I can’t imagine my best friend being pregnant. We’re still in school! We haven’t taken our Tests yet, let alone finished our college training. Then another thought hits me. They’re going to make her abort the baby. You aren’t allowed to have children before the given time. If she refuses, they will lower her status, and she won’t be allowed to take the Test. The thought of Jamie in a Lesser city horrifies me, but the alternative is much worse. “What will you do?” I ask. I’m afraid to hear her answer. I’m afraid she’ll say she’s keeping the baby, and I’ll never see her again. Middles aren’t allowed to enter the Lesser cities. But I’m more afraid she’ll say she’s not keeping the baby. I don’t care what the government says, the thought of killing a little baby makes my stomach hurt. It can’t be right, no matter what they say it does for society. She studies me for a minute and then looks straight ahead. “I won’t abort the baby. I won’t do it.”
