Can you believe it? Now our daughters are conspiring to ruin their lives; whatever happened to just letting it happen? And since when did it become a team sport? Those are the questions I’d like answered, especially considering that my daughter is not even three years old yet; I still have plenty of time to prepare for whatever may come up.

For those of you that haven’t heard yet, the New England town of Gloucester, best known for its inspiring role in the George Clooney drama “The Perfect Storm”, has a high school filling up with mother’s-to-be. So far this year, 17 girls no older than 16 years of age have become pregnant, a number that is four times the average yearly amount.

The principal of the high school as well as the mayor of the small fishing town have both addressed the situation in the media; apparently there was little choice in the matter once the school’s student run paper suggested that some of the expectant teenagers concocted a pact to get pregnant together. According to the Associated Press, the school’s nursing staff recalled a select few of the girls frequenting the clinic for pregnancy tests, and noted in particular the odd reactions to each test.

Some of the young ladies were celebratory of the positive results, even sharing high-fives with each other after hearing the news, while they seemed disappointed by any negative results.

None of the girls would volunteer the names of the father’s, though one did say, “he’s a 24 year old homeless guy”, which was a common thread in each girl’s story. The father’s were all much older than them.

I just don’t know what to make of this world anymore. I am certainly glad that I didn’t know any girls like that in school, or I would’ve become a daddy much too soon for my tastes.

You can check out the full article on Time.com.