home away from home

1

Every year thousands of people hit the county fair for the attractions, the food, the rodeo, and even the concerts. The air is the time of the year all of my rodeo friends and I can hang out and compete together and against each other. My dad, Wesley tucker, is a four-time rodeo hall of fame recipient and my mom, Cheyenne tucker, is a three time NFR barrel racing finalist. I have a little brother number colby-Wayne, he calf ropes. He has already won 24 buckles and he's only in the fifth grade. And for myself, I've been rodeoing since I could walk. My name is kyler-masyn tucker, I've won four youth rodeo championships, thirty-two buckles, six saddles, and three trailers. In the youth rodeo work I was kind of a big deal, but now I'm in the high school rodeo division nine. My family and I live right outside Teague, Texas on 200 acres of family land. I go to Teague high school and there aren't more than 200 kids, in my town rodeo is a lifestyle.
    "Mom!" I yelled across the house. "Did you pick up my shirt from mrs. Betty?" Like usual I don't get a response, it typically means she's busy with colby or she just doesn't want to answer me. I'm an impatient person so I walk myself to the other side of the house to find my mom and dad quietly talking.
     "Hi honey", mom softly says with a hint of sorrow.
"Did you pick up my shirt?" I impulsively ask.
     "Yes I did, it's in the mud room" she sounded off, like she was wanting to tell me something but she couldn't. I started to walk away when she interrupts me.
   "Kyler-masyn?" She called me by my whole name (which typically means I'm in trouble or she has bad news).
  "Yes momma?" I answer back with a shaky feeling knowing I'm not going to like what I hear next.
  "Your dad and I want to talk to you and your brother about something." And just then little colby Wayne comes running in as happy as can be.
     My dad enters the room slowly and asked us to sit down, he looked around and hesitantly started to talk. "Your mom got offered a spot on the red bluff rodeo team up in Colorado." He explained to us that we were going to have to move with her and continue our ranching and rodeo up there. I was devastated, no, I was furious, I had worked so hard for the division nine team, finals were just six weeks away, we couldn't move now. It all sounded so unreal we had everything we needed here, what reason was there to leave.
  I went to school the next day and I tried really hard to not show I was upset. My best friend Blaine approached me in the hall way and part of me wanted to run. How could I break the news? We had rodeoed together since the beginning, the only rodeo we both didn't compete at was when my horse was lame. I was so heart broken.
  "Hey there mays!" She said with such enthusiasm, "why do you look so upset?"
I wanted so bad to just turn and walk away but I couldn't, she deserves so much for how good of a friend she is for me to not say anything.
     "Blaine, there's something I gotta tell ya'" I paused with a sigh, "mom got an offer on the red bluff rodeo team..."
  She interrupts me, "omg! Mays, that's awesome! She must be so happy, why aren't you happy?"
  I exhaled deeply, "because we are moving to Colorado."
"You're kidding, right? You can't be serious, this has to be a joke?" She had a hopeful look as if it was a joke.
"No, it's not a joke", as much as I wished it was, it wasn't.
The day went on and soon the whole school knew, then the whole town. Everyone was asking questions, offering to help pack and load horses and tack.

Soon the day came and it was one to leave, I had all my bags packed, horses loaded and we were headed off to start our new life in red bluff, Colorado. Goodbye Teague and hello new and scary world.