Part Four: Family Politics
It’s 6:30 a.m. and Ashley is put the finish touch on her poster that says chosen Ashley Kerwin for school president as she waits for Toby to finish up in the bathroom. She stands up then walks down the hallway and knocks on the bathroom door.

Ashley: Toby’s hurry up in there, you are not the only one that needs to get ready for school.
Toby: Ashley, there is lots of time still, so stop rush, me to get done in the bathroom.
Ashley: But I need to get to school early so, I can hang my poster.
Toby: I will get done when I get done Ashley.

Ashley stamps back into her bedroom and takes a set on her bed and wait for Toby to come out of the bathroom. A few miles away at the Nelson household. Emma is setting in the kitchen eating breakfast and notices that Bethany has not come home from training yet to change and grab her school stuff. Emma stands up and walks towards the front door and notices that Bethany gym bag is where she left it last night when she got home. Spike, walk up behind, Emma and taps her on the shoulder.

Spike: Em, what are you doing?
Emma: Mom, did Bethany forget her gym bag, or did she not go to practice today?
Spike: I am not sure Em, I have not seen her this morning.
Emma: I am going to go see if she is downstairs in her bedroom.
Spike: Ok, I will be upstairs in the bathroom getting ready for work.
Emma: Ok, Mom.

Emma walks back into the kitchen then goes over to the basement door and knock. When Bethany does not give an answer. Emma open the door and start walking down the staircase. She gets to the three to last steps she sees Bethany laying in bed and she has her desk trash can by her bed and its full of tissues and she also notices that Bethany has her bathroom trash can by her bed to. She then notices that Bethany has put a bag into the bathroom trash can. Emma walks over to her sister bed and set down on the edge. As she sets down on the bed, she hears that Bethany is making a wheeze sound and also see the reason Bethany put a bag into the bathroom trash can. is because Bethany has been using it to throw up in. Emma puts her left hand on her sisters’ forehead to see if she is running a fever. Bethany opens her eyes when she feels Emma hand on her forehead and she pulls her sister hand off her forehead.

Emma: Bethany, did you skip gymnastic practice?
Bethany: Yes, I am too sick to training today.
Emma: That not like you Bethany, you competing in the 1998 Canadian gymnastics championship with a fever of 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit) and you had not been able to keep food down for four days.
Bethany: Emma, I have been throwing up all night and I can’t keep any my oral asthma medications down. So I call my coach and told him I have a really bad case of the flu.
Emma: You are not running a fever!
Bethany: So I feel awful Em, So please leave mine bedroom and let me go back to sleep.
Emma: No you need to get up and get dress for school or we will both be late.
Bethany: I can’t make it to school today Emma!
Spike: Bethany, Emma got a move on you have two minutes before you have to leave for school.
Bethany: Coughs, I am sick Spike.

Emma bounce her sister bed to see if that would get Bethany to get up. Bethany give her younger sister an evil look and puts her hand over her month, hope that the feeling she is going to be sick to her stomach will pass. The girls hear Spike come down the stairs. Bethany removes her hand from her mouth and set up in bed but start holding her stomach with both hands.

Bethany: Emma, Stop bounce my bed, I am really Nausea!
Emma: You don’t have to bite my head of. You are so PMS sis!
Bethany: No, I am not Em!

Spike, walks over to Bethany bed and notices the two trashes can next to the bed. She takes a look in both of them and sees that Bethany has been blowing her nose a lot and that she has also been throwing up. Spike, then feels Bethany forehead and can tell right away that she does not have a fever.

Bethany: Can I stay home Spike?
Spike: No, you do not have a fever and it only the second full week of school so got out of bed and get dress. Emma’s you go on head to school I will give Bethany a ride into school, so she gets to school on time.
Bethany: But I could, coughs, not even go to practices that how sick I am Spike!
Spike: That is your choice to miss gymnastics practices, but as your temporary legal guardian, I have to make sure you go to school and keep your grade up and I promise your mom that I will only let you miss school if you had a fever.
Bethany: Fine get out of my bedroom so I can changes for school.

