After Being Slandered, I Played Along

When my younger brother called and told me to come to his school, his serious tone had me worried. I rushed to his counselor’s office, only to find my brother sitting there with the counselor and a junior student I’d accidentally helped last semester. The student placed a hand over her slightly rounded belly, then dropped to her knees in front of me with a thud, sobbing in front of the counselor: “Honey, I know this unexpected pregnancy is putting a lot of pressure on you, but you can’t just abandon me and the baby!” She reached for my clothes. I jumped backward and turned to leave. Behind me, the student’s sobs turned shrill: “You heartless bastard! How could you do this? If I’d known you’d pull your pants up and pretend nothing happened, I never would’ve gone to that hotel room with you!” The counselor looked at me as if I’d let everyone down. “Being young is no excuse. A man needs to take responsibility!” People began gathering outside the door. Their whispers and contemptuous stares nearly overwhelmed me. In the middle of the chaos, my younger brother leaned against the wall and spoke lazily: “Sis, aren’t you going to stay and see your unborn child?”