Coralville Public Library's Teen Zine
Weightlessness by Katy
A flat plain extended for a few square miles. It continued for a
couple miles more when, from this surface, it seemed as though an
immense castle jutted up from the ground; Pikes Peak was the topmost
tower. The snow-capped peaks stood silently, watching my family’s
progress across the terrain. We putted along on our way to a small
airstrip, and my sister Sara and her new boyfriend, Dave were there.
My family and I had spent the last few days in Colorado Springs. My
sister Sara, the eldest of my parents’ daughters, was finally going
to graduate from the Air Force Academy after four long years. Sara
competes in just about everything: running, and everyone else’s
admiration. And now my sister Emily, my cousin Megan and I sat
almost silently in the car, quietly anticipating a glider-ride with
Dave.
Everything seemed perfect to anyone looking at this event from the
outside, but it wasn’t. My sister Sara was pregnant, and I had to
answer the question, “Is she married?” with, “Maybe someday, yes.”
My family had spent the past few months worrying about whether or
not Sara would get kicked out of the Academy. The Academy only
discussed two options with Sara: abortion or adoption. She decided
to do neither. The Air Force couldn’t expel Sara, and she refused to
leave.
Sara the perfect was going to have a baby all by herself whether
anyone wanted her to or not. I knew all of this at the time my whole
family did. My dad’s reaction to the “perfect” daughter having a
baby mystified me. My dad, the proud one, always bragged about us a
little too much. But I honestly didn’t know how all of this had
affected him.