It was then and there when she popped the question. “Honey, do you want to come with me to Texas?”
“Sure, mom” I said “On a trip?”
“No, of course not! We can go live with Duke”
Ugh I always hated Duke. He was my mom’s boyfriend. He is annoying and sometimes even hits my mom. Why would she want to go live with a man who claims he loves a woman but then abuses them?
“Nope. Sorry. Not interested.” I said bluntly to my mom.
What was she thinking? She thought she could just put all the pressure on me and expect me to want to leave everything I had in Riverside. If that is what she thought, she was wrong. Later that evening I had found myself sitting in my room thinking about everything I would miss out in Riverside if I were to go with my mom; the gossip, friends, and my family would be the worst
to leave behind.  I then realized that I needed to have a long hard talk to my mom about the seriousness of the idea of moving to Texas. 
I sternly get up out of bed and stomp down the hallway when mmm!!!  The smell of my mom’s famous cooking caught my nose and shipped it to paradise.  I sat on the table and sound a plate

of all my favorite foods; chicken, steak, shrimp, lobster, and crab with mushrooms and potatoes. I had already got a stomachache before eating just knowing that I was going to eat every last crumb on the plate. It had dawned over me that it all seemed too good to be true.
“What is going on?’
“Nothing my little angel. Go on eat up! May I remind you that I cooked all of your favorite foods? Just for the world's best daughter!”
“I do realize that mom, but I know that you just want me to say yes to Texas.”
“Oh honey please just consider it, oh please, please, please? 
“Fine. I will think about it.
“Yes!!!” she said ecstatically.
“It doesn’t mean yes, but I will think about it”
“Okay, thanks honey!”
As I walked away from the table in wonder of what life would be like in Texas, the thought of giving it a try sounded like a good idea. Maybe trying it out for a couple of weeks won't be so bad. The next morning I woke up and realized I needed to tell my mom what my decision was. I could not just keep her dangling like a key chain. So I walked into the kitchen and smelled bacon.
“Good morning honey,” she said sweetly.
“Hi mom we need to talk about Texas.”
“Okay go for it,” she looked very impatient, like she was not going to let me let her dangle.
“I have decided that… I am going to give it a shot.”
“Yes!!!”
The look in my mom’s eyes was priceless. She had the face of a person who just won the lottery. Later, that day I started packing for the adventure to come. My mom was also packing and was ready to hit the road. She was so excited she had gone shopping for me and bought a whole wardrobe for the new house.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, I am ready to hit the road Mom.
In Phoenix, Arizona we found ourselves at a little gift shop to buy some chips and souvenirs. The man welcomed us in and asked us where we were traveling. We had a 15 minute conversation and then we went our separate ways.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico we stopped again to get some world famous beef jerky. So far so good and I have not mentioned one thing about wanting to go home. I had felt a sense of
excitement when we were in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We were 15 miles away from the Lone Star state. When we finally arrived in Texas we had to drive 10 minutes down to the farm where Duke lived. We had stopped quickly at the store to pick up a few groceries for the morning. When we were checking out in the line the cashier had said something to me i will never forget.
“Howdy princess how are y’all doing this fine evening?”
“Great ma’am and you?”
“Y’all are not are from here, are you?”
“No how can you tell?”
“First off you have got those surfer guys accent and second you are the first to walk into the store all night without saying, howdy”
We had a conversation for about 10 minutes and just as we were about to walk away, she said,
“Welcome to Texas, you are always welcome.”
“Thank you ma’am see you real soon.”
The words of welcome meant so much to me because the people over here treated us differently than the people in California People actually treated you like you had known them for 10 years rather than 10 seconds.
         When we finally arrived at the house we were welcome with balloons and a big barbeque. It was a nice welcome and my mom seemed really excited about her new chapter in the book called Life. The next morning Duke had already left to his farm when i woke up. My mom had
decided that we go and surprise him with lunch. On the way we passed by a dairy, cotton fields, corn fields, and animal farms. It was a beautiful sight. Once we dropped off the food and left the farm, my mom decided to explore the city in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The mall there was humongous. I felt like I was in paradise.
         At the mall my mom decided to buy me a cell phone. It was the best thing ever because it let me talk to my friends and family in California. It kept me happy and inside all of the juicy 5th grade drama. This really helped me stay on track with sport and social media too! I was as happy as could be. The move to Texas was an amazing life choice. At the mall I had also met a really nice girl named Courtney Ramirez. She was tall with brown hair, brown eyes, and a big heart. She was my age at the time, 10 and was in the same grade as me too. We talked for hours about what our lives were like. She was the only friend I made in Texas. Throughout my stay in Texas we consecutively hung out with each other at the local waterpark Wet ‘n’ Wild. This waterpark was the cool kid’s hangout so obviously we wanted to be there. Every time we would go there we had the time of our lives. It was the saddest time of day when we had to go home and return back to reality.
         It was Friday night and I had just come from Wet ‘n’ Wild with Courtney. We walked inside my house and heard the unusual. Screams echoed the hallways and I turned to her and said,
” Do you hear that?”
“Yeah… who is it though?”
“Let’s go find out.”
So we walk down the hallway being as silent as can be and hear the screams getting louder and louder each step we take. We finally reach the door of my mom’s room and i could recognize the scream anywhere… it was my mom. So many thoughts are running through my head i am getting overwhelmed. I finally open the door and see Duke hitting my mom.
“Stop!!! What are you doing!!!?”
Courtney had looked so shocked and confused.
“I am calling the cops dude!” she said frantically
“Go, go, go!!!”        
         As soon as the cops arrived Duke tried to explain himself and all I kept saying was tell it to the judge buddy. My mom had been bruised, cut open, and hit so badly it made me cry. The sound of the siren had begun from a distance. I ran outside and started waving them down. They pulled up and asked me who the man was. I pointed to Duke and he tried to explain himself. I am not buying his sob story. After the cops had arrested him i quickly went to my mom and asked her what happened. She said that he got mad because the dinner was cold. It was all his fault and she tried to tell him that he came home later than usual. She pointed out that he had glitter on his face and that there is no glitter on a cotton farm. He got anger and started pounding her. The ambulance had cut me off in the middle of her explanation and took us to the hospital. Courtney’s mom showed up at the hospital to pick her up. That night we left the hospital and went home, my mom immediately packed up and hit the road. We rented the U-Haul truck to take everything from the house.
It was 12:25 pm when we arrived back in Riverside, California. We immediately went to my mom’s friends’ house and stayed there for the rest of the day. Ever since that night my mom has never spoken to Duke again. It was a night I will never forget.