"Selou, she's pregnant!"

…

…

…

...

Al'ravee was completely utterly flabbergasted, in fact, that was an understatement.

"Wait... Sorry, I didn't hear you clearly, come again.." Al'ravee responded slowly. He sat up properly so that he could hear what Ivan had to say.

Ivan sighed when he heard Al'ravee. "I said... Selou is pregnant. Ravee, she is pregnant."

Al'ravee stood on his bed in shock. "I'm not in the mood for jokes Ivan". He said in disbelief.

"I wish it was a joke, *sigh* but it isn't."

If possible, Al'ravee's jaws would be touching the ground. He just stood there for more than two minutes.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Ivan said after some time, no longer able to handle the silence.

Al'ravee was still stunned. "W-what do you want me to say," he said absentmindedly. Right now, a lot of things are going through his mind.

'Wait wait wait wait wait.... that's not right....how is this possible....it doesn't even make any sense at all. How!...the fuck is this possible...I mean how did it even happen... She's just seventeen...No seventeen-year-olds can get pregnant, I know that...But how EXACTLY did it happen..... Wait...Ivan? No no no no no...It can't be true.. right? right?.'

"Hello...Hello, Ravee, are you still there" The faint voice of Ivan coming from the mobile device was the only thing that filled Al'ravee's room.

Al'ravee brought the phone back to his ear. "How did this happen, Ivan?". This time, he seemed to be calm but that was because he just didn't know how to react to such news.

"Let's talk tomorrow," Ivan said.

Al'ravee once again had to control himself from shouting. "What do you mean tomorrow, you can't be serious right....." Al'ravee was saying.

"I gotta go, my mum's here.." Ivan said before cutting the call.

Al'ravee slowly sat down on his bed, deep within, he wanted to believe this was some sort of joke. Once he remembered Selou's parent's strange behavior today at the ceremony, everything clicked.

Despite being tired because of today's activities, he was no longer able to sleep. Selou's face kept on appearing in his head. The fact that his close school friend was now harboring a life inside her was indeed stunning.

Since there was nothing to do, he went downstairs to get a night snack and sat down on the couch to think. He sat there for two-plus hours doing nothing but thinking.

"Nah, he's just playing a prank." That was the last thing he said to himself before dozing off on the couch.

…

*Early the next morning*

Al'ravee and Murry walked side by side on a long street that led to Ivan's house. They had met on the way here but hadn't said anything to each other other than greetings, they just walked.

They arrived at a yellow-painted house where they saw Ivan seated on a bench by the porch.

Ivan didn't greet them and neither did they to him. Murry walked towards his right and sat next to him while Al'ravee sat on his left-hand side.

They sat like that for a few minutes, watching the sunrise from the horizon in between two houses opposite them.

Murry finally broke the silence. "So...You were for real huh?." Murry asked, Ivan just nodded his head.

"So, you actually did what I think you did," Murry asked, this time looking straight at Ivan.

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Ivan nodded a second time.

"And it never crossed your mind to use protection?" Ivan shook his head.

"Your parents...do they know," Murry asked. Once again, Ivan nodded.

…

"So... What's going to happen now, what's your next step? Have your parents decided on what to do? Tell us. " Murry said.

Ivan sighed. It was just a few minutes of pleasure, but he was about to dance to the music because of it.

"Yesterday, during the ceremony, Selou and her parents explained everything to me. Her father was mostly mad and her mother was just worried about her future. They told my mom and dad after we went home. My dad's already on his way back from his trip, my mom has refused to speak to me. Selou had no clue what to do about it, her mom had simply taken her for a test after noticing some symptoms, they didn't think it was pregnancy.

Her brother says that he'll kill me if he ever sets his eyes on me. Her father hates me with all his guts, the only thing stopping him from making a move against me is the law. Selou's mother wants Selou to come to live with us and my parents can't exactly refuse such a request. As for what we're going to do now, honestly, I have ....no idea. I mean, we had a plan together."

At this point, tears welled up in Ivan's eyes.

