7

Inara had barely slept at night due to her fears about the next day. She was about to pin a fake pregnancy on Mr. High and Mighty, the model with hazel eyes, a guy who barely knew her. It was scary and she had no choice but to go through with it.

By morning, she was quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and black T-shirt. Then she pulled her hair back in a ponytail and slipped her legs into a pair of black sneakers.

The colors of her outfit reflected her state of mind, which was beyond melancholy. Hence, physically, she was prepared for the day but inside, she was lost and wished that she could run away. Her sister had come to see her, advised her to be strong and left for the gym.

She had also heard her parents arguing afterwards with her mom saying that they didn’t need to force their daughter into a man’s home if the girl was unwilling to go. Her father was of the opinion that if that daughter was willing to sleep with the said man, then she should be willing to be with him.

Inara had thrown her palms tightly over her ears in order to try and keep out their voices. She could not bear the fact that she was the source of their disagreement.

Her phone rang and it was a video call from Zee. Somehow, she was grateful for the distraction. When she answered it, she was a bit relieved that Zee had gone from looking seventy-eight to late forties.

“Happy birthday.” Zee wished her but Inara was not excited about any birthday wish because of her troubles.

“Thank you. Glad you’re recovering.” she said solemnly.

“Yeah. So what’s up dear? Have you done it?”

“I’ve told my parents that I’m pregnant. They are taking me to confront the res...responsible supposed res...”

“I know what you mean dear.” Zee cut in, relieving her of the awkward sounding explanation.

“This is all your fault, Zee.”

“We’re past that stage, Inny. This is not the time to point fingers.”

There was a bit of discomfited silence.

“So who did you pin it on? What if they run a pregnancy test?”

“My mum ran one last night. She is a non- practicing nurse. It was positive. That is the scariest part. I could hardly sleep last night. Right now, I feel like I have dug my own grave. I guess I have no choice but to fall inside.”

“I am really sorry Inny.”

“It is too late for that.” Inara responded and Zee sighed lamentably.

“So who did you pin it on? Anyone I know?” she asked.

Inara’s heart thundered at the question as she remembered the reality on ground with trepidation.

“Le...Lemuel.” she whispered realizing that she always said his name in a whisper. She did not have the courage to say it well. Zee gasped at the information.

“Gosh, not everyone in your class is your mate, Inny. This isn’t a child’s game. Couldn’t you have picked a lesser target? What were you thinking? Do you know the perfume brand, Men’s Aura?”

Inara had no idea, so her expression was blank.

“Well, you’re going to be accusing its CEO. And for starters, his nick name is bastard

and he revels in it. Even I as crazy as I am would not have picked him.”

Inara’s eyes watered and she had no words to say. She was miserable about everything, including seeing Zee admonishing her and looking more than two decades her age.

She was also heartbroken, knowing that the same fate awaited her if she didn’t jump between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Indeed, she was in serious trouble and had no idea about how to get out of it.

Another thing that saddened her was that, it was her birthday and while her sister had told her happy birthday and her friends had texted her, her parents had not bothered to wish her happy birthday. And the worst thing about it was that she felt like she didn’t deserve any birthday wish from them because of how deeply she had disappointed them.

“Good luck Inny, you will need it.” Zee told her solemnly.

Inara nodded and Zee went offline.

Tears rolled down her face and she quickly wiped them off with the back of her palm and pocketed her phone. Then she heard the horn of her dad’s car outside, which said that her parents were already waiting for her.

Another impatient horn blared from her father’s car and she hurried outside the house to join them, putting herself quietly behind them in the back seat of the car.

“Happy birthday.” they both said. It was forced but it pleased her.

“Thank you dad, thank you mum.”

“Inara, you’re twenty now. And you’ve chosen your path. We didn’t choose it for you but I will only try to do what is right. You simply will not have an illegitimate child in my house. The father of the child must take responsibility.” Her father said conclusively. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes father.”

And with that, her father started the car and zoomed off, taking her to a future that simply was desolate.