Free Leaving Serenity by Alle Wells Page A

if she was getting ready to bellow out a hymn. “Your father and I heard about that little tantrum you pulled at the café today. That place is obviously having a bad influence on you. We feel that it’s best that you quit that job and get ready for school to start.”
    My nerves jumped like needles through my skin. I felt the tears boiling up in my eyes as I raced through the reasonable arguments. “You’re making me quit my job? But what will Rosie do without me? And what about Goldie?”
    Mama looked dazed. “What?”
    Daddy prompted Mama. “Goldie is the car, dear.”
    Daddy dropped the magazine and leaned forward in his recliner. “Your bank account looks great, Trooper. I’m proud to say that you’ve saved six hundred dollars this summer. That’s more than enough to take care of Goldie for a while. I agree with your mother that you should take a break and get ready for school. You’ll be an upperclassman this year. You have a lot of fun activities to look forward to. Jeff will be going to the community college this year. And since your sister is afraid to drive, it’ll be a great help to your mother and me if you’d drive her to school and to her music lessons.”
    Mama broke in. “Annette, those people at that café aren’t like us; they’re very ordinary. It’s time for you understand that and make better decisions when choosing your friends.”
    Daddy rolled and unrolled the magazine as he talked. “Your mother is right, dear. Being around people like that isn’t good for you. How would you like to be on the cheerleading squad this year? You’ll meet some nice girls there.”
    I sat there, helplessly listening to them take away my freedom. Going back to school and being a cheerleader was the last thing on my mind.
    “Can I go to work tomorrow?”
    Daddy looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Okay, you can work there until school starts. I think that’s fair enough.”
    “And be sure to give those awful tee-shirts back to your employer,” Mama added.
    Daddy leaned back and reopened his magazine. Mama turned back to the skirt in front of her. I couldn’t picture myself going back to school or wearing those ugly skirts again. Deep inside, I had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to happen. 
    “Can I go now?”
    Mama concentrated on her needle. “Yes, you can go to bed now.”
    “ ’Night, Trooper!” Daddy called out as I closed the door.
    Stretched out on my bed, the room felt like a prison guarded by my parents, the wardens of my life. I thought about the life I wanted and the life they wanted for me. They didn’t know me or even want to know me. Working at the café made me feel important and needed. I liked earning my own money and having the freedom to buy what I wanted. When I was at work or with Jack, I felt like an adult, not the little che erleader Daddy wanted me to be.
    That night, I dreamed that I saw Goldie’s taillights speeding away from Serenity.
    The next day, my face felt as long as the braid hanging down my back. I dreaded telling Andy and Rosie that I had to quit. I took breakfast orders, cleaned, and silently resented my parents’ control over me. After the breakfast rush was over, I noticed Andy standing at the counter, checking me out as I wiped down the tables.
                  “Hey, Annette! Whassup?”
                  My head felt heavy from thinking so hard all day. I needed to spit it out and get it over with. So I dropped the dishrag in the bucket and plopped down on a stool at the counter. I stared absentmindedly at my distorted reflection in the chrome napkin dispenser.
                  “My parents are making me quit when school starts.”
                  Andy nodded at the countertop and said nothing.
                  “Well, don’t you even care that I’m leaving?”
                  Andy lit a Marlboro. He took a drag, as if he’d find the answer in the dregs of the