"That's it- I've had it with you!" a woman shouted. "This is absolutely the last straw! I'm going to give you a few minutes to pack your things, and then I want you gone!"

"You can't be serious," the receptor of the angry woman's exclamations replied in a sarcastic tone of voice. "You're always threatening to do this but you've never actually gone through with it. Are you sure you have the guts, Mom?"

The woman's eyes flashed fire.

"Oh-ho-ho," she said, in dangerous tones. "You have no clue just how much guts I have. I give you fifteen minutes. I will repeat- fifteen minutes. If I never see your face again, it'll be too soon."

With that she turned and walked out of the room, very slowly. Somehow her footsteps seemed menacing, even though she was retreating.

Sora sighed. He could feel it now- she really was serious.

At least today she didn't tell me, 'You're going to end up just like your old man!' Which was normally what she came up with whenever she couldn't think of anything better to say. He really didn't know all that much about his old man, apart from the fact that his mother seemed to have regretted ever having laid eyes on the poor fellow. For all he knew, his father could be some great success by now- his mother hadn't spoken to him in years. He was guessing he whole thing between his parents had been some kind of one-night-stand shabang. Honestly he didn't have a clue, and honestly he really didn't care. His only question right now was- where could he go?

He and his mother lived in an apartment on the beat up side of Death City, if you could name it that, the Slums District. They always had to be careful of hoodlums.

"Who's going to be the man of the house when I'm gone, eh?" he shouted.

His mother yelled something unintelligible in reply and then repeated her warning.

"Fifteen minutes!"

"Who's going to buy you soup and pamper you when you're sick?"

"Thirteen minutes and counting!"

"Are you going to even give me a farewell gift?" he called back.

"Sora, I'm telling you that if you tell me one more thing...!"

"Okay, okay," he said, and headed in the direction of his bedroom so that he could pack. At least it was worth a try.

There wasn't that much for him to pack up. Hoodies, jeans, and baseball caps- the latter always worn sideways on his head- were all he ever wore, as well as a beat up pair of black sneakers with white stripes, which, he hadn't replaced in months. His mother was always spraying them with some type of odor-repellant because she claimed they "Stunk to the high heavens."

Sora didn't have any clean pairs of regular socks, so he took his dress socks. He was only supposed to wear those- and his brown dress shoes and snazzy blue suit and tie- on special occasions, but now was not the time to be picky. He didn't bother to pack the suit- he pretty much hated it, even though his mom kept it in impeccable condition.

Sora checked his watch when he was done. He had about three minutes to spare.

"i'm going now, Mom," Sora called out as he hefted his green gym bag over his shoulder. He hesitated a minute then added, "If I die, this will all be your fault!"

Sora heard a click and then a creak as his mother's bedroom door opened slowly. Her face was red. She held out an envelope to him. He raised an eyebrow as he reached for it. She held it back away from him in a hesitant gesture.

"There's fifty dollars in this envelope," she said sternly. "Promise me that you won't blow it all off on candybars."

"I promise," Sora said gruffly, reaching for the envelope again. She held it back once more.

"Promise me."

Sora gritted his teeth, then nodded.

"I promise," he said more determinedly.

She held out the envelope again, and Sora took it from her hand. He knew that she would've given him more, but this was probably all that she could afford. She was a waitress at the local cafe and had to work odd hours. It wasn't easy for her to take care of the both of them, but she'd done a heck of a job.

And now, she was kicking him out.

"Thanks, Mom," he said with a little half grin.

She turned away and crossed her arms, but not quickly enough for him to miss the tears glistening in her eyes.

"All right, get out of here, you little punk."

"I love you."

He saw her flinch as though she was struck, but she didn't turn around.

"Love you too, Sora," she said gruffly. "Now get out. Your time is up."

And so it was.

Sora put on his favorite baseball cap- a green one featuring a hare being chased by a hound- and stepped towards the front door. He spared his mother one more glance before opening it. Goodbye, Mom. He thought to himself. Until we meet again.

Then he opened the door to the wide open world.