Changing Tunes by Heather Gunter, Raelene Green

puts a smile on my face. “Thanks for asking, Austin, I appreciate it, but no thanks. I’ve got it taken care of.” He nods his head and I walk through the door and into my sanctuary. I drop onto my bed, throwing the covers over my head.
    He doesn’t care about me, and he just proved it today. He’s so concerned about his precious reputation, and he actually thinks what happened to me was my fault. I’d give anything, anything to have my mom. To have someone to go to and hold me, someone to wipe my tears and tell me everything is okay; someone who will stand up for me to my dad. As much I crave to have my mom be that person, she’s not here, and hasn’t been for years. That falls on me and me alone, and I decide, here and now, I have to do something about it.
    This is my first year of college, and it’s barely begun. Something has to give, if I’m going to make some changes. I sit up and wipe the tears from my face, grabbing my purse and yanking out my phone. I text Mac, asking where she is. Less than ten seconds later she replies she’s almost home. Right after that, she asks if I’m okay. I reply that I will be.
    Relief washes over me, and I realize how stunned I am that she is my go-to person. The person that I run things through, someone I know will always have my back. I never saw that as a possibility, ever, not with anyone. She’s the one constant, and even though I haven’t known her very long, sometimes…sometimes you just know. I’ve been around enough people to know sincerity when I see it. Mac doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She’s the kind of person that when she cares, she cares all the way. Throwing one hundred percent in to every friendship. Every time I’ve told her something horrible I’ve done, she’s never judged me. She let me start from scratch, and she doesn’t see me as damaged. She sees me as someone worth giving her time to. She’s my best friend. I say it out loud, testing the phrase out. It feels really good to say, and I smile as I say it again. Mac is someone who is with you for the long haul; she’s proved it time, and time again. 
    I walk to the couch and sit, grabbing my legs and tucking them into me, wrapping my arms around them and wait for Mac. Barely two minutes later, she comes barreling through the door and throws her stuff down on the floor. She has a look of alarm on her face.
    “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me nothing because I can tell.” She sits down, crossing her legs in front of her and waits for me to explain.
    I rest my case . This girl knows me better in just a couple of weeks than Miranda ever did, and I grew up with Miranda.
    “The Warden called me and he was pissed.”
    Mac smirks, “Why? Because you didn’t answer his text in a ‘timely fashion’?” She uses air quotes when she speaks.
    “Yes. That, and a couple of other things he brought up.” I tell her the whole conversation, and I watch her face go from stoic, to angry, to royally pissed. She shakes her head when I tell her about the embarrassment my father felt over the ‘indiscretion’ he believes was my fault. I don’t miss the bastard that escapes her mouth. When I finish, she sits back and says, “I’m proud of you, Ash, you didn’t roll over. You handled yourself better than you ever have before. You didn’t back down or remain submissive. You stood up for yourself. Now that is the Ash I know.” She’s quiet for a bit, deep in thought. Finally, she asks, “How far are you willing to go to gain some control of your life?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You are stuck under his thumb in every way possible. Imagine if you could be free. Imagine if you had the capacity to show your dad you aren’t going to back down, and you can be independent.”
    “How would I do that?” I ask curiously. I’m at the point where I will do just about anything to gain some control of my life. “What are you suggesting? Because I’m game for anything at this point.”
    “This is