Free Anytime Soon by Tamika Christy

pie?”
    â€œNo, thank you.”
    As she poured the gook into the blender, I was sure I was going to puke up my pie any second. She finally sat down with her mud concoction.
    â€œHow are things going, Ava?” Mom asked.
    I was quiet. Sometimes I felt that my sister was a stranger.
    â€œThings are going good, Mom. We have a new minister at the church, and he wants to start an outreach effort, so we’re working to get that off the ground.”
    â€œOh, that sounds productive. Will you guys be going door to door, ministering to people?”
    â€œNo, not that kind of effort, Mom. We’re reaching out to employees of capitalist companies that support and practice research efforts that are contrary to human morality.”
    Is she insane?
    Mom’s left eyebrow rose, which made me glad. Ava was over the top, and somebody needed to say something to her.
    Ask her about the minister, Mom. Ask her about the church. Does she have to give blood samples to be a member? Do they all wear black Nikes?
    â€œAva,” Mom asked, “will you be going to these people’s workplaces?”
    â€œWe sure will.” She smiled in an almost sinister way.
    â€œIsn’t that a bit radical?”
    Mom must be starting with the easy questions. I’ll just keep quiet and let her flow.
    â€œWe have to be radical, Mom, to awaken the sleeping spirits of those people who work for those awful corporations. Most of them have no idea what’s going on, or what kind of company they work for.”
    I was about to say something, but Mom put her hand on mine, so I closed my mouth.
    â€œAva, you’re supposed to be spreading God’s word, aren’t you? Why would you go to a business and talk to people about the company they work for? That has nothing to do with saving souls or leading people to God.”
    â€œIt has everything to do with leading people to God, Mom.
    By exposing the cruel intentions and practices of those demon corporations, we’re opening the eyes of their employees to see what kind of evil they work for.”
    Mom put her hand up to stop Ava from talking.
    This is getting scary.
    â€œAva, you are not allowed to go to anybody’s job and inform them about anything their employers are doing. If your church wants to do community outreach in the traditional way, that’s fine. I have allowed you the freedom to express yourself, and you can protest everything under the sun. But I don’t see you spreading the word of God, or even practicing the forgiveness and tolerance the Bible advocates. You are forbidden from participating in this outreach effort. Do you hear me, girl?”
    â€œI will participate in this effort, Mother. I’m sorry if you don’t agree.”
    â€œ What did you say?”
    Slap her, Mom! Slap her!
    â€œI said, I am participating.”
    â€œMom said you can’t,” I said. “Are you going to be disobedient? Doesn’t the Bible speak about obeying your parents?”
    â€œAnaya, your nefarious attempt to make me a villain with your dogmatic views of my Christian conduct is nothing but a trick of the enemy, and I recognize it. Good night.”
    Did she call me a dog?
    I looked around to make sure she wouldn’t hit her head on anything when Mom slapped the crap out of her. But my effort was in vain, because the longer I sat there, the more I realized there wasn’t going to be any slapping going on. Mom was changing. Ava kissed Mom on the cheek and walked out of the room.
    â€œGood night, Mom,” I said, leaving the room shortly after Ava.
    She’s letting Ava turn into a fanatic.

FIVE
    M y workload at the faculty office was especially heavy because the application deadline for the master’s programs was approaching. I don’t know why the school chose a deadline so close to finals, because it caused twice as much work as normal. Despite the constant interruptions from the new office assistant, I