Late Night Biker?

The Prompts:

1.) A memorable high school job.
2.) That time you ran away from home.
3.) A boy you had a crush on…where is he now?
4.) Ode to your mother…write about a special memory you have of your mom in honor of Mother’s Day.
5.) 10 reasons why you could not be a real housewife from any county.

Okay...so, not that I'm some great writer or anything...but I fear writer's block this week!

I cannot even come close to any of these prompts EXCEPT #2...yep, that's right...I once ran away from home! Gasp! I know, my Mom would be mortified if she knew!

So anyway, when I was a little girl, I would talk often about running away.  There were many times when I actually packed, always in secret of course, and never once did I actually make it out the door (or window) with my doll stroller full of necessities (things like toys, books, snacks...no clothes! I mean what kid really needs clothes out in the real world?).

BUT when I was in jr. high, I actually did run away! It went down like this...

My Mom was out for the evening  with one of her sisters and I knew she'd be out late.  My Dad had passed out (not drunk, mind you! Just tired!) in the living room in one of the recliners hours earlier, tv still on.  I was pretty gutsy, if I do say so myself...I had to sneak through the kitchen and out the main house door in order to leave.  This meant essentially walking right behind where Dad was sleeping, out a creaky door, and pulling it shut behind me! Risky, but I pulled it off, heart pounding and threatening to explode and expose me!

I retrieved my bike from the shed and I was on my way.  Out into the night, riding down a pretty major two lane highway in my small town; not even considering, "what if Mom comes home this way and sees me riding AWAY from the direction of our house?" 

So I rode, and rode, and pedaled, and coasted, and pedaled some more.  Never before had I ridden this far at once! When I arrived, I was at least 7 miles from home and perhaps as far as 10 and it was about midnight.  Where was I? My boyfriend's house, of course! Did I mention I was all of 13?

Guess what?! He wasn't home; his Mom wasn't even home, but his step-Dad was... I was sort of loitering outside said boyfriend's window, open except for the screen, whispering his name (I didn't know he wasn't there)...hoping he would come outside.   Eventually I went to hide in the shadow of the large propane tank in the side yard.  Weighing my options...do I wait for him to come home?  Do I get back on the bike and go home? Can I even make it? What do I do if I get there and Mom's home? What if my parent's find out I'm gone?

Oh my GOSH! I am going to be in so much trouble if I get caught! This is not me! I'm the good kid...I don't do things like this...my brother does (sort of maybe the reason I left, but that's another story...).

Anyway, not too much pondering later,  boyfriend comes walking across the field from a friend's house.  His Mom pulls up in the driveway shortly after.   It was tough enough to explain to the boyfriend what I was doing there so late at night...much less fun to explain to his Mom! 

So, after some debating (I think they both thought I was NUTS), his Mom threw my bike in her trunk, we all climbed in the car and she drove me home.  Only, I was still petrified of getting caught! I wouldn't let her pull into my neighborhood, so she let me out, got my bike, and I assured her, I would ride straight to the house and go inside.  I begged her not to say anything to anyone and not to follow me into the neighborhood (on the off chance my parents saw the headlights and it busted me).

Off I go, back home, when headlights are coming up behind me.  Already in the shadows, I threw my bike down at the far edge of our yard and hauled hiney to the house!  Thinking it was my Mom, I nearly had a heart attack trying to figure out how to get back in! Turns out, it must have been the boyfriend's Mom because the car turned around and left.

I managed to sneak back in through the squeaky kitchen door, tip-toe to my room, get un-dressed, and climb back into my bed without my Dad ever waking.   As a matter of fact, I must have fallen asleep quickly because I don't even remember Mom coming home!

What can I say? The adventure wore me out! And that's the time, the only time, I actually ran away from home! (AND for the record, I am NOT proud of it!)