Logan and Hana sat on the bench. He popped open the coffee drink and handed it to her, and she accepted it and took a sip.

“Thanks. For what you said earlier,” he said.

She smiled at him. “That’s what friends are for.”

He laughed and returned a smile. “I’m glad you’re my friend.”

She turned shy.

Just then, a security guard approached them. “Kids, you two lost?”

Logan stood up. “No, Sir. I’m waiting for the five o’clock stop, and she’s keeping me company.”

The security guard walked away, trusting them.

The moment Logan sat back down, Hana sent him a look that demanded answers.

She asked through gritted teeth, “What do you mean you’re waiting for the five o’clock stop? You didn’t say anything about that. To where? Why?”

“By kicking me out, my father meant for me to not stay in the same city as him. That’s how far he wants me to be away from them.”

She stood up and scoffed. “But he’s hardly home! He’s married to his lab work.” She was too loud and woke up the infant, and it started crying.

Logan panicked. He didn’t want to go through the baby’s crying again.

As an instinctive response, Hana’s body moved on its own to the wailing baby. She carefully took the baby out of the basket and rocked the baby. She playfully tapped the infant’s chin as she murmured some baby sounds to tell the baby that someone was there. She smiled when the baby went back to sleep again. “How many months?’ she asked, looking back at her friend with glowing eyes.

His eyes widened. “Don’t tell me—you! You can’t fawn over it!”

“She’s so cute! Who could ever throw this baby away?” She planted a gentle kiss on its forehead.

He turned to the side and muttered, “Apparently, it isn’t cute enough for its mother.”

“Logan!” hissed Hana. “And stop calling the baby, ‘it’. Boy or girl?”

“Boy.”

“A boy?” gasped an excited Hana.

“What’s up with you?”

“I’ve always wanted a boy. I think most moms want sons first to be the big brother to protect the younger ones. I want that kind of family.”

“I thought girls would want girls so that they could do girl stuff together.”

Hana sat down with the baby asleep in her arms. “Well, that too, but I know girls can grow up to become a bit dramatic. You know…like…”

“Like Hailey.”

The friends laughed.

Hailey came from a rich family, but she wasn’t spoiled nor snobby. She could be feisty though, and she had little tact. She spoke whatever came to her.

“Then what about the baby?” Hana asked. “What about you?” Finally, she asked the painful question of them all. “What about us?”

It was quiet between them again.

He had too much to think about on his mind now, but hearing the questions out loud stabbed his heart. “Well, I’m thinking that with all the money I have, I’ll travel along ‘til I find an old couple that would take me in, and work with them for life.” He then glared off into the distance as his imagination got to him. “Then, when this brat grows up, I’m gonna force him to pay me back for all I’ve done for him.”

She nudged him. “That’s sweet.”

“What is?”

“You’re not gonna leave him even though he’s not yours.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t leave him,” he said, happily, then he changed his smile to a scowl. “He’s the one who got me into this mess, so I’m gonna make sure his life’s gonna be a mess too!”

She laughed at her friend’s stupidity. “Why? Is this baby going to grow up and cry and make you die out of panic?”

“No,” he embarrassingly exclaims. He tried to hide the fact that he did think of that.

They knew he wasn’t good with kids. Heck, there were only three things he was good at: flirting, picking up girls, and saying cheesy lines he memorized from films.

He coughed to clear his throat. “I meant that with a baby now, I can’t get married.”

Hearing this, she looked at him as if she had realized something very important. “Hey, I got an idea.”

“What?”

“This plan will still allow you to get married.”

“What is it?”

“I call it, Plan B.”

*

Logan and Hana stopped in front of Hana’s house. They had slept for a while at the station and had ditched school to start Plan B, not after the magic contraception pill, but for the word, baby.

“You haven’t told me what it is,” exclaimed a worried Logan.

She shrugged his hands off her. “You don’t need to know.”

“What are you gonna do with the baby? You can’t bring it inside.”

“Baby?” It was Mrs. Evans, Hana’s mother. She was watering the bushes behind the gate, so the friends didn't see her. She showed herself to the teens and saw the baby in the basket and immediately made the connection of the trio in front of her.

Hana took a cautious step forward. “Let me explain inside.”

*

Hana had entered her house with the baby in the basket but without Logan. She had told him to stay outside to wait for her. He had insisted to tag along, but she begged him to trust her.

Mr. Evans, her father, was dragged by his wife from their bedroom to the living room. They sat across Hana. He saw the baby and eyed him with curiosity, but he didn’t question anyone. Mr. Evans cleared his throat. “Your mother said you have something to say to us?”

Hana nodded. “Mom. Dad. I have a child.”

“We know you were at your sister’s last night.”

She took a deep breath. She forgot that she called her nieces and nephews her children too. But today, that was to change.

Mrs. Evans shifted in her seat to her husband. “Yvonne also called this morning to say that Hana wasn’t in bed.”

Hana had to make things clear now. “No, not them. My own.” She pulled up the basket. “This is my baby.”

Mrs. Evans let her body sink to the couch, and Mr. Evans processed his daughter’s confession.

Mrs. Evans weakly asked, “Is it with the boy outside?”

Mr. Evans turned red with anger, and he looked back at his wife. “There’s a boy outside?”

Hana stood up. She didn’t want Logan to be involved. “No, Dad. This child—”

Mr. Evans shouted, “Don’t call me ‘dad!’ I didn’t raise any sluts!” He didn’t even look at her. “What did we do wrong to have you become like this? We made sure you’d be the one who didn’t get married before graduating or wouldn’t elope before marriage, but you’re the one who has a child before marriage!” He clenched his hands into fists. “We thought we did our best in protecting you and your future.”

