Aurora

Going to the doctor's office has never been fun for me. I’ve never liked the smell of disinfectant in the air. Somehow, to my dismay, I always find my way back to it. It's already been an hour of me sitting outside waiting for the pregnancy test results. Not mine, my sisters.

 My sister, Cara, could not believe that she could be pregnant at twenty like it has an age limit, so she had the greatest idea! Take pregnancy tests ten different times, at ten different places. Even though the results are the same every time. We all know it. 

Despite the facade she shows my parents, she is not a ‘goody.’ So you can imagine how fazed I was when the doctor called her name after a few minutes to let us know that the test results were again positive. 

"What am I gonna do now?" It looked like she was asking this to herself rather than me. 

"I don't know,” I paused for a moment and added, “don't ask me you won't like it anyway." I shrugged.

"No, tell me, Aurora." She looked at me as if I could solve all her problems.

 I am the younger sister. I’m still in high school. How am I supposed to tell her what to do in such a serious situation? 

"You can always try abortion or something else you know..." I trailed off finding the words bitter in my mouth myself.

For a second she looked like she was about to slap me, then she thought better of it and muttered to herself.

"What did I expect from you anyway?"

What did she expect? 

 She started walking towards the door, dismissing the conversation completely.

I didn't know why she would say that. It's not like she could look after a kid by herself though. It's better to not bring a life which you can't love and look after, rather than bringing one which you will never love. Did she think that the unknown father of the baby would come to her and take up his share of responsibilities? 

No, she alone has to be a parent. Which I don't know if she is capable of. 

I got jerked out from my thoughts from the sound of the door opening. I looked over and saw him. A blonde in his arms laughing at a joke he had previously cracked. They entered the clinic together. I was frozen. I could not take my eyes off the door which they had entered through merely seconds ago. The wave of emotions that hit me then could not be explained in words. 

"Are we going or not?" My sister asked, raising an eyebrow. Sighing I slid into the driver's seat and started the car. Trying to forget what I just saw. 

*******

"Aurora." 

"Aurora." A gentle voice called softly. 

"Wake up!" The voice was so nice and soothing it made me want to sleep some more. 

Wait. Sleep? Wasn't I in a class?

A hand gently shook my shoulder trying to wake me up. I woke up with a start only to find Miss Carter glaring while standing directly in front of me. 

"Miss Evans I will not tolerate this type of behaviour in my class. Next time you decide to take a nap, you are going to get detention." She said sternly. I murmured an apology in return.

Normally sleeping in class would have resulted in detention without any warning. Being her favourite student, she cut me some slack.

Rubbing my left eye, I slowly looked around the class. A few people were looking at me with amusement but most have already started focusing their attention in the class. Just as I was going to turn my head towards the teacher I saw Adam Wilson staring at me. 

So, he was the one who woke me up. There was a hint of a smile on his face. It was my second time seeing him this closely. He was indeed good looking just as the rumours described him to be. I was almost hypnotized by those green eyes of his. I could not turn my head away. I could stare at him forever...I sighed dreamily. 

He smiled in return. My god! He looked like one of those princes from a fairytale with that charming smile of his. Blushing at my thoughts, I turned my attention to Miss Carter. Or at least tried to.

Throughout the whole class, I kept stealing glances at him. I should thank him. Or maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should. I was halfway through making my decision when the class ended and all the students got filled with joy. 

Adam was the first one to leave the class. Just like me, a few others looked at him as he walked towards his friend who was waiting outside. Some looked at him in adoration while a few were awestruck just like me. He does look like he belongs to an entirely different world. 

I could not bring myself to go and thank him for waking me up earlier. Maybe some other time...

The day passed quickly and soon I found myself at home. 

After yesterday, Cara has gone full-on pregnant woman mode from reading magazines to watching shows about pregnancy. I felt a little guilty about what I had said the other day, so I let her order me around like a servant for a while. My father made sure she had everything and was extra attentive to her. My mother, though, was disappointed and she took every opportunity to let Cara know that what she did was wrong.

'It was a mistake.' is what Cara would reply. 

Is that what her kid would be? 'A Mistake?' I found myself wondering sometimes.

