Spanish Banner: Intercambio de Enlaces
Spanish Banner: Intercambio de Enlaces.

School



She arrived in Chicago in the middle of July. She registered for classes at a community college. She recalled hearing a boy from America saying that a community college would cost less, and that a student would have better grades, while learning the same material.
She lied about her age, and her false academic records listed courses she had not taken.
She got a job as a waitress in a bar. It paid good money and it gave her time to read about physics. She was going to be a physics major, and she hadn't taken a course in it -- ever.
Her mother hadn't shown any of her pregnancies until late in the seventh month. She was hoping she could make enough money by then to last until she had given birth.
A customer at the bar told her she should try stage dancing and lap dancing at the "JK" club.
The two jobs paid good money. She studied physics, and ran at night with several other girls who lived in the same apartments. And tried to ignore the sickness that she felt as her body suffered the various hormone changes of pregnancy.
"Society wants you to go to college. You will get an allowance to help you with the expenses of your child. Of course, it won't be enough to cover all the expenses--believe me, no one makes a profit from having a child. They want you to have a larger income later on so that you will pay higher taxes."



"I figure I can make enough money working twenty hours a week. They say that for every hour in class you should study two to three hours outside of class. I will take twelve hours, the minimum to maintain "full-time" status. That will mean thirty-six to forty eight hours. So, I'll be working fifty-six to sixty-eight hours a week."
"The day care has an work-share program to help young mothers. For every hour that you care for five children, you get five hours of care for your child," a friend told her.
"That will help."



She lost her dancing job in October. The manager told her that his clients were paying for an image, and that a pregnant girl would make them think of their wives, and that would be bad for business.
She failed at her objective to receive all A's for her first semester. She almost made an "A" in calculus, but the instructor drew the line above her final score.
She liked her chemistry courses. Robert, a friend who sat by her in chemistry, told her to change her major (her area of emphasis) to "chemistry" if she didn't like physics.
"A snowball will burn in hell without melting before that happens." She told him.



"You shouldn't be working so hard," a customer told her late in December when she brought a tray of drinks to his table. She was about eight months into her pregnancy.
"Exercise is good for a pregnancy, and my son will be born understanding the meaning of hard work!" she smiled.



The patrons of the bar, and the other waitresses gave her a baby shower to provide her with the various necesities. It was a big help, financially, and emotionally, and she cried. And then everyone laughed with her.


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