Then her words morphed into moans and grunts that Bailey knew were pushes. This baby was coming, and coming fast. She washed her hands quickly at the sink—just in case.
“I’m going to go out in the hall and try to call 911.” Bailey squatted down so the girl could hear.
“No!” The goth opened her eyes, panicked, gripping Bailey’s arm. “Please don’t leave me!”
Bailey sighed, glancing toward the door, hearing the click of heels on the tile. She expected them to pass by but the door swung open. Shelby, the busty curve-setter in all Bailey’s classes, gaped at the two of them on the floor.
“What the hell?” Shelby blinked in surprise as the door swung closed behind her.
But Bailey didn’t have time to respond because the goth girl was having another contraction and this was a big one. She let the girl squeeze her hand, hearing that tell-tale breath holding again, watching the goth’s face scrunch up and turn red with effort. She was pushing. No doubt about it.
Shelby didn’t move, frozen in place the whole time. Bailey didn’t even look up at her, watching the goth girl’s face relax, head tilting forward, breath slowing. Poor thing was exhausted, had probably been laboring all day, trying to convince herself she wasn’t in labor at all. This isn’t happening. Right. Except it was.
“Ummm… Professor Jacobs was looking for you.” Shelby had one hand on the door.
That made Bailey’s head swivel. She’s almost forgotten about all of that.
“You need to call 911,” Bailey insisted. “Right now.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Shelby’s voice was small. She sounded scared.
“Nothing.” Bailey smiled. “She’s just having a baby.”
“Holy shit.”
“I can’t get a signal in here.” Bailey shoved her phone back into her backpack, glancing over her shoulder at a girl she’d secretly hated for weeks, the one who accepted all A’s with glowing eyes and a satisfied smirk. Now it was Bailey who was in control, who knew exactly what to do, while Shelby cringed and looked away.
“Go! Call! Now!” Bailey’s tone made Shelby bolt and the girl fled out the door.
Bailey could only hope she would call 911. She was pretty sure she could handle this. She’d attended lots of births with Joanna, who did about four births a month as a doula. She’d never actually caught a baby though. And she knew there were things that could happen, still, that she might not be ready for or able to handle.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Uhhhh….” The goth’s head nodded like a junkie on heroin. Her endorphins had kicked in and she was riding the wave. “Sunny.”
The irony. Bailey squeezed Sunny’s hand, trying to give them both courage.
“An ambulance is on the way, Sunny,” she said, hoping she was speaking the truth. “But I think your baby may arrive before then.”
“Oooooohhh fuccckkkkk another one!” Sunny’s eyes opened wide and wild, searching for a way out of the pain.
“Okay, look at me, look at me!” Bailey grabbed her other hand, trying to get her to focus. Sunny moaned and shook her head, trying to pull away, still looking to escape.
“Ohhhhhh it’s coming! It’s coming!” She closed her eyes against it, biting her lip so hard Bailey saw blood seeping from the wound.
“Sunny, I need to check. I need to see.” Bailey was already hiking the girl’s skirt up and she didn’t object. She was clearly pushing. Who knew how close the baby was to being born? Sunny’s knees fell open like she knew what was coming. Bailey had no gloves and she was squatting in a pool of amniotic fluid. There goes the idea of universal precautions.
“Ohhhh I’m pushing!” Sunny announced, grabbing her knees and bearing down hard.
Bailey grabbed the elastic edge at the crotch of the girl’s white cotton panties, amused at this choice of underwear underneath all the black, pulling it aside. What she saw both terrified and thrilled her. Sunny hadn’t been kidding when she said it was coming. It was almost here.
“It burns!” Sunny gasped. “Oh god, help me, help me!”
“I am.” Bailey cupped her hand over the baby’s emerging scalp. It was covered in soft black down. “You’re doing great.”
The door opened behind them and Bailey cringed, knowing what a sight they must be, Sunny with her back against the tile, knees up, crotch exposed, and Bailey squatting in front of her like a catcher waiting for the pitch.
“Do you need help?” The male voice startled her and she looked up to see professor Jacobs hesitating in the doorway, his blue eyes wide but not afraid. “Shelby told me…”