The Gay Cafe

Chapter 1

"Just leave."

"But, mom-"

"Go to your room, take your things, and get out of our house."

"Honey, are you sure-?"

"Sam, I'm not having a gay daughter! If my daughter is gay, then she can go be gay elsewhere. The way I see it, I either have a straight daughter, a gay daughter that I send to a straight camp to fix her, or I don't have one at all."

A few things passed through my mind. Okay, Maddie, you can do this. Weigh the pros and cons of affirming you're gay.

Cons
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1) Being disowned
2) Ending up homeless
3) Having the only people you've ever known hate you
4) Paying your own bills
5) You're not ready for responsibility
6) You're not sure if you could get a job in time
7) You could get attacked in an alley
8) You won't have anywhere to sleep
9) No internet
10) No transportation
11) Being forced to be something you're not
12) Straights camps are horrible, and you'll probably die
13) You are literally 17

Okay, stop. You've made your point, self. Move on to the pros, jeez.

Pros
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1) Girls are sexy beasts

Yep, that seems like the only reason I really need. I'm good with that pros list. I turned to my mom, who, until a second ago, I trusted with everything.

"Yeah, well, then, I guess you don't have a daughter anymore." I turned away from her, and stormed up the stairs. I slammed the door behind me, and sunk to the floor, tears trailing down my cheeks.

What did I get myself into? I knew that wasn't going to work, my mother is a church-goer who loves being a Catholic, and she is quite homophobic. I just never realized she would kick me out for being who I am. Well, she's nothing to cry over. She wasn't all that great of a mom anyway.

I stood up, and grabbed my book bag. My mother was always quite stingy, so I knew she wouldn't let me take more than this. I wasn't the neatest person, but I have learned to pack efficiently, so I was able to fit half my closet in the bag, along with my toothbrush. I never owned all that many articles of clothing. It's all from Hot Topic though. I grabbed my jacket, slipped my phone into the pocket, put it on, and slung the book bag over my shoulder. I grabbed a small pocket "German to English" dictionary, and walked out of my room.

Well, I can't really call it my room anymore, can I?

I walked down the stairs, and stopped at the front door. My mother was standing to the side, wiping her eyes. She started crying when I told her. I opened the door, and was about to leave when my dad called out.

"Umm, Mads?" I turned to face him. He opened his arms, and I ran into them. I had always had a special connection with my father, and I know that he would never have kicked me out. In fact, he knew a long time ago, when he caught me kissing a girl at the back of the high school. All he did was tease me, and we laughed about it.

However, I also knew that no matter how much he loved me, my mom was the 'supreme ruler' of the household. I let go of my dad, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I went to go leave again, but my mom stopped me.

"Madison, there is a way to fix this. Are you sure you don't want to go to a straight camp? They can fix you there, and you can learn to be normal! Please consider it?" She sounded desperate. I couldn't figure out if she wanted me to go because she loved me but not the gay side of me, or if she just didn't want to admit that she had a gay daughter.

I'm going with the latter.

"Let me think about it for a second, maybe, no." I opened the door, and almost shut it behind me when I heard her voice again.

"Why?" I could tell she was almost to tears again. I opened the door, and looked her right in the eye.

"Because girls are worth it, that's why." I closed the door behind me, and walked out into the street.

Independence, responsibility, and girls, here I come.