Mom and I always seemed to be going out to eat. Which I'm sure had to do with the long hours mom worked, she worked long, hard hours and even though she was off on Saturday and Sunday she was often too tired to really do much. Meaning I got stuck doing most of the household chores. Now, I don't mind doing a lot of the household chores, because mother always sees that I'm well rewarded for all my effort I pour into keeping our tiny cottage neat and tidy. While most of my classmates were given only a handful dollars in pocket money each week, mom seemed more than happy to hand me forty dollars each week as long as the house was spotless come Friday afternoon.

And by spotless I mean just clean enough where she could walk from one side to the other without having to step over anything. Anyway, I'm sure she could clean the house and keep it neat if her job allowed it. But one thing she could not do, she could not cook to save her life. So at least twice a week, we often found ourselves going for take out. It was fun though, because mom and I never visited the same place twice in a row!

Today, mom had decided she wanted to try “Cracker Barrel” a kind of restaurant that thrived on a kind of “Country Store" feel. It was one half gift shop and one half sit down restaurant. The gift shop so everything under the sun. Things like dresses, plaid shirts, preseasoned iron skillets, premeasure cooking and baking mixes, audio books, even toys! And up front you could find packs of Yu-Gi-Oh cards too! Well not booster packs, these were just bundles of twenty cards, twenty random cards. The difference between boosters? Well booster packs always contained at least one rare card. These bundles contained mostly common cards but sometimes you could get a really rare and powerful cards. They were cheaper than normal booster packs, a normal booster pack cost around three dollars and ninety nine cents. You could buy these bundles for like two dollars a piece.

“So.” Mom said as she gazed at me from across the small, square table. “I've been thinking a lot, and I want you to answer me as honestly as possible.”

I lifted my gaze from the small plate I was peering at and nodded my head.

“So, who is going to attending this thing? This so called 'Duelist Kingdom'? Is it going to be your new alter-ego 'Susan Sarah Prince' or it going to 'Caspian'?” Mom asked in a very matter of fact tone of voice as she reached over and wrapped her slender fingers her clear, plastic glass that held her drink of voice, iced tea, slowly she raised the edge of the glass to her lips as she took a sip of the amber colored liquid. Mom, unlike most southerners, she took her iced tea unsweetened. But she enjoyed it ice cold, and judging by the sour expression on mom's face, her drink was still barely cold.

“I don't know yet,” I said, reaching over and picking up one of the packs of cards. Slowly I started to open the plastic seal. I felt my heart jump into my throat.

“Well if 'Caspian' is going to attend, then that's all fine and good.” Mom said, taking another sip of her iced tea. “But if 'Susan' is going to attend. I'm afraid she and I need to have a mother and daughter talk. I need to take her under my wing and start giving her lessons on being a girl. I also need to point out some of the finer points of being a girl. As well as give her a crash course on girlhood. Also Susan and I need to do some shopping, because I need to buy Susan some shampoo of her own, a hairbrush of her own, because I'm getting a little tired of Susan using my shampoo, my lotion, hairbrush and dabbling in my make-up. She should have her own shampoo, lotion, hairbrush, hairspray, and make-up. And maybe I should give her a lesson on make-up. You know to keep her from looking like an extra in a Steven King Novella. I might end up taking her to the Sephoras in the mall. So she can get a few lessons in the finer points of applying make-up.” As soon as mom finished her little speech, she reached down and took another long sip from her glass of iced tea. I'm sure her throat was quite dry after such a speech.

I felt a small blush starting to bloom and slowly it started to spread from one cheek to the other. Slowly I started to go through my newly acquired cards.

“I mean 'Susan' is a bit too old to use her mothers shampoo, her lotion, which is meant for mommy play time. Her mommy is also tired of her using her hairbrush and leaving it looking like a bird's nest. And she is a bit too old to play with mothers make-up. It's high time she has her own. She is also way too young to be using my 'Midnight Rose' perfume.” Mom blushed. “That for when mommy has a date with a cute guy and she is feeling frisky and is searching to get some special kind of attention after her date.”

I paused, and briefly looked up from the cards I was holding in my hand and then I shivered. Oh my God that mental image those words conjured up!

“If I was going to say that yes 'Susan' is going to be attending the tournament. What would you say to that?” I said returning to flipping through my newly acquired cards.

