"Craig! You home?" Laura called out.
The patio door was slightly ajar, leaving Laura to believe her son had left it open as usual.
He was always leaving minuscule messes and slight problems around the house. They were small, but noticeable. Like all the cereals she had just organized by color were always misplaced by the morning when she left for work. The Cocoa Puffs would always be out from the far right and placed right in the middle next to the Apple Jacks. Or she would have just vacuumed or mops and there would be distinct footprints in the home of someone who didn't take off their shoes before coming in. It would drive her up the wall, but it told her that Craig was there and he was safe.
He was safe eating cereal with his shoes on.
A plain 'yeah' emitted from the dining room.
Laura smiled at the voice and walked in, making sure to fully close and lock the door as she called out. "You left the door open." She placed her bag on the kitchen table and mumbled. "As always."
Another plain 'yeah' came from Craig.
She caught sight of the mail on the kitchen table, Craig must have brought it in. A slightly nice deed that hasn't been done before. Except for when there was a letter home from school, but those are usually accompanied with a call. "Doing homework?" She leaned on the doorway to the dining room to look at him, he was hunched over his papers and biting on the tip of his pencil. She hadn't seen him do that in a long time. "Hard homework?"
Craig finally turned around, first letting the pencil drop from his mouth to roll off onto the table then his work. "Yep."
The mother then noticed the strange smudge of something almost identical to his skin color, but the smallest tints lighter, smeared across his cheek near his mouth. She frowned slightly and walked forward to grab the boys face with one hand and wipe the smear with her thumb. "What's on your face?"
"Hummus." Craig tried to squirm his head back while his mother tried to get the remnants of the smeared dip off his face.
Laura squinted slightly as she inspected the hummus on her thumb. "Where did you get hummus from?"
"Tweek." Craig said with a final pull of the head away from his mothers hand.
Laura raised a brow. "You're getting along with your tutor?"
"Yeah, he's cool." Craig said grabbing his phone to start texting Tweek for some more homework help. Despite the fact Tweek double checked that day if he had any problems and him saying no. To say he lied as not to keep his tutor any longer than the already over-extended 2 hours on a Friday of all days, was an understatement. He fibbed his ass off. "Think I'm gonna have to text him now actually."
Laura smiled at the statement. She remembered the dramatic battle that occurred when she told him she had gotten him a tutor, it was filled with what was going to be broken promises and guilt-traps. It was absolute chaos just to make sure he went to the meeting with the tutor, having to take time off work just to follow him to school wasn't fun. Nor was coming back during the work day just to make sure he wasn't going to skip the session.
But.
Now he was here and he was doing his homework. Willingly going to his sessions with the tutor. Also, apparently, sharing snacks that involve hummus with the same tutor. It made that little worried voice in the back of her head feel a little calmer.
"Your dad would be happy to see you like this."
Craig froze in his spot, his fingers no longer typing out his message and brows furrowing a fraction before glaring at his phone. His jaw tightening and face becoming sour. The content mood he had been in had been tarnished. Laura didn't mean to say it out loud. She didn't think her mouth and conscious would act out against her in this way, but they did.
