1 Send Me Away

"This is our last option, Melissa. We have tried everything else." My mother declared in exasperation. She had been ranting for the last half hour about my latest run in with the law. "I mean, do you want to go to jail?"

"Maybe."

"That's not funny, Melissa."

"Who's laughing?"

"I just don't understand. You are so smart. And beautiful. And immensely talented. I don't get why you are so determined to throw away your future like this."

"All I did was break curfew! You make it sound like I was selling drugs."

"Yes, curfew. You got picked up at 3a.m. in a stolen truck!" Her voice bordered shrill.

"I didn't steal it."

"You were in it." She barked.

"Yeah, with ten other people. I didn't know it was stolen."

"And some those kids had drugs on them!" She ran her fingers through her hair like she was losing it. "You need better friends."

"I like the ones I have." I seethed. She never like any of my friends. Not even my best friend, Jude, whom I have had since kindergarten. Okay, that's not entirely true. She used to like Jude until he ended up in juvy a few years back for stealing his parent's car. He said jail was better than home. At this moment, listening to my mother rave on about all the bad decisions I've made and that I was being sent to live my grandmother, I would agree with him. I have never even met the woman and now I'm supposed to go live with her?

"Well, no matter. It's not like they can visit you where you're going."

"I'd rather go to jail than live with a stranger!"

"She's not a stranger. She is your grandmother. Besides it's too late, Melissa. It's already been settled. The Judge has already ordered it. Instead of jail time, you are lucky enough to live with family far way from here and all your bad influences."

"What makes you think I won't get into trouble there?"

"I know your grandmother."

"Funny, how I've never met her." I added sarcastically.

Mom's jaw tensed. "Yes, well. She's your father's mother and she hasn't visited anyone since he died." Her eyes misted over a bit.

Dad had died in some sort of accident when I was four. That's when Mom and I moved to Reno, and we had no contact with any of his family afterwards. I don't know if it was because they didn't want us in their lives or if it was Mom that kept them out of ours. She never spoke with them or of them ever, until now. Part of me was intrigued to meet the mother of the dad I knew nothing about and part of me wanted nothing to do with her. "What about your mom?" I asked. I've actually met that woman and I remember liking her when I did. "Why can't I go live with her instead?"

She swallowed hard. "That's just not an option." Her voice noticeably cracked on the last syllable. "Your flight leaves in few hours. We better leave now if we want to make it on time. Traffic sucks this time of day." She must have noticed the defiance in my eyes because she followed up with. "Don't even think about disappearing! You will have an escort at the airport and on the flight to make sure you get to the destination. Your grandmother will be picking you up."

No worries, I can just run away when I get there. "I won't, Mother."

She inhaled deeply and let it out slow. "So, you all packed?"

I picked up the backpack I had stuffed with the essentials and showed to her. "Yep."

"That's it? You going to be there a year and that's all you're taking?"

"It's got all I need. Toothbrush, clothes, hairbrush. What else do I need?"

"You've got a year's worth of clothes in that little bag?"

"I've worn the same pants for the last two weeks. And this is the third day I've had this shirt on; I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with what I've packed."

She sighed in defeat. "Whatever. We don't have time to repack."

We drove in silence to the airport. I had been getting into trouble often over the last year, including getting put on academic suspension for remainder of the school year for skipping class and failing grades. This last little joy ride of mine was her breaking point. It was ultimately the judge's decision that I be sent to a family member away from Reno, convinced my behavior was related to the company I was keeping. Mom seemed resistant at first but faced with the choice between a boarding school for troubled teens ran by the state or Grandma, she chose what she called 'the lesser of the two evils'. Both choices would take me out her home and Reno for a year and neither would allow her to visit on a whim. When I asked her why she chose Grandma over the school, she simply said, "She raised your dad and he turned out alright."

While we were waiting in the airport for my escort to come, I decided to ask my mom a question. "Why do parents throw their kids away when we get hard to handle? I mean, aren't parents supposed to love their kids unconditionally?" I raised an eyebrow at her, satisfied to see the hurt in her eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. I could tell I had hit a deep nerve, but I didn't care. I wanted her to feel awful about sending me away. I wanted her to cry over me. She looked into my eyes and steeled herself as the escort arrived. We both looked at my travel companion, me with a slack jaw. She was well over six feet tall and loaded with muscles. If it hadn't been for the long blonde hair and the rather large breasts upon her chest I would've sworn she was a man. She looked like she could snap me in half without even trying. I, all of a sudden, felt a twinge of fear and stared at Mom with pleading eyes. It was her turn to raise a victory eyebrow. "Ever hear of the term 'tough love'?" She gave me a stiff hug that I did not reciprocate and left me with my escort in the TSA line.