I was amused by science. This was a subject I couldn't handle without Millicent's aid. She explained how atoms mate with other atoms to make molecules; how later those molecules make love to other molecules to make compounds; how those compounds could be dangerous if not well-tethered.
Geometry: the lousy theorems and the perpendiculars… those vertical erections which bisect horizontal crazes …
I studied until my mind chirped with lessons. I knew, but I didn't admit to Millicent that I was fighting the formidable. Just messing with time. I wasn't the type to succeed through forced lessons. Although the tutor encouraged me with fake correct marks, I rarely got the minimum pass marks. After four months of day and night studies, I gave up, but kept fooling Millicent that I was still pushing on. Then the worst happened. Millicent was pregnant.
She disclosed the news to me during one of our night meetings. I wasn't surprised, but I cared.
'How old is it?' I asked in a startled note.
'Three months,' she said 'I could have told you before, but I was scared and I wasn't sure'
Silence befell us. Was I worried!
'What do we do now ?'
'I don't know.' She didn't sound as frightened as I
I did some quick thinking. Something had to be done fast. This was a critical turning point in my life. It was tantamount to a disaster.
Abortion? I thought. I didn't know how abortions were administered, but I knew they were as dangerous as snake's venom. That was out.
'I -will-marry-you' talk was out of the question. That she knew as well as I did. There was only one way out; get out of the place before her parents got to know what was going on. But I couldn't imagine life without Millicent around. Despite complications of the situation, I had developed a strong love for her. She had given me a sense of pride. She had made me believe I was a man. She had destroyed the powerful barrier between me and her. She had ignored her merit for my sake. While nobody else had ever cared about my future, she had cared…Oh God, why did we ever start this!
'Millicent,' I said 'if your parents come to know this, I will be in trouble. As I look at it, there is no way out except for me to get out of this place at first available chance.'
'How dare you?' She protested. 'Can you possibly walk out on me and leave me to face my parents alone?'
'But what can I do?' l argued 'My presence will only worsen things. Your father will not let me get away with it. He might even have me jailed.'
She became numb because she saw sense in my appeals. She seemed to think parallel to me, but still she was impulsive.