Suddenly, Thuy was standing and staring past me. I followed her eyes to discover my mother walking towards us. She embraced Thuy and hugged her tight. "I'm glad to see you again, Jennifer."

"Thanks, Mrs. B."

"How was school?"

"It's over for a week or two, so it's good."

"I'm glad to see you around. You've always been a part of our family, you know."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said with a look to me.

My mother turned to me. "And I'm glad to see the basketball still works."

"Umm – yeah, it still goes in the basket. Funny, that." I tried to give a look to Thuy but...