As soon as Spike, has closed Bethany’s bedroom door Bethany gets up and walks over to her dresser. She throws on a pair of old jeans and goes to zip them up but they won’t zip up all the way. She pulls them back off then grabs a pair of workout pants but she can get them on. Great way are all my pants getting so tight. She puts on a pair of clean PJ bottoms and a loss fitting black t-shirt. She then goes into the bathroom and brushes her teeth and pulls her hair up into a ponytail. Meanwhile, at Degrassi Ashley is hanging her poster up. When Paige, Hazel and Terri walk up to her.

Paige: So you are running for school president again this year?
Ashley: Yeah, I am
Terri: You do know JT from the seventh grade is also running for school president?
Ashley: Yeah, but no seventh grade will beat be.

Jay Hogart, Alex Nunez and Ellie Nash come walking down the hallway and stop next to Ashley. Three of them look at Ashley’s posters and then Jay tears it down.

Ashley: What did you do that for?
Jay: Because, I can and I felt like it.
Hazel: You had no right to tear her poster down.
Alex: I do not think he asks for your opinion Hazel, by the way I see you at the mall with you mom this weekend. You really need to tell her, that the Scarf she was wear over her hair did not match the purple long sleeve shirt and dresses pant she was wear.
Terri: What she talking about Hazel?
Hazel: I have no, clue at all. I was not even at the mall this weekend.

Jay, Alex and Ellie walk away from Ashley and her friends and head to the main doors of the school and go outside. The three of them take a set on the picnic table . As they were setting down Spike pulls up in front of the school and Bethany gets out of her car. Bethany open the back door and grabs her book bag off the set.

Bethany: Thanks for the ride Spike and for swing by the drug store so I could pick the items I need to buy.
Spike: No problem, just do not skip any classes.
Bethany: (She rolls her eyes at Spike.) Whatever!

Bethany slams the back door closed and walks over to the picnic table Alex, Jay and Ellie are set at. She takes a set next to Alex. At that moment a very young six grade girl who name is Mia came running over to the picnic table they are set on and stop in front of Bethany.

Bethany: What do you want?
Mia: Coach is really mad at you for skip practices this morning, he wants to see you in his office after school gets out.
Bethany: Coughs, Go away
Mia: No, Way did you skip practices?
Bethany: Because I was up all night throwing up, now go away.
Mia: No, I need to tell you about a meet that is come up, that the coach told me to let you know about, that coach has signs you up for Bethany.
Bethany: (Wheezes) I do not care and tell coach that I am going to have to set out of that meet.
Mia: You tell him yourself.
Bethany: Fine
Alex: I would take off now, before Jay’s stand up and he carries you away from us.

With that Mia runs away from Jay, Alex, Ellie and Bethany and into the school. Jay, Alex and Ellie take a close look at Bethany and see that she looks horrible and the three of them hear the wheezes sound that coming from Bethany’s lungs at the sometime Bethany is getting into the bag she is holding from the drug store and take a newly fill prescribes asthma inhaler out and use it.

Alex: Bethany, you sound awful and do not look good. Maybe you should go home and go back to bed.
Bethany: I can’t I am not running a fever.
Jay: But if you been throwing up all night you must be sick?
Bethany: Yeah with morning sickness, I am six weeks pregnant. I take a home pregnancy test yesterday and it was positive.
Ellie: Does the baby father know yet?
Bethany: No, and I am not sure that I am going to tell him. I am going to go home and go back to bed. I do not care what Spike say I am not up to be in school today.

Bethany stands up and walks back to the Nelson household. Once she gets inside, she calls her gymnastics coach and leaves him a message says she will not be able to training for seven month and two weeks because she is pregnant. She then goes back downstairs and goes to bed.