“What?!” I said. “What if I don’t want to move? Huh! What about that!? You cant just make me!”


“Sweetie, we know this might be hard but we have to do what’s best for us, and you and your sister. Right now moving to be closer to ministry is what we think will benefit you,” Mom said talking for her and her husband, Trey.


“Well you know what? I’m not going! I’m gonna talk to Haileigh and see if her aunt won’t mind a little company ‘til I can track down Robert! Uh-Huh that‘s right I said it! I‘ve been looking for Robert for the last couple months!” I said. As I ran to my room and slammed the door.



Growing up in a rugged small town, my home, the last thing I wanted to do was move. Mom says it will be good for me. She claims that it will help me see things from different views of the world. I think that it’s a bad idea. Harvard U. could be located in Louisville, KY and I still wouldn’t want to move.


“Rhiannon, honey can you just try to let us explain?” Mom said, before she knocked on my door and tried to open it. I was two steps ahead. I knew that’s what she would do so I locked the door.


“NO!” I screamed from behind the closed door. Then I heard Mom walk away. As her footsteps got farther and farther away from me, and closer to the living room I started crying. How could they do this to me?! They knew that E-town was my home! As I started to regain my self I opened the door, ran to the spare bedroom, grabbed my suitcase, and headed back for my room slamming to door as I reentered.


I picked up my phone and dialed my best friend Haileigh’s house.


“Hello,” a voice said with a nice clean French accent. It was Haileigh’s aunt.


“Hi, Alane?” I said responding to the familiar voice. “This is Haileigh’s friend, Rhia. Is Haileigh home?”


“Oh, Hi Rhiannon! Yes Haileigh’s home. Let me get her for you!”


“Hello?” Haileigh said in her clear American accent, as her aunt handed her the phone. “Rhia, is every thing ok? Lane says you don’t sound all that good.”


“Hey, Hail. I’m not ok. MomjusttoldmethatTrey’sdadwantstomovtheministrytoLouisville! ShesaidthattheywanttomoveintoLouisvillethatwaywestayneartheministry!”


“WHAT! Girl I cant understand a word your saying! Slow down! Now what about Trey’s dad’s ministry? I took a BIG inhale and then tried again.


“Mom just told me that the ministry is moving to Louisville so we are too!”


“Oh Rhia! What can I do to help? We can’t let you move!”


“That’s why I called, I was wondering if you think Lane might let me stay with you ‘til I can find my dad?


“Rhia you didn’t!”



“I did! I told Mom that I was looking for him!” I said now crying again. Then I heard this rustling at the door. “Hail hold on!” I said as I started walking toward the door. Within ten feet from the door I could smell the new perfume my sister was wearing. She was trying to be older than what she really was. A lot older. “Leanne! Get away!” I said in my angry-don’t-mess-with-me-unless-you-want-one-across-the-face voice.


“Mom told me to talk to you!”


“Well tell Mom I’m already talking to some one and I don’t need her or any of her lousy slaves to try and make me feel better!” I said. After that I heard my sister start to break down in tears and run toward the living room. I didn’t care. I went and laid back on my bed and continued my conversation with Haileigh. “Sorry ‘bout that. Where were we?”


“That’s ok. I talked to Lane and she said you can stay as long as you want! She said you can move in immediately! Isn’t that good news!” Haileigh said.


“AHHHHH!” I screamed in excitement as I started packing my stuff. “ Ok so we need to go shopping so I can buy some furniture. I can use my emergency card that Mom gave me. Wait…” I said stopping in my tracks. “What about the baby, isn’t she supposed to have him next weekend? You only have a four bedroom house, and with your aunt, uncle, cousin, you and the coming baby where will I sleep?”


“She said you can sleep with me! She said we can get day beds and set them up!”


“Hail I don’t know,” I said sitting down on my bed. “I don’t think I can do that to you and with the baby I….. I don’t know…..” I said sounding less and less excited. Let me think things over and call you back I said.


“K that sounds good to me just-hey don’t worry about the baby well figure things out”


“Alright love you see you at school tomorrow.” After remembering the baby I thought that our idea was more and more impossible. Soon I made my choice and decided not to call Haileigh back in fear of her getting upset at me and not wanting to be my friend.

***

The next day at school was ruff. I couldn’t keep my mind off of the move. I guess Haileigh was tired of seeing me the way I was and got Eddi to sit next to me at lunch. Eddi was the funniest guy that I had ever met! He always knew how to make me laugh. We practically grew up together. Whenever I moved, he moved. We’ve lived in every nook and cranny that E-town could contain. When he sat down by my I smelled his strong Axe Cologne. He grabbed my hand as he turned toward me to start talking.


“Where’s your food Rhia?” he asked.


“Don’t act like you don’t know me!” I said already laughing at him though he wasn’t cracking a joke. “I’m sure that Hail already told you what Mom announced yesterday. I’m moving! You of all people understand how hard that is! How can I eat!?”


