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Description
Inlé pushed the entrance door closed lightly behind him, calling, "I'm back."

"Welcome home, dear," his mother called from the kitchen. "You're having dinner with me tonight. No arguments, it's final."

"Fine," he replied, heading quietly into the bathroom.

Inlé dabbed at the back of his head with a red kerchief pulled from somewhere. When the blood was gone, he pulled a dark, viscous salve from his sleeve and daubed it roughly over the open wound. He hissed through clenched teeth as the salve hissed and popped, but it did its job. In a few seconds, his wound had closed.

"Dinner time! Come now, or else!" His mother called from the kitchenette.

"There in a moment," Inlé replied as he finished combing the salve into the toilet.

Inlé sat across from his mother, eating. "How is it?" she asked.

"It is very good spaghetti. Thank you." He took another bite.

His mother waited for him to continue. When he did not, she asked, "And how is school?"

Inlé didn't look up from his plate as he answered, "Uneventful as ever. Nothing unusual."

Inlé's mother lightly stabbed her own plate, and left it in her spaghetti. "Inlé, we moved here so you could have a fresh start. No one here knows about the troubles you've caused elsewhere. Why not make some friends?

"You must be lonely spending all your time locked in your room."

Inlé looked up. "I have little need for friends, mother. I am quite satisfied with the situation as it stands right now."

"Inlé ..."

Having finished his meal, Inlé rose. He cleared the table as he said, "Mother. Thank you for the meal, as well as your concern for me. The meal was quite good.

"Please do not concern yourself over my actions, nor my social activities. They are of my own making, and I cannot stress enough the thought and value I place in my choices and actions.

"My decisions may seem at odds with your perspective of how a high school male should act, but rest assured that I do indeed have my future in mind. I do not merely act in a manner at tangent with the norm for attention or to stand out.

"I do seem to stand out. But at the same time, I am able to go through the school day with little interference from learning that which I am required. My grades will likely be perfect, and this will allow me to advance well to the next stage of my life."

Lightly kissing his mother on the forehead as he headed out the room, he finished, "Again, thank you for your concern. But I will be fine, rest assured," and walked back to his room without seeing the pained look that watched his back as it exited the room.

Description
Inlé pushed the entrance door closed lightly behind him, calling, "I'm back."

"Welcome home, dear," his mother called from the kitchen. "You're having dinner with me tonight. No arguments, it's final."

"Fine," he replied, heading quietly into the bathroom.

Inlé dabbed at the back of his head with a red kerchief pulled from somewhere. When the blood was gone, he pulled a dark, viscous salve from his sleeve and daubed it roughly over the open wound. He hissed through clenched teeth as the salve hissed and popped, but it did its job. In a few seconds, his wound had closed.

"Dinner time! Come now, or else!" His mother called from the kitchenette.

"There in a moment," Inlé replied as he finished combing the salve into the toilet.

Inlé sat across from his mother, eating. "How is it?" she asked.

"It is very good spaghetti. Thank you." He took another bite.

His mother waited for him to continue. When he did not, she asked, "And how is school?"

Inlé didn't look up from his plate as he answered, "Uneventful as ever. Nothing unusual."

Inlé's mother lightly stabbed her own plate, and left it in her spaghetti. "Inlé, we moved here so you could have a fresh start. No one here knows about the troubles you've caused elsewhere. Why not make some friends?

"You must be lonely spending all your time locked in your room."

Inlé looked up. "I have little need for friends, mother. I am quite satisfied with the situation as it stands right now."

"Inlé ..."

Having finished his meal, Inlé rose. He cleared the table as he said, "Mother. Thank you for the meal, as well as your concern for me. The meal was quite good.

"Please do not concern yourself over my actions, nor my social activities. They are of my own making, and I cannot stress enough the thought and value I place in my choices and actions.

"My decisions may seem at odds with your perspective of how a high school male should act, but rest assured that I do indeed have my future in mind. I do not merely act in a manner at tangent with the norm for attention or to stand out.

"I do seem to stand out. But at the same time, I am able to go through the school day with little interference from learning that which I am required. My grades will likely be perfect, and this will allow me to advance well to the next stage of my life."

Lightly kissing his mother on the forehead as he headed out the room, he finished, "Again, thank you for your concern. But I will be fine, rest assured," and walked back to his room without seeing the pained look that watched his back as it exited the room.