SALMA: The Billion-dollar Entanglement

"No no no no." Salma Bonmati cried to herself in the stall of the girl's bathroom as she held a pregnancy test strip showing 2 visible lines.

"My mom is going to kill me." she said.

As she raised a shaky hand to wipe the tears running down her ruby cheeks, a loud bang on the door of the bathroom stall snapped her to reality. She hurriedly shoved the strip into her school bag.

"I know the lavatory in your trailer doesn't flush. But poverty is a disease we don't want to catch from sharing the bathroom with you"

It was Olivia's voice.

Olivia Anderson, the leader of the school's Cheer Squad with a couple of her friends enjoyed their favorite pastime a little too much. And it was to torture the welfare kid.

"Does poverty have a stink, because I can smell her from out here." Olivia said to one of her friends.

"Well that could be because we are in the bathroom"

"Shut up Sharon." Olivia snaps at her friend.

"Please, just leave me alone." Salma cried from the stall.

And there was silence for a while. Then suddenly a hand holding a water bottle reached over the stall wall and emptied the entire content on Salma.

"Aww, maybe next time use perfume so I don't have to bathe you with my sparkling water." Olivia, who is now peeking above the stall wall said mockingly.

Salma sat there quietly until she heard footsteps recede. Her lips quivered a bit but she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and nose. She opened the stall door and walked slowly to the sink, looked at herself in the mirror and tried to adjust her wet hair as best as she could. She waited there for a while until she heard the bell.

It's the First period and Salma was running late for class. She often waited for the halls to empty out a bit before going to class. That was how she could avoid Maximilian Harrington, the school's quarterback and star pupil of Crestwood Ridge High, who took every chance he got to mock her.

All wet and sticky, Salma hurried through the hallways, she couldn't afford to be tardy. Salma was very unlike the rest of the kids at Crestwood Ridge whose parents had deep pockets. Her parents were a dysfunctional pair. Her mother worked as a store clerk and her father had been in-between jobs for as long as she could remember. If he wasn't passed out drunk, he'd be, to her mother, the scary abusive husband she had grown to despise.

Salma walked into the classroom and it fell deathly quiet. Everyone's gaze turned to her.

"Hey look, it's Dollar Store Salma" A voice from the back echoed and the classroom laughed in response.

It was Maximilian Harrington.

"You're so funny, Max." Olivia said.

She leaned in towards Max and rubbed his arm. Her likeness for the star quarterback was made more obvious by the gesture.

"Alright. Quite down" The teacher said.

She looked pitifully at Salma and smiled at her.

"Grab a seat, darling." She added.

Salma went straight to her seat and sat for the class.

When classes were in session, Salma had little worries as she loved to learn. The problem at Crestwood Ridge, for her, came during lunch breaks and free periods where she got picked on by her bullies. But she also looked forward to these free periods, because she got to spend time with her boyfriend in the Library, away from the prying eyes of the school.

The rest of the class was a blur, because Salma battled with a huge dilemma. She was 17 and pregnant. She had to tell her boyfriend. But their relationship was a secret. And also telling him could change a lot. What if he started to hate her?

"Salma."

"Salma."

"Earth to Salma."

The teacher had been calling her. "The class has been over for a while now." she said to Salma.

"I understand if you want to sit here for a bit but I have to prepare the lab for the next class."

"Oh, that's fine Miss Lauren. I have to go to the Library anyway. Some books I have to return" Salma said.

"Glad to see a young woman as interested in books as you are." Miss Lauren replied.

Salma stood up and walked out of the lab. She continued walking past the halls and corridors ignoring jeers and insults until she reached the Library. She walked past the shelves to the history aisle when suddenly, a hand pulled her from behind while covering her eyes.

Salma giggled at the realization that she found whom she was looking for. She pulled off the hand, turned around and kissed her boyfriend so passionately the books could have caught on fire.

She looked up at him, and the face looking back down was Max's. His piercing blue eyes seared through her like a fiery dart.

Max and Salma had been dating the entire school year. And it all started when he was paired with her to write an essay for their history class. Max had needed to go to Salma's house but she chose the Library instead as she wanted her school as far away from the drama at her house as possible.

Since then, the Library has been their spot.

"I'm tired of being mean to you Salma, I am tired of sneaking around" Max said.

"Oh no. We talked about this" Salma replied.

"Yeah" Max sighed.

"I'm sorry" said Salma softly, "But I don't want anyone thinking I'm going out with you for the money or to become popular, I like my little bubble"

"What bubble?" Max asked with an eyebrow raised. "The one that gets you soaked in sparkling water?"

"No, the one that ensures I am not the center of targeted attacks from your crushes" Salma said as she giggled. "You're so funny Max" she added, as she mimicked Olivia's hand rub.

Max managed a smile. "I still don't like how we have to sneak around." He said.

Max pulled her closer and rested her head on his chest, not minding her wet body and messy hair. She was beautiful, and he could see that through the hand-me-downs.

"Max" Salma called. "I need to talk to you about something." Her voice was as soft as the hand on his chest.

"Is everything okay?" Max was visibly concerned.

"Hmmmm, well..." Just as she was about to speak, the bell rang. "Oh, you have to go." She muttered. "I'll wait a little, then follow you."

Max visibly didn't like this. If it were up to him, they'd walk out together holding hands. But that's not how they had stayed a secret the whole time. "I guess I'll see you in biology." He said, feeling defeated.

Salma didn't say a word but she smiled in response. As Max turned around to leave, she felt her heart sink. She needed to tell him. Or maybe she didn't. Perhaps she should just have the pregnancy terminated.

Salma took a few books off the shelf, checked them out, walked out of the library, and back into the halls that she had dreaded so much. As she made her way to her locker, the eyes that stared her down turned their gazes to the entrance as the doors swung loudly open.

"Mum?" Salma gasped. Before she could utter another word her mother was standing in front of her, beaten and bloodied. "Did dad do this to you?"

"We have to leave." Her mother said to her with fear in her eyes as she grabbed Salma by the hand.

Salma resisted being moved. Trying to understand what was going on.

"It's Mike, he is going to kill me and I can't bear the thought of leaving you behind with him. We have to go NOW!" Salma's mum insisted. This time, pulling even harder at her.

Salma understood the problem and hurriedly followed her mother, the last thing anyone wanted was for her father to stumble drunk into Crestwood Ridge causing a scene. They rushed out to the parking lot and got into the vehicle. Salma's mum pulled out rather recklessly and sped off.

"Where are we going mum?" Salma asked? Her question was met by an awkward silence.

"We are leaving town."

Her mum's words pierced her like a knife. Salma turned around, looking back as the school reduced to the size of a pebble from the distance.

Back at Crestwood Ridge, Max sat in Biology class distracted. His attention was fixed on the door waiting for Salma to walk in.