“Hey! Hey! Hey! Don’t get all Betty on me!” Eddi said. I started busting out laughing! I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt! Betty was a poor old lady that Eddi and I used to live by. She was mentally unstable, God rest her soul. She would always have us at her house to watch her kitties for about $5 an hour. One of her many mental disabilities was being Bipolar. Poor Eddi, one day he asked her a question and thinking that he was of great harm to her she took her cane and started beating him on the back! She chased Eddi around her whole house until I went by her side an said: “Betty, your biscuits are done.” As if she had been under a spell she put her cane down and quickly walked to get her biscuits out of the oven.


After that incident with Betty our parents decided that it be best if we moved out of that neighborhood. “I still think about that day when Betty started beating me with her cane” Eddi said rubbing his shoulder remembering. So after I heard about what happened I rode out to the store on my bike and got you something ‘cause I knew you weren’t gonna bring your lunch.” Eddi said as he handed me a jumbo Hershey bar with a green bow on it.


“Eddi! Oh thank you!” I said as I started to tear the bar apart.


“See I told you that you could make her feel better!” Haileigh said with her mouth half full of my chocolate bar.


“Yeah you did. I guess you know her better than me sometimes,” Eddi responded. Haileigh just smiled at the compliment.
***


Later that week we had finished packing all of our things. Reluctantly I decided to go with Mom an Trey. While I was busy finishing things I’d started, Mom had already found a house for us to move into. On the last day that I went to school there were a lot of tears and sad crying. My teacher let me bring in chocolate chip cookies and she made no bakes, my favorite. As the bell rang for school to be over I gathered all of my belongings and headed for the car-rider line out side my trailer of a classroom.


“You ready?” Mom asked as I hopped into the car.


“As I’ll ever be” I said while rolling down my window and waving bye to my friends. While Mom started to drive away a tear rolled down my cheek. I held my breath not wanting to cry in front of her.


“So Rhia, why did you do it? Why did you start looking for your father again?” Mom asked once we were on the highway.


“What about Leanne and Trey were are they?” I asked trying to change the subject.


“Rhia, don’t try to change the subject! But since your so concerned they are already at the house!” Mom yelled already losing her temper.


“How?! We just got out of school like 20 minutes ago!” I responded starting to get upset about the secrets she was keeping from me.


“Leanne didn’t go to school to day! Now why did you start looking for your dad again?!” Mom asked obviously growing more and more upset.


“Well! If you must know! I wanted to get back in touch with him so that he could try again. So that maybe he would try to be apart of our lives again!”


“Rhia, how could you?!”


“I did what I had to do! And that’s all I’m going to say on this subject!” I responded in a tone Mom hated me using with her. She had nothing else to say though.

***


“Now for review I’m going to put some problems up similar to those that we did yesterday” said Ms. Spalding. Since the move Mom put me into a summer program where I would prepare to take the Advanced Program Placement test. I was in math on my first day in Louisville and we were working on integers. I did all of the problems except one because I didn‘t know how to do it. Felling it was my responsibility to tell the teacher that I hadn’t attended the program since the start, I got out of my seat and went up to her.


“Excuse me,” I said. “I’m new, and I’m not sure how to do number 5”



“Ok well we’re gonna go over them as soon as everyone gets done, and my name is Ms. Spalding” she said with gum in her mouth. It wasn’t ‘til then that I noticed she had a sweat suit on. As I went back to my seat she said “And what’s your name?”


“Rhiannon,” I responded mater-of-factly.


“Rhiannon, ok” she said. “So what school are you going to?”


“I might have to go to Manchester….”I responded. She said nothing but her face told me all that I needed to know. My opinion on the school was accurate. Manchester wasn’t a school for me. “But I want to go to Noe” I quickly added. Her expression changed and for the better of the school then she said:


“My cousin works at Noe.” she obviously was trying to make up for the facial expression she thought I may or may not have seen. “What is the answer to the first problem?” she asked no longer talking to me but to the entire class. “Uh…” she said as if looking for some one in particular “Remind me of your name again” she said as a boy raises his hand.



“Ahmad” he said be fore answering the problem. Right be for leaving Ms. Spalding told me that she thought I was a great student and if I wanted she could talk to the principal on my behalf that I may be able to attend the school that she works at. What I didn’t know when she was talking was that the lady in front of me I would later know as Jessica, my best friend.

***

“So are you ready for your second first day of seventh grade?” Jessica asked.


“I think so” I said laughing at my new best friend. I had started the school year at Manchester because mom thought it would be good for me. But after only 9 days we decided to take the offer that had been given to us over two months ago. So we put in a transfer application and the district accepted. I now attended Farnsley Middle School. As we took a tour of the building Jessica showed me where all of may classes were and introduced me to few of my teachers. As my language arts teacher gave me a list of things I needed for her class I waved at Jessica and smiled. The beginning of my new life had started and I finally was adjusted to it. I finally learned that no matter what change is always good. No matter what after losing a few good people, you gain a few more.