You’re the most talented kid I know. The smartest, too. Since you were little, you’ve been educating yourself. Outside of school you read a lot, you watch video lectures and take notes, and you even check out textbooks from the local library to study subjects you’re interested in. And when you’re not being educated by yourself or by your teachers at school, you’re participating in a fuckton of extracurriculars. I’ve never seen someone as proactive as you. It makes me very proud of you.

Tonight is one of the many nights where you come home late because of your extracurriculars. I turn to smile at you from my seat on the couch. That’s when I notice that… something’s off.

“Hey, kiddo,” I say warily, setting my phone down. “How was your day?”