Chapter 4: Alicia's POV
801 Words
I knew it was coming.
The moment I stepped out of that hospital, I knew this wouldn’t stay hidden for long.
Still… I wasn’t ready for how fast it happened.
“Miss Alicia, you’re required in the administrative office immediately.”
The message came through my phone during class. Short. Formal. No explanation.
But I didn’t need one.
My stomach dropped instantly.
They know.
I barely hear the rest of the lecture. My mind is racing, replaying everything that happened at the hospital. The doctor’s face. The nurse. That name.
Maxim Andreas.
I shake my head slightly, trying to push it away.
One problem at a time.
I stand up when the class ends, my legs feeling heavier than usual. The hallway feels longer. Louder. Like everyone is watching me.
Maybe they are.
Or maybe it’s just in my head.
I get to the administrative office and knock.
“Come in.”
I push the door open.
Three people are seated inside.
The principal. A woman from the scholarship board. And another staff member I barely recognize.
My heart starts beating faster.
“Have a seat, Alicia,” the principal says.
I sit.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like if I move too fast, everything will shatter.
There’s a brief silence. Papers shuffle on the desk.
Then the woman from the board looks up at me.
“Is there something you’d like to tell us?” she asks.
My throat goes dry.
“I don’t understand,” I reply.
Her expression doesn’t change.
“You were seen at St. Mary’s Medical Center this morning,” she continues. “Care to explain why?”
My fingers tighten slightly in my lap.
“It was just a routine checkup,” I say.
Not a lie.
Just… not the full truth.
The principal leans forward.
“Then why,” he asks slowly, “are we receiving reports that you are pregnant?”
The word hits the room like a bomb.
My chest tightens.
“I—” I start, then stop.
Because what am I supposed to say?
That I’m a virgin?
That a hospital somehow made me pregnant?
It sounds insane.
Even to me.
“That’s not possible,” I say finally, shaking my head. “There’s been a mistake.”
The woman from the board watches me carefully.
“A mistake?” she repeats.
“Yes,” I say quickly. “I’m not pregnant. I can’t be.”
“Medical reports say otherwise.”
Silence.
Heavy. Suffocating.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I add, my voice rising slightly now. “I didn’t break any rules.”
The principal sighs.
“Alicia,” he says, softer this time, “you’re here on a full scholarship. You understand the conditions attached to that, correct?”
I nod slowly.
Of course I do.
No misconduct.
No criminal activity.
No behavior that could bring disrepute to the institution.
“And one of those conditions,” he continues, “is maintaining a standard of conduct that reflects positively on the program.”
I feel it now.
The shift.
This isn’t a conversation anymore.
It’s judgment.
“I didn’t do anything,” I repeat, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay calm.
The woman from the board leans forward slightly.
“Pregnancy, under these circumstances,” she says, choosing her words carefully, “raises serious concerns about your eligibility to remain in this program.”
My ears ring.
“No…” I whisper.
“You failed to disclose any relationship,” she continues. “You’ve violated the trust placed in you.”
“I didn’t violate anything!” I snap, my control slipping. “I told you, this wasn’t my fault!”
The room goes quiet.
All eyes on me.
Judging.
Measuring.
Deciding.
My chest rises and falls quickly.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I say, quieter now. “I didn’t plan this. I didn’t even know—”
“Regardless of how it happened,” the principal cuts in, “the situation remains the same.”
I feel something break inside me.
“This could lead to a suspension of your scholarship,” he adds.
There it is.
The final blow.
Everything I worked for.
Everything I left home for.
Gone.
Just like that.
I sit there, staring at them, my hands shaking slightly.
No one says anything for a moment.
Because there’s nothing left to say.
They’ve already decided.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to stay upright, to not fall apart right here in front of them.
But inside…
Everything is collapsing.
Because now it’s real.
This isn’t just about the pregnancy anymore.
It’s about my future.
My life.
And as I sit there, surrounded by people who already see me as a problem…
One thing becomes painfully clear.
I might actually lose everything.
- Writer
