I left the comforts of my room (read: completing tutorials) with the intention of taking a short break. After all, I'd been working for well over an hour and I thought I deserved at least a tumbler of java juice. However, upon entering the living room, I found it empty, abandoned more like. The TV was on, but there was no one watching. A blue satchel and a soccer ball laid obtrusively on the carpeted floor, waiting for anyone to trip over them. The kitchen light was on, wasting away.

I checked all the rooms and bathrooms but I could only find my mother, peacefully asleep in the master bedroom. That boy was gone.

At a fleeting moment I thought he'd gone to grandma's upon receiving a call from her, her house being a block away. But I pushed that idea aside, since no one could have possibly gotten through the line. I was using the internet as I had to refer to the MOE English syllabus to get one of my tutorials done. Therefore I came to the conclusion that he had sneaked off somewhere, possibly to meet one of his undesirable friends. True enough, the faithful single set of house keys which was always hanging behind the door was gone.

About some minutes later, he returned. A sleek can of Milo was gripped firmly in his left palm. I wasted no time in interrogating him as to his whereabouts. Another unfortunate situation, to be reprimanded. He soon escaped, thankfully nonetheless, to the solace of night prayers.

Oh, and the can of Milo? I emptied it down the sink.