Cal was doing a few reps on his mother’s home gym. He’d never really had any motivation to work out. The only girl he wanted didn’t care if he was buff or not. But he found that the repetition allowed him to think.

JoAnn was going to keep the child. This meant she was going to show soon and people would notice. No way could she tell everyone it was Mitch’s. She could either make up an imaginary boyfriend from some city school, or she could say it was his. He wouldn’t mind taking the rap for her; it would be just another sacrifice to the pile. But she probably would rather make up a fake boyfriend. He sighed. Would she ever see him as more than a friend?

The phone rang. He thought it might be JoAnn, but then he remembered she was grounded. Probably some salesman, but he picked it up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Is this Cal?”
“Yes.”
“This is Hannah, JoAnn’s Mom. I know she’s supposed to be grounded, but her Father’s out for the evening, and I think she would like you to come over.”
“Uh.. Okay.. sure.”