I'm in Love with a Gang Member

I love him. Those were the words that left my mother to cringe. She hated that fact. She hated that I was experiencing love.

Or rather she was hating who I was expiring love with.

__________________________________________________

First, before we get there, maybe I should explain to you where I come from. I don't really know why anyone would care, but if you're still reading perhaps you do care. For the first fifteen years of my life I lived what I like to refer to as the Betty Crocker Lie. Also referred to as the cookie cutter life, the all American dream. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Hard working parents, big house, new cars, always hot cookies waiting when you got home from school, good grades, in all the extracurricular activities, and my mother was president of the PTO, yes that was my life. I was the pretty popular girl who had it all.

When I was sixteen I got bored. Everything was so perfect, everyone thought I was so perfect. It just felt shallow, I wanted to go deeper in life. I wanted to choose my own friends, do my own thing. So what does any sixteen year old girl do? Rebel. I quit everything, I stopped hanging out with the girls my mother had forced upon me since I was a toddler. I took up volunteering at the nursing home, the only place my mother didn't have anything to do with in town. That wasn't far enough. I got a new taste in music and movies. Father encouraged me, telling me it was about time I started thinking for myself, Mother had to sit behind him and watch in absolute horror. One of my new friends, Lydia, had a mom who was a hair dresser. We decided as a trio to give me an edgier look with pink streaks, when mother saw it she flipped.

My mother had sat back and bit her tongue because my father gave her the "She's just finding herself" speech time after time. This was crossing the line. When I walked in the door she went off screaming, yelling, and throwing things about. She snapped wooden spoons with her bare hands, broke several plates against the wall, and knocked over the kettle she was using to make tea for my grandmother who was due in half an hour from three states away. "THIS IS IT!" She shrieked. "You need a change of scenery. You are NOT going to go around town looking like a hoodlum ruining MY image. I don't care whether your finding yourself or not! You can find yourself away from public eye! I'm sending you off to a private ALL GIRLS school! You are done little lady d-o-n-e. You get your rebellious little butt upstairs and don't you even think about showing your ugly hair and face out of that room until I come get you. Get! Go! NOW!"

I stormed up the stairs, letting my lips run on how all she cared about was image as I went. When I reached my room I went in I slammed my door dramatically and flipped on Nirvana to add insult to her injury. She was just mad, she'd get over, there was no way my father would let her send me off to some random school. If she did what did I care? I could make a name for myself there that would be more fun then the one I was left with around here. I began flipping through an old skater magazine with thoughts of adventure passing through my head.

A few hours had passed and the sun was sinking low in the sky when I first heard from civilization again. Father came in quietly knocking slightly not waiting for an answer. As he flipped off the stereo and rolled his eyes at my hair he sat on the chair at my desk. "Look here sis, we got a situation." I simply nodded. "Your mom wants to send you to the Catholic private school in the city. I personally ain't real fond of that idea. You're grandma, the Baptist she is, ain't going for it either. She offered up a solution. You go live with her for a school year or so. You just got out of school, so go spend a summer and a school year with her and come back next summer. Better then a catholic school yeah?"

"Whatever."

"Look sis, you know I don't like the idea of it either but I've been fighting this battle for you all school year. I can't fight it no more. This will be good, I promise. You'll be leaving in the morning." He stood up looking at me sadly, "Might wanna pack up everything you want."

"Whatever."

"I love you."

"Yeah you too."

_________________

I left that next morning, and that's where this whole thing begins.