“Nothing, Beside me giving her a crash course in girldom.” At this point I guess mom noticed I was paying more attention to the cards I was holding in my hands than her so she just took another sip of her ice tea and waited for me to return to earth if you will. But then she added. “You must have gotten some really good cards?”

“A lot of basic monster cards. Some decent effect monster cards.” I said taking a deep breath as I started on the second pack. “I've pulled a few decent spell cards, a few good trap cards. And some pretty rare cards too. So mommy can I ask a question?” I said as I ripped open the plastic.

“I guess, though it seems your more entralled with those new cards.” Mom said as she sipped her tea.

“If susan wanted to swear something, cute, and say flirty, like a dress or say a layered skirt, and something beside trainers. You know, she wanted to look cute and demure. What would you say to that?” I said as I flipped through the remaining cards.

“To that I would say that Susan and I need to go shopping at the local mall this coming Saturday. After I pick her up from her little card thing. That would be her first lesson in being a girl, learning how to shop and learning the boundries her mother will set.”

“Sure! Thank you mommy!” I said smiling. My smile reached from one ear to the other.

“..” Mom sighed and lifted her head toward the heavens. I believe she wanted to say something, but jast as she was about to speak, I made a suddn noise that made her head snap toward me. It was a weird kind of noise and a cross between a gasp and a yell.

“Honey! What wrong?!” Mom said as she pushed her chairback with such a force that it caused everybody in the place to stop what they were doing and turn their complete attention toward her and I.

“Mom!” I stuttered. “I can't believe my luck! I pulled it! I pulled it!” I said taking a deep breath. “I pulled the serect rare Tri-Horned Dragon!” I said taking a deep breath. “Mom you don't understand that like one of the rarest cards in the game! And mom look at this! A double blessing! I pulled a Black Eyes Red Dragon! Mom! I gotta wear a skirt or dress now! Because I'm going to build a deck that focus on just dragon monsters! I'm going to become known as Susan, the Princess of Dragons!”

At that very moment mom just placed her head on the surface of the table and took a deep breath.

“I don't understand kids these days!”

Before I could say anything else, our waitress arrived. Mom had order their classic chicken and dumbling a staple of southern comfort food, I on the other hand had orered the roast beef dinner. Mom had selected for her two sides nibblet corn that was drenched in butter sauce and fried okra. For my two sides I'd selected to have a double order french fries. Mom's bread of choice had been corn bread, again a staple on any southern table. My bread choice had been a yeast dinner roll.

“Okay honey, put your cards away.” Mom said as she slowly lifted her head from the table. Mom then decided to add. “And when you eat, remember to take small bites and to chew at least one hundred times, girls take their time to eat. I've noticed you have gotten into the really bad habit of wolfing your food down like you're a starving animal. Girls don't do that, they take their time and take small bites. Also be sure you sit straight up, put your napkin in your lap and don't put your elbows on the table.”

I paused.

“A young woman always wanted to appear as demure as possible. Being demure is something a girl learns from watching her mother and the other women around her. Young girls often mimic the manners of their mother, their aunts and older sisters. Since you don't have an older sister and your aunt is sixty miles away in Vicksburg. And so it falls upon my shoulders to teach you.

:Yes ma'am” I said

I paused.

“I guess there's going to be a lot more to this girl thing than learning how to look cute, learning how to flirt with boys, and ransacking the mall right?” I said as a small attempt to inject my own sense of humor into our current conversation.

“And I'm going to pretend for your sake that I did not hear that.” Mom said in a dead pan tone of voice. And then she looked down at my plate and then for some reason she rolled her eyes.

“Oh Jesus, pot roast, french fries, and a yeast roll and to wash it all down a coke-cola.”

“...” I raised an eyebrow.

“That is the oddest meal I've ever seen.” Mom said.

“I like dipping my french fries in the gravy.” I added.

“That is the most British thing I've ever heard.” Mom added.

“I mean..” I paused. “You did make me read the U.K edition of the 'Hobbit' and that weird boy who lives in a closet who is a wizard,his aunt and uncle are also pieces of trash.” I said dipping one of the crispy fries into the pool of gravy that had formed at the edge of my plate.

To Be Continued.