Great Expectations

“Say, I’ve got an idea!” the sophomore exclaimed. Her book bag slung over one shoulder as she stood next to the lockers of her high school. It was between classes and a group of about a half dozen girls was gathered listening to their leader.

“Really?” acknowledged one of her girlfriends.

“Yeah what?” asked another a smile spreading across her face.

“Ok… let’s all make a promise to each other to get pregnant and have our babies together!”

“YEAH! What a great idea!” one said. They began to giggle and bounce up and down at the announcement. Kind of like the excitement they felt when they got those tickets to the Jonas Brother’s concert last month.

“…I’m sure we’ll be friends forever…”

Yeah – me too. Behold: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_re_us/pregnancy_pact_13. Truth is stranger – yadda, yadda, yadda.

These kids have no clue. I do not care how “well reasoned” they believe their pact to be all the possibilities – all the great expectations of their futures are now on serious hold or just gone. Someday these children are going to realize that babies are not puppies or kittens. Someday. Of course by that time their parents will be raising their own grandchildren while the girls in the pregnancy pact will be starting to wonder just where all their friends went. There will still be much to consider for the new moms, after all the junior mid-terms will be coming up, a prom might be in some of their futures and, of course, the Jonas Brothers just might be returning to a concert stage somewhere nearby.

Somewhere a poor fishing community got a little poorer.