The Summer I Turned 18

"I can't stand it here anymore! You're so nosey and you don't care about my life. You don't care about my sports or my friends, or youth group. I hate you!" I realized as soon as I said those words to my mother that I had hurt her. Obviously I didn't hate her, but my emotions had gotten the best of me. My mom and I didn't get along very well, to say that I was a daddy's girl was an understatement. Maybe it was the fact that I was the youngest of three girls, or that my dad and I could sit and watch hockey for hours and never get sick of it. We didn't need to talk, we just understood each other. We had a passion for sports and for The Beatles. My mom, not so much. it was always "Turn that damn TV off! or Turn the music down!" The only TV she watched was the news and the Young and Restless. My dad though, we could watch nature shows and history channel all day together. I wish he was home right now so I get away from her.

Slamming the door to my bedroom I called up my best friend Amanda. "Can I come and spend the weekend at your place? My mom is driving me crazy."

"Sure, come over after Youth tonight."

"Awesome, I'll see you at six. It's Mission Impossible tonight right?"

"Yes! The best event of the year!" I grinned at her. Amanda and I along with our two other friends Kim and Jenn formed what was known within our circle of friends as "The Grusome Foursome." We were inseperable and did everything together. Mission Impossible was an event at our Youth Group where they would drop us off in one part of the city and we had to make it back to the church without getting caught by one of the henchmen, who were usually Youth leaders and parents. It was so much fun to try and wit them. We even managed to get the cops called on one guy who was chasing us down the street.

That night we never did make it back without getting caught though, try as we might.

"So I applied for a few jobs today." I told the girls as we walked back to Amanda's house. Jenn was the only one who had her driver license, but she didn't have her car and getting her parents to let us take the mini van was like pulling teeth.

"Oh where?" Jenn asked. She got along with her parents as well as I did and was always escaping to my house to get away.

"I applied for a few in Jasper and a couple in Banff, plus one at Hemlock. Anywhere but here."

Amanda and Kim both looked at me and shook their heads. "You're not going to do any good by running from your problems."

"I'm not running." I replied. "I just need a break from my family. I wish I got along with my mom as well as you do." Amanda and her mom were like BFF's and I was more than jealous of their relationship.

"Suit yourself Cheryl, but you'll come back. If you leave I give you two months before you miss us and come crawling home."

"Who knows, maybe two months is all I need to make things better." I sighed.

Amanda opened the door to her house and we were greated by the shrill squeals of the twins. Jamie and Katie loved all of us and were always happy when we came over to "play" with them.

"Leave us along guys, we have to go and book a limo for grad."

"But mommy said you guys would play with us!" Katie whined as Amanda shut her bedroom door in her face. Little siblings, something I was not used to. Sometimes I wished I didn't have older siblings either.

"Cheryl, did you talk to Sean about the limo? Is he going to help pay?"

"Yeah I think so. He better." I laughed. Sean was my grad date, he was also one of my better friends, although if he had his way we would be more than friends. I just never saw him like that.

I sat down on her bed as Amanda and Kim pulled up a list of limo companies on the computer, thinking about how I just needed to get the hell out of town and figure out life on my own.