She worked part-time at a bank. Ben arrived at the house before she did a couple of days a week, and he hadn’t expected her to be home today. She was waiting in the kitchen as Ben walked in. “Hi, Mom!” he said, trying to sound as upbeat as he could. He walked past her and set his knapsack on the table. “Come over here,” Mom said. She examined the scrape on Ben’s arm. Then she put her finger under Ben’s chin and tipped his head up. “I had a call from Mrs. Nolan this afternoon.” Ben swallowed hard. He looked back down. “Oh,” he said. “What’s the problem, mister? You know better than that.” Ben shrugged. “It was nothing.” “Principals don’t call parents about nothing,” Mom said. “And boys don’t get their clothing and skin cut up from nothing.… I thought Loop was your friend.” “He is.” “So why were you two fighting?” Ben didn’t have an answer for that. He knew he’d been feeling rotten all morning. Surprisingly, he’d felt much better after the fight.
