Landon sat in the corner of the coffee shop, music playing softly through the speaker above him. He was hunched over his journal, scribbling away.
I can’t go back to that school. It’s not my home. It hasn’t been in a while, but especially - 
“Aren’t you a little young to be sitting in a coffee shop at ten a.m.?” a voice called out. Landon looked up. “Surely there’s a seat in a classroom somewhere that’s missing you.”
“Oh, uh, no …” Landon capped his pen, eyes wide as he stared at his biological mother - who, of course, had no idea who he was. “It’s a day off.”
Seylah tilted her head and put her hand on her hip, giving him an age-old classic look.
“And you must be a mother, because I know that look.” Landon said carefully.
“No.” Seylah laughed and shook her head. “No kids of my own.”
Landon’s heart fell. “Oh, uh … then I should probably get going - to school.” He shoved his things in his bag hastily. Seylah just smiled amusedly as she watched him scramble, leaving a dollar in the tip jar and rushing out of the cafe.