Violetta Craft's Arc

Chapter 10 of 65

Violetta left the panel pinned to the dress form and drove to school on Monday morning. She had missed the last showcase's aftermath by staying home a week. She could not miss another day without falling behind in three classes. Jordie sat in the passenger seat with a coffee for her and a coffee for himself. He asked if she wanted him to walk her in. She said yes. The gym doors were the fastest way to her first period. They cut across the court and the sound of their shoes bounced off the tall windows. A cluster of girls on the bleachers stopped talking when Violetta walked past. One of them laughed. Another said the name of the green dress loud enough to carry. Violetta kept walking. Jordie's hand found hers and stayed there. In the hallway a boy she did not know pointed at her stomach and said something to his friend. A teacher told him to move along. By third period a rumor had reached the back row of her English class that she had dropped out. She raised her hand when the teacher called her name and the room went quiet. She answered the reading question and sat down. At lunch three sophomores she barely knew asked if the rumors were true. She said yes, she was pregnant, yes, it was Jordie's, yes, she was still in school, and no, she was not answering anything else. They nodded and left her alone. She ate half a sandwich and finished a math worksheet. By the last bell she had made it through six classes and one bathroom cry she wiped away before leaving the stall. Jordie met her at the gym doors again. She told him the day was over and she had not quit and she had not thrown up. He said that counted as a win. She drove home and went straight to the sewing room. The panel was still on the form under the lamp. She pulled out the skirt pattern and pinned it to the buttercream before she took off her shoes. Two weeks and five days left. She had proven she could sit through a school day with the whole town watching. The dress still had to be finished by hand.