<div style="text-align: justify;">"No, mom, I'm fine, really. It's just a cold. I probably caught it from one of the kids. Yeah, I'm doing my best. It's not easy to rest with two children in the house, but I'm trying. Okay, I have to go pick them up. Thanks, mom, I'll call you back later".<br/><br/>Hanging up, Mrs. Sinclair put her phone on the seat next to hers and made the turn to the pick up line. She loved how organized the school her kids went to was, as pick up and drop off were always easy and quick. Well, not today. Seeing her son's teacher wave made Sarah take a deep breath. She knew Miss Parker never wanted to talk to a parent unless there was a problem. Gesturing for the woman to wait - she needed to pick up her daughter too -, the woman picked young Maggie up and waited for her to get in.<br/><br/>"I'll have to talk to Miss Parker, dear. It won't be long, okay?".<br/><br/>The girl nodded, curious. "Is Ben in trouble, mom?", she asked, curiously.<br/><br/>"I don't know, baby, I hope not", Sarah replied, finding a place to park her car and helping her daughter out. <br/><br/>She felt a little nervous about what could have happened. The question did last long, though, as she saw her son sporting a black eye and a split lip. <br/><br/>"Oh, my God... what happened?", she asked, getting down on one knee to take a look at the boy before looking up at the teacher.<br/><br/>"He argued with another boy during recess, and when we got to them, they had exchanged a few punches already. Neither boy wanted to say what started it. We're giving them both a two day suspension to cool off. I'm sorry, Mrs. Sinclair".<br/><br/>"It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm very sorry, Miss Parker, that won't happen again. Let's go, Benjamin".<br/><br/>The little boy cringed. He knew hearing his mother use his name in full was never a good sign. Yet, he held Sarah's hand and stayed silent until they were in the car.<br/><br/>"Are you mad at me?", he asked in a sheepish intonation.<br/><br/>"Extremely", Sarah replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself down and checking if both kids were settled before starting the car. <br/><br/>"Are you gonna tell dad when you call him?", the boy continued.<br/><br/>"Of course", the woman replied, paying attention to the traffic ahead.<br/><br/>"Just one more, mom, I promise. Am I grounded?", Benjamin asked, even though he was sure of the answer.<br/><br/>"You bet. And I will have many, many chores for you".<br/><br/>The rest of the short drive home was made in silence - Benjamin thinking about the next two days, and Maggie taking a nap.<br/><br/>As soon as the small family got home, Sarah helped the kids out of the car and sent them both inside to take a shower and change clothes while she prepared a snack for them. While she did so, as usual, Sarah dialed for her husband and left her phone on speaker to free her hands. It was just one of the many traditions they had created in their years living together and as a married couple.<br/><br/>"Hey, baby, we're home. Ben got into a fight today at school. I don't even know what to say right now. Call me back when you can, please. Love you. Oh, let me know if you have a ride home, or if you want us to pick  you up.".<br/><br/>Having recorded her message, Sarah prepared some fruit salad and waited for the kids to come to the kitchen, still thinking about an adequate punishment for her son and about how she should even approach the situation and figure out why he had gotten involved in a fight when it wasn't something in character for the boy.</div>