“You guys weren’t being protective. You guys kept me locked up. I have to come home right after school, you always ask for my schedule from my homeroom teacher, and I’m only allowed to have girls as friends. I could only go to my sisters' house to babysit their kids and be mommy to them. I’m not married and was never married. I’m only a teenager, and I want to spend time with my friends too.”

The front door opened, and it was Yvonne with her two youngest girls. “Oh, Hana! Where were you?” She noticed the strange atmosphere and came over with caution. She saw the baby and pointed to him with a subtle finger. “H-how come there’s a…baby?”

“She was pregnant,” shouted Mr. Evans.

Yvonne covered her gasp. “With the boy outside?”

Hana whined, “He has nothing to do with this.”

“Then why is he here?” questioned Mrs. Evans. “The only friend you’ve introduced to us is Hailey.”

“I never told you about all my friends because you and dad always assume the worse about my guy friends.”

“Guy friends?” mocked Mr. Evans. “More like boyfriends.”

“See, you’ll think of them like that,” said Hana. “I get it. My sisters got married at a young age or eloped to marry a man ten years older, and none of them finished college, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t hang out with my friends after school, attend events that aren’t family-related, go to sleepovers that aren’t family-related, or even do anything that isn’t family related because you fear that I might do something my sisters did.”

Yvonne sighed and rested a hand at Hana’s shoulder. “Hana, you’re too young to have a child, and I say that because I know. I’ve been through it—”

Hana slapped Yvonne’s hand away. “No, you don’t know. You didn’t know then, and you don’t know now!”

“Hana!” It was from Mr. Evans. Loud and clear. “That’s your older sister. Have some respect.”

“Respect?” scoffed Hana. “That’s the reason that brought me to this mess. Respect.” She had held this in, and today, she was going to say it all. “It’s because of respect that I always felt obliged to watch over everyone’s kids. It’s because of respect that I can’t always say no. It’s because of respect that I’ve always put your stupid needs first before mine. It’s because of respect that I have been tamed to fear all of you because I respected and saw you as someone who’d understand and be by my side.” She shook her head with disgust. “Unfortunately, all my respect with to waste because you’re stupid, selfish, and judgmental.”

“Hana!” Mr. Evans stepped forward, but Yvonne came between them.

“Let me deal with this, Dad,” said Yvonne. “I’m sorry, Hana. I didn’t know that’s how you felt.”

“Of course, you didn’t know. You’re so busy ‘booking’ me every day so that you can have your own free time.” She picked up the basket with the baby. “Well, here’s a heads up about my schedule: I’m no longer free now or in the future. It’s time I pass the baton to you, and you should start learning how to be a mom before you tell me I can’t watch a kid.” She headed to the door and turned back around. “I’ve got enough experience from raising all four of your children while you were so busy on the phone with your friends.”

*

Hana and Logan walked to the park and sat on a bench.

“What was Plan B?” asked Logan, figuring that he could ask her now and get answers.

Hana sighed. “Let’s not talk about that now.” She tapped him on the back. “Now, you can stay here with your family.”

“What about the baby?”

She knew she couldn’t keep her plan hidden from him, so while she attempted to explain it in the most careful and pleasing way, her attention was soon taken over by a scene of her friends running to them.

She and Logan stood up to greet the friends who were supposed to be in school.

“You called them here?” she asked Logan.

Jake stepped in. “We didn’t see you at school and thought something was up, so when we texted Logan, we found out you two ditched school.” He playfully hit Logan.

Hailey went to Hana. “I didn’t know you had this wild side in you.”

Hana arched a confused brow.

“You ditching school. You’re so uptight and whatnot.”

Logan sneered and pointed at Hana. “This girl? Uptight? You kidding.” He put an arm over Hana’s shoulders. “She’s got the nastiest mouth on earth, and—” right before he was going to get hit by Hana, he quickly added, “well, second to you, Hailey.”

Everyone laughed at the undeniable truth. Even Hailey bashfully accepted it.

“So, what you two plan on doing?” asked Seth.

Before any response could be given, the baby started crying.

The friends blinked when they saw Hana and Logan tending to the baby.

Hailey hissed to Hana as Hana rocked the baby. “Don’t touch a stranger’s kid. They’ll think you did something to it.”

Jake and Seth immediately crowd around Hana to not let anyone see.

Hana made a face at Logan. “You told them about us ditching school, but you didn’t tell them about the baby?”

“What—it’s yours?” asked Hailey.

“Whose baby brother or sister?” asked Jake, playing with the baby’s teeny hands.

Logan sighed. “Before we explain anything, how much money everyone’s got on them?”

“Why?” the friends asked.

“Classified information needs a classified location.”

*

After much talking and adding of their finances, they didn’t have enough to rent out a room anywhere, so Seth gave them the idea of checking out his family’s side house for the week. As for school, they got Jake’s older brother to excuse them in return for not ratting out that he was dating a married woman.

“So, what was Plan B?” asked Hailey this time.

The gang crowded together in one room. Logan had just finished telling the entire story up until Hana’s visiting of her parents.

“Yeah,” said Jake. “How will it let Logan go back home?”

“You can tell us,” added Hailey. “We’re here for you two.”

Hana scratched her jaw, something she did when she was hesitant or uncomfortable.

Logan knew of this habit of hers, so with a gentle and assuring voice, he said, “Okay, okay. Fine. We’ll wait.” He looked at Hana. “I’ll wait.”