Pregnant Like Me

That could be the title of a revealing memoir by Gaby Rodriguez  (with a nod to the classic “Black Like Me“), recounting her experiences as a pregnant teen — who, it turns out, wasn’t really pregnant after all.

Details:

After surviving six months of high school with a steadily growing baby bump, Gaby Rodriguez finally delivered the big news: She was never really pregnant.

The straight-A student instead faked the whole thing as part of her senior project on “Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics.”

Rodriguez revealed the bizarre tale – and removed her wire mesh and cotton quilt bulge – at a school assembly this week, three months before her July 27 “due date.”

The social experiment was a well-kept secret, with the 17-year-old Yakima, Wash., senior sharing her plan with only her mother, boyfriend, school principal and a few select others.

“At times, I just wanted to take it off and be done,” Rodriguez told the Yakima Herald-Republic after breaking the news. “I didn’t want to go through this anymore.”

After Rodriguez removed her phony stomach, there was initially shock among the 700 students at Toppenish High School. But it quickly gave way to applause – and later, a standing ovation.

Principal Trevor Green – while quick to say he wouldn’t let his daughter pull such a move – praised Rodriguez for her commitment to the plan.

“In essence, she gave up her senior year,” Green told the Yakima paper. “She sacrificed her senior year to find out what it would be like to be a potential teen mom. I admire her courage.”

Check out more here and here. I’ll say this: the girl’s got guts.