BORDER JUSTICE. Aubrey Smith

western shirt, white socks and Reeboks. Simple, but just what I want. Yes ma’am, Sierra you are a fox. After a shower she quickly buttoned the shirt and put on her socks then tried on the jeans.

      My gosh, I can’t even start to button these jeans. A sinking feeling caused her hands to tremble as she tried again to button the Levis. I’m going on a diet tomorrow. All that fried food and tacos at the cafe and no exercise, that’s the problem. Mama and Papa are killing me this summer.

      She picked a loose fitting shift and was ready ten minutes before Connie picked her up.

      “Sierra,” her father said as she started to the door, “this is the first time you’ve been out at night in quite awhile. I want you to know you are still on probation and your curfew is twelve.”

      “Rest assured, I’ll be home before midnight.”

      Connie threw the car into reverse as soon as Sierra was inside. “Am I glad to see you. I can’t believe it’s been almost twelve weeks since I saw you at the park. Check it out girl. You look like you’ve gained twenty pounds this summer. Too much food and not enough dancing. Hey, why don’t we skip the movie and sneak over to the Rio Roundup and dance our legs off? What ya say?”

      “Connie, this is my first night out all summer and you think I’m going to risk getting caught messing up? No way, Jose. If I mess up now, what about when school starts? They won’t let me out for football games, or dances, or any school parties, nothing. No sir, I’m not going to blow this opportunity and spend my senior year grounded.”

      “Okay little sister, but I’ve got to tell you, I might be gone for a little while tonight. You stay at the show and I’ll be back before it’s over. I told Rudy Ramos that I’d meet him tonight. Just because he was arrested last year for possession of a few tokes, Mama and Dad won’t let me go out with him.”

      “Isn’t he a little old for you, Connie?”

      “No way. Anyway I told him I’d meet him at eight in the Roundup’s parking lot. It’s okay with you, isn’t it, Sierra? I mean, you won’t tell anybody, will you? I’d cover for you.”

      “Nah, go on. You do what you want to. I won’t tell anybody. I’m just glad to get out of that house for a night. But listen, there’s one thing you’ve got to know. I’ve got to be home no later than midnight and I mean not a second later, okay?”

      “No sweat, don’t worry.”

      “Connie, would you stop at Walmart when we drive past? I want to get something.”

      “Sure, what are you getting?”

      Sierra looked out the side window and said, “Nothing, just some candy to eat at the show.”

      When they pulled up in front of the store, Sierra told Connie, “I’m just going to run in and right out. Why don’t you just park in front and wait? You know, keep the motor running.”

      The store was crowded and it had taken Sierra longer than she expected. Connie was tapping her hands on the seat. “Get in. What took you so long? What did you get?”

      “Nothing, just some candy for later.”

      “Later-smeck-ter, let me have some before you take off for the movie.”

      Sierra held the bag close to her and didn’t say anything. Connie stopped at the light and asked, “What have you got in there, a bomb? Come on, let me have a piece.”

      “All right Connie, it’s not candy. It’s personal.”

      “Personal? Personal? Come on, what the heck you got in the bag?”

      Sierra sounded miles away when she answered. “It’s one of those test kits. You know, one of those kits you use to see if you’re pregnant. E.P.T. It’s an early pregnancy test.”

      “Pregnant. You think you might be pregnant? No way Sierra, you’ve been locked up in your house for three months. When was your last period?”

      “I don’t know, maybe not for two or three months. I’ve never been heavy or very regular. I don’t pay much attention. When it comes, it comes, that’s all. Oh Connie, I don’t want to be pregnant. But I’ve been getting sick every morning. You know, throwing up. Tonight I tried to wear some jeans that I wore all last year and I can’t even start to get them buttoned. I even tried to hook the buttons with a can opener.”

      “Who would the daddy be? Someone been sneaking over to your house at night or have you been sneaking out?”

      “No. It’d be Randy’s.”

      “Holy cow. Randy’s? You told me you never did it with him.”

      “I lied. He got me drunk on sangria and… I don’t know. We just did it. Out at Lovers Lane. On prom night.”

      “Oh my God Sierra, did you kill him?”

      “Of course not, but I did see him that night. He tried to rape me. He pulled me into that brush where his body was found. That’s where he tried to force me to do it with him again. When he threw me on the ground, I hit him in the head with a rock and ran away. I don’t have any idea who shot him. I swear I only hit him to get away. Then I started to lie and just got in deeper and deeper. And now, just tonight, I realized I might be pregnant.”

      Connie drove slowly. It was several minutes before Sierra spoke again. “Connie, I worried for days about getting AIDS. He didn’t use a condom. He told me that once before he’d had sex with a whore in Mexico. I was drunk and, you know, it just got out of hand. I never intended to let it go that far, but it happened before I really realized what was happening. He was through in about a half minute.”

      Connie didn’t say a word until she suddenly pulled into the Exxon station. “Let’s go in the ladies room and find out for sure if you are or if you’re not.”

      When Sierra came out of the stall she said, “I am.”

      “What? Let me see that stick…What, a blue X means you are?”

      “That’s a plus sign, not an X and, yes, a blue plus means I am.”