Banke and Eniola

"There's a Planned Parenthood on Wafer street," she heard herself say to Banke who was curled up under her purple duvet. She couldn't believe what she was suggesting, she couldn't believe it even crossed her mind but....Banke remained silent. "I just goolged it," Eniola said "according to google map its five blocks from here, we could walk if you want-"
"I'm not going there to-" Banke said, her voice was mufled by the pillow she had her head stuufed under.
"Just, to talk to someone...explore your options"
"I have no options"
"At least lets go there and talk to a proffesional Banke, and you do have options-"
"Like what? Abortion?" Banke said, her voice low and agitated "What happened to being pro-life?"
"Banke that is not the point." Eniola's said curtly, not bothering to hide her impatience. This was the difference between them, she thought, Banke tended to sit and moan, feeling sorry for herself and Eniola was a doer. She would rather figure out the solution, eliminate the problem and behave like nothing ever happened than wallow in self-pity in hopes that the problem would disappear.
"There are other options," she continued, "there's adoption, there's... tons of stuff that I don't know about because I'm not a professional. So why don't you get off your ass and lets go."
Banke sat up, anger raising in her, she was about to retort with something hurtful when she saw Eniola's face and realized that her friend was just as frightened as she was. It wasn't like Eniola to raise her voice at anyone, that was more Banke's turf; she was the bossy one.
"Okay" She said as she got out of bed.
-----
Banke still hadn't told her how it happened, how she got pregnant. And she hadn't pushed it, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. It was Saturday and she was leaving on Sunday so she needed to make sure that the 'situation' was 'handled' before she left. They had started walking to the clinic, it was late spring and the weather was already brilliant. Eniola was praying silently, asking for forgiveness for evening thinking that Banke should have an abortion, but what else was there? She was clutching the red and gold rosary that hung around her neck and looking down at the cobble stone sidewalk.
"I know you're disapointed in me," Banke said, startling Eniola who had gotten comfortable in the silence between them.
"O gosh no." she said "I couldn't be so...pious..."
"You said 'Pious'?" Banke said laughing suddenly
"I know abi? Its that bloody English literature class I'm taking" she laughed a little "I can't start forming holier-than-thou, you know?"
They became silent again , but it was not the complacent silence that they had before, it was a more restless one.

"So theres this guy at work," Banke started to say, she worked at the campus book store "Levi. Yanky boy, fine and whatever, we flirt and everything. But its nothing, I'm a freaking Bio major, pre-med, I'm doing organic chemistry and all that. I'm not trying to have a boyfriend or anything." She stifled a sneeze before continuing "Any way, about four, five weeks ago, on a Friday, all of us from work decide to get together at one of their apartments right? Anyway...there's tons of booze and we're playing drinking games and all that. And this is more than I've ever drank in my entire life." she didn't look at at her friend as she talked, she looked at the ground, the moving cars, the trees everywhere but Eniola's face "Anyway, so, me and the Levi boy sha start talking, and somehow we're alone, I'm so, like, tipsy or drunk whatever, I'm so wasted I couldn't even tell you when everyone left or where they went to..." she went quiet for a moment, Eniola saw that she was chewing the insides of her cheek "So me and the boy start kissing sha, the whole thing sort of happened so fast...and like...I couldn't tell you what I was thinking, I couldn't give details if I tried, cos I can't even really remember." she gave a small bitter smile "So that's what happened, so much for my first time right?"

After a long moment of silence Eniola asked "Why didn't you tell me?"
"'Cos I was ashamed." Banke responded brushing hair out of her face "I just wanted to pretend like it never happened you know?" she sighed heavily "It didn't even occur to me to get tested for like STDs or whatever, like I couldn't even tell you if you if we used a condom,well no I know we probably didn't" she said gesturing to her stomache "that's how 'shit-faced' I was. I was so preoccupied with suppressing the sketchy memory of the whole thing, I didn't even stop to think; like oh crap I might be pregnant, or ,shit I might have AIDs or something."
"Okay please don't say that." Eniola said, she had a deep frown creasing her forehead.
"I don't," Banke responded "I got tested for all that last week. Thank God abi?"
"Why didn't you get a pregnancy test then?"
"I was scared man," she said shaking her head,"Isn't it messed up that I was more afraid of being pregnant than I was of having an incurable STD?"
"Very messed up," Eniola said with a small smile "but then again, chances are you'll live longer with AIDs."
"Cos my 'popsie' will kill me the very day he finds out I'm pregnant yeah?"
"Yup." They laughed a little, but it was mostly from nervousness. They had walked all the way and were finally in front of the big Grey building that was the free clinic.
"We're just going in to get information," Eniola said calmly to Banke "maybe talk to a counselor if they have one. Okay?"
Banke only nodded. They held hands and walked into the building.