Forget Green Gables

My First Stand

 "Are you sure you want to wear your hair like that?" my mother asks me when I am headed out the door for the opening matinee of the show.

"I was told to wear it in two braids," I answer calmly.

"But you'd be so much prettier if you'd..."

"Mom! I was told to wear it in two braids, so that's how it's staying!"

"Cheyanne, if you want to leave this house and go to your little show, you will refrain from talking back to me."

Without another word, I pick up my bag and stalk out of the house into the waiting vehicle.

"She's grounded," I hear my mother saying to my father.

"Mom, she has to wear her hair in braids. She's told you that before," Felix says making sure he has all of his necessities.

"You'd better be quiet unless you'd like to be grounded too," Mom threatens. A moment later, the car door opens and Felix crawls in next to me.

"She's a ray of sunshine," he says sarcastically.

"I'd rather have cystic acne than deal with her," I summarize, tightening my hair a little bit. Our father opens the driver's door and climbs into the car.
"Your mother says you're both grounded and can't perform."

"I'll call Greg for a ride," I state plainly, but Dad can see I am on the verge of rage-crying. "Mom knows I have to wear my hair in braids and...and just because she's off her meds doesn't give her the right to be a manipulative controlling bitch," I spit. The energy to smile, look pretty and play nicely is not in me anymore. I want my life to not be full of tension, and I am tired of my mother, a supposed grown up, tearing it all apart. Is home not supposed to be a safe place? My life at school is full of problems; I do not need them at home too.

"She's right, Dad," Felix states, calmly fastening his seatbelt. "Now, are you going to drive us or should we call Greg for a ride?"

Our father sighs and starts up the car. Perhaps his cajones are not entirely gone.