Forget Green Gables

Cedar Point 1, Cheyanne 0

 "Oh, I got friends in low places, where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away, and I'll be okay..." I sing and strum chords on the old acoustic guitar which had been my father's once upon a time. On the floor near my immaculate desk is my shoulder bag, full of supplies. The alarm clock is set for the first time in two and a half weeks. I will be out of my mother's home and away from feeling like I suffocate my mother just by existing. She has said nothing to me since Christmas Eve.

"Cheyanne!"

'Speak of the devil, and she will appear,' I think miserably. "Yes, Mom?"

Normally, Felix and I take turns cleaning our shared bathroom, which more accurately means we leave it alone as long as we can stand it (which is not very long, as we both have a lot of hair and shed constantly). Today, however, Mom decides that her children needed a clean bathroom to start the second semester of their freshman year. I do not think it is a coincidence that my mother has been back on her medication long enough for it to finally be taking effect. I suspect that even though she cannot seem to apologize, she feels some guilt for her fury on Christmas Eve and decided to give her medication yet another go. "If you're going to play that awful thing, at least play something cheerful."

I'm not sure the medication is really working, or maybe my mother's personality is simply so far gone she cannot help but be unpleasant all the time.

I think for a moment and begin to strum again. "When I was just a baby, my momma told me son, always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns. But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry."

My mom watches me for a moment before she throws back her head and laughs. "Touché, Mija. Touché." She kisses me on top of my head. "Oh they've gone and neglected this pale wildwood flower," Mom sings softly on her way out of my room and up the stairs.

Bewildered by my mother's moods, I adjust one of the strings on the guitar and flip the radio to 100.7, the country station out of Lansing. "Oh I hope you never lose your sense of wonder..." I sing out, strumming along with the radio.