Forever...: a novel by Judy Blume Page B

the flu. 17
    Jamie is in love. His name is David and he's in her math class. She says he looks a lot like Michael. They've decided to act as if they hate each other in public so no one will be able to guess the truth and tease them. When I hear that I'm glad I'm not thirteen anymore. He's been calling Jamie every night, tying up the phone for ages, which makes it hard for Michael to get through to me. So my parents have limited both our calls to fifteen minutes each.
    This summer Jamie is going back to camp in New Hampshire. She says she can't wait. It doesn't seem to matter to her that she won't see David for seven weeks, which proves that love at thirteen is nothing like love at eighteen.
    I don't know what I'm going to do about the summer. I've been job hunting, but so far, no luck. Mrs. Handelsman says I shouldn't worry, that something will turn up by June. But it's already the middle of April and I'm worried. So is Michael. He hasn't found anything either and he's counting on a good summer salary to help with next year's expenses at school.
    On Monday morning Erica was waiting outside my homeroom. "I got the job on The Leader ," she said. The Leader
    is Westfield's weekly newspaper. There were at least a hundred kids after that job. "You're really lucky," I told her. "I wish I could find something exciting like that." On Tuesday morning she was waiting for me again. "Sybil's pregnant," she said, shifting her books from one arm to the other. 1 found out last night."
    "Oh no … "
    "And she doesn't know who the father is."
    "Oh God … "

    "And she's too far gone to have an abortion … the baby's due in early July." I counted on my fingers. "That means she got pregnant in October … "
    "Uh huh … and never even missed a day of school."
    "Jesus … why didn't she say anything?"
    "She wanted to have the baby and she knew if her parents found out they'd make her have an abortion."
    "You mean they didn't notice?"
    "She's so fat … you know … she just kept wearing those tents of hers and nothing showed … "
    "Didn't she go to a doctor?"
    "Yeah … but she told him she was married and gave him a phony name and address … "
    "What's she going to do with a baby?"
    "Oh, she knows she can't keep it. She'll put it up for adoption as soon as it's born."
    "Then why have it in the first place?"
    "For the experience, she told me."
    "Will she be able to graduate?"
    "I guess so … nobody knows but my aunt and uncle, my parents and us. And the only reason she told in the first place was they wanted to send her to Duke University for the summer … to this fat people's clinic."
    I shook my head. "I can't believe it."
    "I know … neither can I."
    "I'd have an abortion … wouldn't you?"
    "In a minute … my mother's so worked up about Sybil she made an appointment for me to see her gynecologist … she wants me to take the Pill. I told her, Relax, Mom—I'm still a virgin, but she said she'd feel better if she knew that I was prepared for college, in every way."
    "Are you going to take it?"
    "Sure … I like the idea of being ready for anything … and maybe it'll even help Artie … make him feel more secure."
    The last Thursday in April is Career Day at our school. This year I was hostess to Sharon and my grandmother so I got to eat lunch in the teachers' cafeteria. The food wasn't any better there. Grandma and Sharon hit it off very well, trading anecdotes about their work.
    After lunch there was a special assembly and all the guests gave short talks about their careers. Then the audience split up into groups and visited with the three speakers of their choice. Both Grandma and Sharon were among the most popular and had full classrooms at all three sessions. At the end of the day Mrs. Handelsman couldn't thank me enough. We walked back to her office together. "I've been waiting to hear from you about those extra schools," she said. "What ever happened?"
    "My parents wouldn't give me permission," I answered.
    She touched my