The next day, for the first time in my life, I was late for my classes. I overslept this morning after staying up late. Everyone in the house was ‘too busy to wake me up. Fortunately, my calculus teacher is cool with students being late once in a while. He is my favourite teacher for a reason.

The only seat left was beside Adam.

 Wait, I’ve never seen him in this class before, so why is he here? Did he transfer classes or something? 

 He looked effortlessly perfect like always. Rushed with a sudden wave of insecurity, I looked down at my outfit. The short version is that I look like I have just jumped out of the bed half asleep which was what I did. Sitting beside him reluctantly I opened my textbook not even acknowledging him.  

Play it cool Aurora.

"Hey." Adam looked at me with his swoon-worthy smile. 

"Hi." There go all my plans to play it cool. 

"This is my first time attending this class so I forgot to bring the book. Can I share yours?" He whispered sheepishly.

" Sure." That explains why he is here. I am dumb. It was obvious he had changed classes. 

"Thanks." What should I say? No problem? Welcome? 

"Can I borrow a pen? " I realised in a hurry I had forgotten to bring a pen. 

"Yes, here you go," he said, holding out a pen for me. 

"Thank you."

He smiled in return. 

Throughout the class, I kept glancing at him. I just couldn't help myself. There was something mysterious about Adam Wilson which made him much more attractive to me. 

******

When I was small, I used to love the story 'The Sleeping Beauty. My mom used to read it to me every day before I went to bed. She said that I was named after princess Aurora. One day just like her I will find my prince charming.

 Ever since that moment, I became obsessed. I watched the movie, sang the songs, anything involving her I did. I remember thinking I would find my prince if I did everything in the story. That I would have my happy ending just like princess Aurora. 

 I first fell in love when I was fifteen, and thought he would be my prince. How naive I was.  If only I knew that this world was not a fairytale, maybe things would’ve played out differently. Maybe even believe in love a bit. Loving the person who loves you back is rare, but that love lasting forever is rarer. 

So, when my best friend Geena kept on reminding me that I should get myself a boyfriend I did not even listen to her. As if me getting a boyfriend would prove to her that I am over him. I was already a lost cause. Neither will I ever forget about him nor will I ever believe in love.

Taking matters into her hands, she decided that it would be perfect to set me up on a blind date without my consent. 

"Gorgeous," Geena said, appreciating my hair. It does look good. 

"Trust me he will be shocked to see you" she commented again taking pride in her work. 

"Let's hope it's shocking in a positive way." 

"Look how beautiful you look." She frowned. 

"Thank you." I smiled gratefully. I did look good. 

"Let's go, Geena," I said, not a bit interested in going on a blind date. 

"What's the hurry? It's always good to make the guy wait a few minutes on the first date." 

"Let's just get it over with Geena, you owe me two dinners for agreeing to this" I smirked. Tried to. 

She just smiled before saying “don't smirk like that, it's creepy." 

To say the guy was bad would make me a big liar. He was good looking cutely. He was one of those guys who could just make any girl laugh easily. In other times I would have a mini crush on him by now.

"What are your hobbies?" Shane asked.

"I like watching movies," I replied.

"Those chick flicks right?" He said grinning. 

"What's wrong with liking chick flicks?" This caused him to chuckle.

"What are your hobbies then?" I raised an eyebrow. 

"Painting." He said proudly. 

"You paint?" Interesting...

"Yes I-" Before he could finish this, his phone started ringing. 

"I have to take this," he said, getting up from our table without even looking at me twice. 

I sat there alone for a long time playing with my hair which Geena had styled before. Then, he appeared with just a sheepish smile and no apology for making me wait. This is why I hate blind dates. 

"I am sorry to cut our date short but I have to go." He was frowning, "come on, I will drive you home." 

"Okay," I said smiling at him but was mentally cursing at him for making me sit there so long.  

The car ride was filled with awkward silence. I wished I could turn the radio on but that would make it much more awkward. Ugh. 

 The car came to a stop right in front of my house. 

"Thank you" I tried my best to smile at him.

" Would you like to meet again?" He said scratching his neck "I would like to meet you again."

I didn't want to but Geena would throw a fit if I didn't. "Yes, I would like that."

"I will text you later," he said, getting in his car. 

Not even a goodbye. 

Sigh.

               ______________________

Rewritten.