you if you want?" she tells us and I thank her. "Has the baby started kicking yet?" she then moves on and asks me.

"Not yet. Is that normal?" I think about the worst case scenarios of why the baby hasn't kicked yet.

"If I were you, I wouldn't begin to worry yet. It is your first pregnancy so the baby doesn't usually start kicking until around 21 weeks. It will feel more like fluttering at first but soon enough you won't be able to mistake the kicking for anything else." She informs me and I begin to start feeling better.

Not long after that and the scan is over. Everything is perfectly healthy for both me and the baby. Only around another twenty weeks or so of this and then a child for life. The thought does scare me a bit.

We decide to start buying and looking for things tomorrow as it is better to start sooner rather than later. I still don't believe that this is happening though, that there is a baby growing inside of me. The thought seems unreal. I don't understand how Cory has remained so calm throughout all of this so far. Maybe like me, he is panicking more inside his head. Either way, he is the one who has helped me be strong enough to go through this, even if I am only halfway through the pregnancy.

Tonight is a night where it is just going to be the two of us. My mum has gone on another date with the guy she went out with on Valentine's Day. Since being with my dad, this is the most serious relationship she has been in. Anyway, this means me and Cory will have the house to ourselves most of the night, not that we are going to be using it to our advantage, I'm still not ready for that. Instead we are going to watch a couple of films and just relax, something I am unable to do after the school finding out about me and the constant pressure of exams.

"How are you doing sleepy?" Cory asks me while stroking my hair. I must have dozed off a little at some point because I wake up realising I am laid across him.

"I'm alright." I manage to say while yawning. "I just wish life is easier than what it is. It's been one week of people knowing about the pregnancy and I don't really know how to cope at times. I'll get through it though." I tell him.

"I know. It must be hard for you. It's ridiculous the amount awful things people say to you but then completely ignore me." He says while stroking my hair still.

"I know. Sexist double standards." I say through another yawn. "Anyway, I'm going to bed now. I'm so tired." And I make my way upstairs.

At some point, later in the night, Cory must have joined me. I'm only aware of this because I wake up and then struggle getting back up again. For what seems like hours, I am tossing and turning in my bed until eventually deciding I'm probably going to be better downstairs. I grab a spare blanket from one of my cupboards and make my way downstairs.

I am able to get another couple of hours of sleep until I am disrupted from noises coming from upstairs.

"You better leave now before you're caught. I'll miss you though." I hear my mum say to someone which I can only imagine is her date.

"I'm going even though it's hard to leave you too." The other voice says which makes me freeze where I am laid.

It can't be who I think it is, if so I can't believe my mother would do something like this to me. "Are you sure that Kristen and Cory won't see me at all?" I hear Reynolds say to my mum. Mr Reynolds, my performing arts teacher.

"No, at this time of night they'll both be fast asleep upstairs. You'll be fine Chris." She says to him.

Luckily for both of them, they don't have to walk through the living room to reach the front door, meaning they won't realise I now know everything. I stay where I am until I hear the front door close and my mum head back upstairs.

I feel so sick in my stomach and I know it hasnothing to do with morning sickness. Instead it is to do with how I'll have tolook at my mum tomorrow and pretend I don't know anything because I can't possiblybring it up right now. It has to do with when I go back to school, I'll have topretend to be as happy as I can be even though people are calling me names forbeing pregnant and one of my teachers is dating my mother. It is to do with mylife spiralling out of my control and that there is nothing I can do gain thatcontrol again. I honestly don't know what to do anymore