"Boys and Girls, this is Mystique Hanson, and she's going to be joining our class for the rest of the year."
"Not necessarily, Mrs. Brown." The older woman looked down at the little girl.
"What do you mean, Mystique?"
"I probably won't be in this class for the full semester. As soon as I complete the work, I should be starting seventh grade work. And trust me, I can't wait to start high school." Mrs. Brown couldn't believe how well-spoken the young girl was.
"How old are you, Mystique?"
"Seven." The woman was flabbergasted. Mystique had to sit in the front row to ensure that she could see the blackboard, and then they began class.
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Carmen looked in the mirror. Since Christmas, she had dropped another size. She and Esme were inseparable again, except when Esme was cheerleading, or when Carmen was working on Carmen's Corner.
"Looking good, Carm!" Esme said as she walked into the room. "You've lost so much weight, we're going to be the same size pretty soon."
"I know, I'm only about two sizes above you, if even that. I'm now the size you were at Homecoming." Carmen was happy, but it still wasn't enough.
"Just remember, Carm, you an never be too rich,"
"Or too thin." Carmen continued. "I know, Es, and we are going to be so pretty sometime. Like they say, you can't control life, so you might as well control what you can. After school snack?" Carmen asked her twin, pulling a pack of sugar-free gum out of her pocket.
"Sure." They both popped a stick in their mouth, shared a high five, and then sat down at their desks to do their homework.
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Mindy and Duke were sitting on Mindy's bed.
"Um, Duke?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, I don't know exactly how to say this, but, well, my period's late. I think I might be pregnant."
Duke's eyes became the size of saucers, but then he started to calm down.
"Okay, so you might be pregnant. Everything's going to be okay. If you are, I'll be there for you, I promise."
"Duke, you don't understand. If my parents find out that I've had sex they'll force me to get married. We go to this weird church, and they believe that sex equals marriage, and this if you sleep with more than one person your whole entire life, than you'll go straight to Hell!" Mindy was starting to panic now, it was obvious in her voice.
"Mindy, baby, calm down. I mean, come on, would it really be so bad being married to me?" He batted his eyes and smiled.
"Well, I guess not. But still, we have to buy a pregnancy test. I can't be seen buying one, but you can. If anyone asks, you can say it's for your mom!" Duke looked hesitant, but after a kiss from Mindy, he agreed.
"Okay, I'll buy one today, and you can come to my house after school tomorrow and do it then."
"Okay. I love you, baby."
"Ditto, hon."
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On his way home, Duke stopped at the pharmacy just like he promised Mindy he would. But as he was paying for the test, the druggist, who apparently was a friend of his mum's, recognized him.
"Hey, you're one of Babsie's kids, aren't you?"
"Um . . . yeah."
"So, who's the test for?"
"Oh, that. It's, um, it's for my mum."
"Heh, I'm not surprised."
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The next day, Babsie went to throw away a sanitary napkin in the bathroom trash when she say a home pregnancy test kit in the trash bin. She pulled out the test, and her eyes went wide when she read it was positive. She decided the best way to find out who it was, was to ask.
"Hey, Lori, I don't mean to pry, but are you pregnant?"
"What? No way. Why do you ask?" Babsie showed her the test. Then she went and asked Natalie, but it wasn't her either. Finally, she decided to tell Ike.
"Isaac, honey? I think we need to get all of the older kids together for an interrogation. I found this in the rubbish bin, and it's not Lori's, Natalie's or mine. One of our kids has had sex."
"What?!" Isaac exploded.
"Ike, honey, calm down. We need to do this calmly and rationally."
"Okay, I'll go get the boys, you go get the girls."
In about five minutes or so, Babsie and Ike had collected Carmen, Esme, Duke, and Cosmo in the girls' bedroom. Babsie spoke first.
"Okay, so I know that you guys want to know what's up, but so do I. I found this in the bathroom rubbish today, and I already know that it isn't Natalie's or Lori's, so it must be one of yours'. Nobody's leaving the room until somebody 'fesses up."