"We were supposed to graduate and go to a nice university, I would become an architect while she becomes a doctor. We'll own a supermarket, just in case society fails us. We would have three children irrespective of gender. We would work hard to get our own house and save a lot of money for our kids' education. We would grow old together and watch them get married and have their own children...." Ivan said. Hearing this, Murry shook his head.

Ivan's eyes suddenly lit up as he had an idea. "Murry... Al'ravee.....I'm sorry, I want you to help me convince Selou to abort the...."

*BAM*

Ivan wasn't able to complete his last sentence as Murry sent his fist flying toward his face. He fell off the bench as blood trickled down his jaw.

Al'ravee stood up and just watched. A part of him wanted to not believe it, but seeing the way Ivan was behaving and all the words he just heard, it was probably true.

At the back of his mind, he considered abortion an option he wanted to give Ivan, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. At least not without hearing from the other party.

Murry was furious, he listened calmly to Ivan because that was all he could do at this point. But after hearing the last part, he could no longer hold it in.

"You fool! Idiot! How fucking naive can you be?... A plan? how could you be so stupid? A fucking fantasy. And what's worse is that instead of working it out, you ruined it with just a moment of pleasure. Now!, instead of doing the right thing, you are asking us to aid you in running away from your responsibility. I never expected this from you, Ivan, never, not once." Murry shouted in anger.

Ivan stood up from the ground. He wiped the blood from his lips and looked down at the ground. He was ashamed, he was thoroughly ashamed of what he did.

'I should have pulled out.'

No one was supposed to even find out that they did it. Ivan cried as he could not hold back his tears. It was unclear whether he was crying from shame or the pain of Murry's punch.

"WHAT? tell me. What do you want me to do? Why don't you fucking tell me?. Do you know how much pressure I'm currently facing? The caretaking, the medical fees, the bills, I don't even have a job. Do you just expect me to magically provide for their need?" Ivan shouted back at Murry feeling frustrated about his current situation. After all, he was watching his life crumble before his eyes

Murry shook his head at Ivan and said. "You should have thought of that before you did it."

Deep down, Murray knew he was a hypocrite because even he had had sex before. He was just lucky it didn't escalate beyond that.

Ivan had no words to say to defend himself, even if he did, he didn't have the face to say anything. They were in a modern era where impregnating someone at the age of seventeen on both sides wasn't exactly a crime, but it was definitely a taboo.

From now on, everyone in the community would look at him with strange gazes, there was simply no way to hide the news. If only he was a bit older.

After some time, Murry walked away. Al'ravee just looked at Ivan who stood there. He wanted to tell him that all would be fine but he knew it wouldn't. Al'ravee too left, from the time he came till the time he left, he had not said anything.

...

Al'ravee and Murry walked away.

Were they sad? no. Were they happy about it? of course not. But...

"You can laugh you know, I won't hold it against you," Murry said with a straight face.

Al'ravee turned to his friend and asked. "What do you mean?"

Murry still faced forward and continued. "From what I know, people tend to make fun of others' misfortune..."

Al'ravee stared at Murry like he was looking at an idiot. "Why would I laugh in such a situation, plus, Ivan is our friend." He turned his head to face the road.

"... Especially when it's a friend," Murry added with a mischievous smile.

After a brief moment of silence.

*Hm hm hm, pfft hehehe haha hehe hehe hahahahaha HAHAHAHAHA!." Al'ravee suddenly started laughing.

Murry too could not help but also laugh out loud. "Hahaha did..haha see the look... Hahahaha in his face hahaha when he found out that hahaha he was going to become a father haha haha!"

Al'ravee tried to stop himself from laughing when he remembered Ivan's expression which made him look like someone being given a death sentence. "Hahahaha, but let's be serious. Selou is also a part of this."

Hearing this, Murry reduced his laughter to a gentle smile. He said. " I spoke to Selou before coming to meet Ivan, she wants to keep the pregnancy..."

Al'ravee nodded his head, now he knew why he reacted like that earlier. "Ivan might do something stupid.?"

Murry frowned. "I know...*sigh*, I'll be going for my college entrance exam next month, before then, I'll visit them often. You could also visit them if you want if you don't find it cringe that is..."

Al'ravee and Murry walked home as the morning sun cast two long shadows upon the street.