Scrawny as the boy with the red hoodie and baggy jeans was, nothing helped when trying to sneak in undetected through the front door. 

  ”I see you. Come here Victor.” Ms. Miller stood in the dim kitchen light with her hands on her hips and feet firmly rooted to the floor.

  Victor, who, like any boy in trouble, found it easier to pretend not to hear his name being called and took a few more rushed steps further into the corridor.

  “Oh no, I’m not stupid. You heard me,” Ms. Miller said.

  The boy froze with the tip of his toe over the doorstep to his bedroom. Knowing very well that he couldn’t get away now, Victor turned around and submissively walked towards Ms. Miller. The boy leaned over one of the mismatched kitchen chairs and restlessly started to kick one of its legs repeatedly.

  “I got a call from school, and then you don’t come home. We were worried that you’d run off again.” Ms. Miller looked at the boy and noticed a fresh bruise on his chin that hadn’t been there earlier in the morning. 

  “I’m sorry Ms. Miller,” Victor said as he gazed through the window. 

  “Victor, please stand still and look at me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said again, this time with a hint of annoyance in his voice and glanced over to Ms. Miller. 

  “I thought you were doing better,” Ms. Miller sighed, dropping both her arms to the sides.

  “I was!” The boy said and kicked the already beaten chair a bit harder than intended to. 

  “Why did you get into a fight this time, huh?” Ms. Miller said, unaffected by the noise of the chair’s sudden impact on the kitchen table as the experienced woman she was. 

  “I don’t know,” Victor said frustrated over the question and resumed the less aggressive kicking on the chair. 

  “Alright, you’re grounded for a week so you’ve got plenty of time to think of an answer.” 

  “Whatever, you can’t tell me what to do.” 

  “Is that so?” Ms. Miller crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

  “You’re not my mom,” Victor said defensively.  

  “I know, but so long as you’re under this roof you have to listen to my rules, as do everybody else here,” Ms. Miller said firmly and added, “I’m not doing this to punish you”.

  “It feels like it… sometimes,” Victor said and rubbed his watery eyes with the back of his hand, fighting to keep even more tears from swelling up.

  “Your heart is in the right place, kid. Always remember that.” Ms. Miller shaked her head and with a deep breath, and some arm gestures, invited Victor to a hug. 

  To an outsider it may have looked like the boy unwillingly received Ms. Miller’s embrace, but Ms. Miller knew better for she felt a heavy head on her chest and thin arms pressed around her waist. Although, they didn’t reach all the way around… but let’s not get into that.