Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 4 of 70

By eight o'clock Lymber stood in the gym under a ceiling strung with paper leaves. The gold gown fit if she did not breathe deep. Her hair was set the way the salon promised. Her mother Polly watched from the bleachers with both hands in her lap. The principal took the microphone and read the court, then held up the envelope. Lymber pressed a palm flat to her stomach without meaning to. She heard her name. The crowd clapped and someone in the back whistled. She walked up the three steps and let the sash go over her shoulder and the crown settle into her hair. She thanked the principal. She looked at the microphone and did not step away from it. She reached into the small beaded bag at her wrist and pulled out the test strip. The control line was still bright green. The second line was still pink. She held it up so the front row could see. She said she was pregnant, and she said it into the microphone so the speakers carried it to the back wall. The gym went quiet in one beat. Someone laughed once and stopped. In the bleachers her mother stood up fast. Polly's face was the same white it had gone in the kitchen that morning, then the same red. She started down the steps toward the floor. Lymber did not move. She kept the strip up until the phones came out and the flashes started. The queen bee near the punch table had her mouth open. The principal reached for the microphone and Lymber let him have it. She stepped off the platform with the crown still on. Her mother met her at the bottom step, took her elbow hard, and walked her toward the side door without a word. The crown stayed on her head. The strip stayed in her hand. Whatever came Sunday had started tonight.