It doesn’t make sense moving again.”

Sara snapped her eyes back at me like a rabid dog. “Why does it have to make sense? Besides, I hate Texas!” Sara shrieked as if she wanted to throttle me.

I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but this move felt different from the other times. I mean, we were always rushing out of town for some tucked-away reason. Either Sara got caught in bed with her married boss or we were getting evicted. Apart from the usual get-out-of-town-before-I-get-arrested list of reasons, this time seemed eerily aberrant. It was as if some compelling force had Sara by the hair like a breechcloth Neanderthal dragging her off to the land beyond. Which only existed in Sara’s head. It baffled me. “Can’t we leave in the morning?” I reasoned. “We’ll both have a good night’s sleep, and I can go to my birth      ”

Sara cut me off in midsentence. “I’ve made my mind up. We’re leaving.” Lines etched deep across her forehead like grooves carved in petrified wood. Nothing was going to budge her decision. Turning back to her fanatical packing, my loving mother dismissed me like a disposed tampon.

I rolled my eyes right before the words spewed from my heedless mouth like a toddler puking. “Mom, moving’s nuts!”

Sara quickly snapped, pointing her combative eyes at me. “Are you saying I’m crazy?”

Instinctively, I stepped back out of range of her reach. I liked my teeth. “That’s not what I meant.” I backpedaled. At this point, I’d say anything to stay. “I’m sorry.”

Hands white knuckled, cinching her hips, she glared at me as if I was the Taliban. “I’ve about had it with you!”

I blinked back at her wondering who was the adult in this family. Sara often struggled with her adult role. From her miniskirts to her blatant behavior mimicking a spoiled child, the lines often blurred. I’d become the designated adult. “Mom,” I calmed my voice. “I have friends here. The school is great. My grades are dope. Doesn’t that have any weight?”

It was as though my reasoning went straight to voicemail without box-set-up. She pointedly replied, “You’ll make new friends.