"What's up, Maddie?" Jonatha looked at his fellow cheerleader. "Something going on?"
"Well, my dad went to work, so I was alone and figured I'd come by your place. That and..." He took a breath. "There is something on my mind, actually. A couple of things."
"What are they? You know I'm always willing to listen," Jonatha replied. "And that goes for almost anybody in the cheer brotherhood."
Maddie smiled a bit in relief, though it didn't offset the gravity of what was on his mind. "Well, uh... You know the party I went to and Shan was there? Shan Jackson?" Jonatha didn't remember, but he nodded his head anyway. "Well, uh... I felt miserable over the weekend. My stomach felt odd, I was nauseous... Anyway, my dad saw me on Sunday morning in the bathroom and he just, he just sank his face into his hands. I knew then that he knew."
"Oh?"
"About me..." He hesitated. "About me being pregnant. I mean, how can a boy say no at a party when the star quarterback finds you cute?" At this moment, Jonatha felt the full impact of Nicole's wish. He could not imagine being pregnant, yet here he was, with a classmate and friend who had been knocked up at a party.
"Maddie, it's not your fault..."
"But everyone says it is. Can that many people be wrong?"
Drawing on his experience from the other world and what he knew of this one, Jonatha tried to guide the scared boy. "They can be, Maddie. Because sometimes they underestimate boys. I was thinking about that TV show Mikelle was telling me about. Have you seen it?"
"A little bit," Maddie replied. "We're a bit too old for it, though I've seen it a couple times while babysitting on the weekends."
"A boy streaming video games... He must get a lot of harassment."
Maddie nodded sadly. "Yeah, it can be tough. That's one of the big things they try and tackle on the show. Some girls just can't contain themselves, can they..."
"I guess not..."
"But, when my dad saw me, he told me something I didn't know. That once upon a time, he was in a similar position. He was the secretary at some financial company, and he worked for a woman who took a liking to him."
"Oh?"
"They had a bit of an affair, and he got pregnant. He couldn't take care of the kid, so he gave him to the mother, and then she married someone else and they had two other kids." Maddie's voice began to waver. "The daddy, on the other hand, found someone and had another son."
"Yes?" Jonatha was thinking about his own dad in this world. The memories of his childhood here came flooding into his mind. He remembered Daddy Rose, a beautiful man who looked so happy with his mom. And then one day, when he was 12, Rose just disappeared from their lives. Lin said he wanted to seek new opportunities in his life. He didn't directly remember that, but the pain of missing him lingered.
"Well, uh..." Maddie nervously looked around and put an arm around Jonatha. "Um... We have the same dad."
Jonatha's jaw dropped.
"Wh—what? How!?" he raised his voice.
"Well..." Maddie sighed. "I only found out two days ago, Jonatha, and it's been tough. I look around this house and I wonder what might have been if I lived here instead of in some small apartment somewhere. But... Jonatha, when were you born?"
"The 25th of June."
"And I was born on August 12th. That's what, I'm not good with numbers..."
"Ten months?"
"Yeah, ten months. Enough time for my dad to have had me then have you..."
"Oh, Maddie... This must be so tough on you..."
"I'm glad to have a half-brother, but... What about Zoe and Mikelle and your mom? And..." Both Maddie and Jonatha began to cry. "And...my baby? I...I can't deal with that now... I don't wanna be like my dad..."
The two embraced each other, holding on for support.
