her. "Not even the water."
"But it has to start somewhere," Brynn said, and walked over to the chipped blackboard. In large bold-faced letters, she wrote i will abstain from premarital sex. "I say let it start with me." She signed her name below.
Holding up the piece of chalk, she asked, "Anyone else?"
A tense moment passed before Yolanda slid from her seat. With her head held high, the teenager walked up and took the chalk out of Brynn's hand. She wrote her name in huge letters below Brynn's.
Turning around to face the class, she said, "A boy will tell you anything you want to hear until you give him what he wants. Then he'll forget he ever knew you. A man will make you his wife first."
Pearl Washington walked up and wrote her name down next. She turned around and glared at Denzil. Then, one hand braced against her hip, Pearl returned to her desk. On the walk back to the end of the row, she continued to glare at Denzil.
"I think you just got cut off, man," Malcolm whispered loudly enough for everyone in the class to hear.
"You keep saying how much you love me," Pearl mocked him. "If you love me so much, prove it."
"I ain't adding my name to that list," Denzil shouted angrily.
Pearl blinked several times but said nothing.
"Don't you worry, Pearl, Denzil is nothing but a boy," Yolanda said to comfort the other girl.
When she least expected it, Mike rose from his seat and walked forward. With a bit of flare he added his name to the list, the first boy in class to do so.
"Oh sure, Mike," Malcolm called sarcastically. "You should be so lucky to get laid."
Why the others chose to taunt Mike, Brynn didn't understand. She liked Mike and appreciated the courage it had taken for him to step forward. The desire to defend him was strong, but she realized that would only make matters worse for the youth.
"Mike's more of a man than you are," Pearl insisted. "A hell of a lot more than Denzil will ever be."
Emilio sat on his seat, frowning. After a couple of moments he stood and trekked the short distance to the blackboard.
"Emilio, are you nuts, man?" Modesto asked.
Emilio turned around and faced his friends. "You know what? Miss Cassidy is right. My brother's always talking about what it means to be responsible, and really that's all Miss Cassidy is saying, too. I ain't no priest, but the way I figure it, women will respect me if they know I ain't after nothing."
After Emilio listed his name, three other male students added their promise.
When they'd finished, Brynn took the chalk, stepped to the blackboard, and wrote i will practice safe sex. Then she drew a line beneath the words and waited.
"Next we're going to discuss protection," she said.
Later that afternoon, after her class had been dismissed for the day, Brynn felt good about the spontaneous way in which they'd discussed the subject of sex. It might have gone differently had she planned it. Instead the students themselves had contributed their feelings and insights, and because she'd listened to them, they had been willing to hear her out as well.
She studied each name on the two lists and prayed that their talk would make a difference in how they chose to live their lives.
"Miss Cassidy."
Brynn looked up to find Suzie standing in the doorway. "Am I disturbing you?"
"No, of course not." Brynn stood. "How did your session go with Mrs. Christian?"
"All right, I guess. She made an appointment for me at the health clinic."
"That's good, isn't it?"
"My baby's healthy," Suzie said with a shy smile. "I feel him kick and move all the time now." The teenager's gaze moved to the blackboard. "I . . . I heard about what you did. It's all over the school. You talked about birth control and responsible sex because of me, didn't you?"
Brynn couldn't very well deny it. "I didn't break your confidence, Suzie. No one knows what you told me." She felt it was important to assure Suzie of that.
"I knew you wouldn't say anything." Suzie studied the list. "Emilio signed his name." Although it was a statement, the surprise in her voice made it a question.
"Several of the young men in class did."
"Do you think I could add my name?" she asked, diverting her eyes from Brynn's. "Or is it too late?"
"I'd be proud if you did," Brynn told her.
Suzie walked up and added her name to the first