"Grace, you need to figure out what you're going to do with your life." my mother scowled at me. Her arms were crossed over her chest. "I just want what's best for you."
I sat on my childhood bed. Over the summer I'd lost three jobs. I put my head in my hands. "I'm sorry, Mom," I responded.
I ran my hands over my shaved head. I'd shaved it after high school graduation to signify a new beginning, but all I was getting was dead ends. "I start college in three weeks; I promise I won't fail," I stated more for myself than her. I was so nervous.
"You better not," my mom huffed, and strutted out of my room. I sighed. My room was almost entirely packed, ready for college. Solstice University was luckily a four hour drive from Liberal, my home town.
I hated living here. Everyone who was born here died here. Kids would leave only to come back in a few years, pregnant. It was stiflingly. I swore I'd be different.
I pulled myself from the bed, and adjusted my shirt. My room had been painted violet purple since I'd turned 12. Stickers of unicorns adored the walls. The glow in dark stars covered the ceiling. I had Christmas lights thumb tacked to the ceiling. Beside the desk my dad had given me that had all but fallen apart was my sling bag. I threw it over my shoulder, picked up my phone, and grabbed my long board.
Before my mom could say anything I was out the front door.
"Hey, meet me at the bridge," I texted Ash, my best friend, and threw my board on the ground. I pushed off, and began rolling down the sidewalk. Summer here was always so hot, but I refused to not wear jeans.
Within in ten minutes, I'd reached the old bridge was tucked away off of an old country road. It was overgrown. No one bothered to trim the knee high weeds. Ash leaned against one of the crumbling concrete pillars. She was playing on her phone, and still unaware of my presence. Her ash-blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Hey," I coughed.
Ash looked up. She had dull blue eyes. "Hey," she smiled.
I picked up my skateboard, and sat onto of one of the rails connecting the concrete pillars next to her. "Your mom still giving you shit?" Ash asked, putting her phone in her pocket. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and opened the package, pulled a smoke out, and held it to her lips, lighting the smoke without much thought.
"Of course she is," I answered, frowning at Ash. "I thought you were quitting?" I commented on her smoking.
Ash inhaled the smoke in deeply, and exhaled. "Yeah, me too," she answered.
"My dad kicked my sister out last night, again," Ash groaned.
"Alice?" I asked.
"Yeah," Ash responded as she took a long drag from her cigarette, and dropped it to the ground, stepping out the ember.
"My mom's about to kick me out too," I sighed. The sky was glaringly blue. I could hear the locus screaming from every angle. Sweat trickled down my neck. I didn't want to believe that my mother would kick me out, but if I failed at school too I knew I'd end up having to crash with my dad in Rogers.
Ash leaned against the rail next to me. "I get it," she sighed. "We're all just figuring out what to do." She jumped up on the railing, and sat beside me. "Wish our parents didn't shove us out the door on the way out."
I laughed. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I have no idea what I'm doing." College was what was expected. Don't get me wrong, the idea of higher education didn't scare me. It was the fear of spending thousands of dollars I didn't have on something that might not be worth it. "My mom's lined up a job for me with one of the philosophy professors as a teacher's aid."
"That's cool," Ash responded. "My dad says I need to get a job. My grade's weren't good enough for any scholarship, and I suck at sports, so you know, no hope for me."
I scoffed. "You're not hopeless."
Ash rolled her eyes, and hopped down from the railing. "Come on, let's go. Alice is staying at her boyfriend's tonight, and they want to have a game night."
"Alright, let's go."
I hope down from the railing, and jump on my long board.
I board beside Ash who's walking.
"You know, we could run away from all this," I daydreamed. I couldn't help but dream of living in New York, a city filled with culture, and life. I daydreamed about being a musician, but I didn't have the skill or drive. I'd be the sub-par accountant version of an pianist. "Just a thought."
Ash gave me the side eye, the look of "you can't be serious." Ash's entire family lived in Liberal, but this town drove me insane. There was nothing to do. I wanted to feel alive, and free of the restraints of my family's expectations.
"Forgive me for having a drive to get out," I laughed.
"It isn't so bad here, Grace," Ash growled at me. "You make somewhere home, you just need a different perspective."
"I've lived here my whole life, I think my perspective is fine."
Issaic's house was at the corner of Wentz and 37th, a whole five minutes of bickering, and boarding from the bridge. Ash had given up trying to convince me that I was the problem, and we approached the door in silence. I held my board close to my chest. Issaic's dad made me nervous. I hoped he wasn't at home. With wide eyes, I looked for Rocky, Issaic's dad's truck. It was nowhere to be seen.
Ash knocked at the door, but before her knuckles met the wood, Alice emerged. She was smiling ear to ear. Her brown curls bounced when she jumped, and hugged her sister, Ash. "You guys came!" She squeaked.
"Of course we came," Ash laughed.
"Is Rocky home?" I asked nervously. Issiac walked up behind Alice. He wrapped her arms around her, and rested his chin on the top of her hair. He wasn't stunning, but definitely wasn't my type.
Issiac shook his head. "No, he's out at the oil rig for the week. He won't mind Alice staying over. What he doesn't mind, won't hurt him."
"Speaking of which, what'd you do to get kicked out, Alice?" I asked.
Alice blushed. She looked a little embarrassed.
"I'm pregnant." Alice answered.
My eyes grew big. I didn't breath for a moment. "Alice, you're 17. What are you going to do?"
She looked down. "I'm excited about it."
My shoulders relaxed. A soft smile grew on my face. Alice wanted this. She wanted a baby, and a family. She may be young, but there's worse things in life than a child. In a way, it was wonderful for her. She was beauitful and in love. "Okay," I sighed.
A smile spread on Alice's face. Her and Issiac steeped out of the doorway, and gestured for us to come inside. "Make yourself at home," Issiac said.
Ash and I walked inside the house. It always smelled faintly of weed and sandalwood. The entire house was painted the same section 8 white paint. I took my shoes off in the doorway, and walked over to the wore out suede couch. "We should celebrate," I announced while plopping on the couch. "What's the plan for the night?"
Alice wondered into the kitchen to retrieve a bag of chips for everyone. On the round kitchen table there was a two or three board games, but the TV was also on with Call of War loaded on the screen.
Ash set next to me on the coach, and pulled out her phone. "We're going to eat chips, drink, and pretend that tomorrow isn't going to happen," Issiac said from the kitchen. I could her the faint giggles of Alice, and the sound of Issiac kissing her. They were cute, I had to admit. They would lead ordinary lives with ordinary children. I almost felt bad for feeling that way, for feeling that ordinary was bad. I hated the thought of being ordinary. I wanted to be extraordinary. Admittedly I felt ordinary. I leaned over Ash's shoulder. She was texting someone. I looked away not wanting to intrude.
"I'm not going to drink," Alice interested.
"Good," Ash stated.
Issiac came out of the kitchen with a three of red solo cups, and a bottle of brandy. He smiled, and poured us all a drink. Alice followed Issiac from the kitchen with a glass bottle of rootbeer in her hand. "To the future," she said raising her class.
"To the future," we all chimed in, clinking our cups together. We all smiled. At least for now we had each other.