High School Snippets: Meagan’s Story Part I

Like most high school students, I had extremely high hopes for my senior year.  It seems so unimportant now; high school in general does, really.  Back then it seemed like everything but the adventures that made up those years was of little consequence. 

I was a popular girl in high school, but not in a typical way.  I wasn’t snobby, rude, or cliquish, but I prided myself on knowing almost everyone.  I didn’t have any enemies (except the two unattractive drama kids that sucked face in the hall.  You would have kept your distance too.)

While I flitted around, my two best friends Meagan and Natalie were definitely caught up in the social benefits of the popular clique.  They dated cute boys with nice cars, went to the best parties, were headed for good colleges, and had the envy of kids at school.  Things for them couldn’t have gotten much better.

Meagan, Natalie and I had been close friends since our sophomore year.  Meagan’s parents were well educated college professors that travelled a lot without her.  She was so responsible and independent that they let her run their house while they were gone.  She had an older boyfriend, and because she’d never given them an ounce of grief they trusted her almost without question.

Natalie was an extremely laid back girl with a contagious laugh.  Her parents were divorced, but she was very close to her mom and sister.  She was also very dependable, was a good student, and like Meagan, worked during most of her free time. 

Then there was me.  At the time I was experimenting with newfound freedoms and was what you could call a “wild card”.  My parents had recently divorced, and my mom and I were experiencing the difficulties typical to a mother-daughter relationship.  Besides being a fiercely loyal friend, I was extremely irresponsible and undependable.  No one could ever predict what I’d do next, and I had a reputation for purposely embarrassing my friends in public.

Despite our obvious differences, the three of us girls were practically inseparable.  We each had things that contributed to the friendship:  They both had nice, new cars that I enjoyed driving and riding in.  I had a brown Subaru station wagon named “The Turdmobile” that we made fun of and drove to football games.  They set a good example for me while I did outrageous things that made them laugh.  They were steady and level-headed while I was a crazy mischief-maker.  We were a good team.

Because of our history as friends, and the others’ reputations for being the responsible ones, I was completely unprepared for what happened the beginning of our senior year. 

Meagan’s boyfriend called one afternoon saying that she was hysterical and he needed me to talk to her.  When she got on the phone I could barely understand what she was saying between the crying and heavy breathing.   It sounded like she was on the brink of hyperventilation.  The next words out of her mouth would change the course of my teenaged life.

“Meagan, what happened?   What the heck is going on?”

“Oh my gosh, Nicki.  I’m pregnant.”

TBC