I wait until Mom leaves for work at the Blackwood mansion before I make my move. The morning light filters through our small kitchen window as I finish my coffee, my mind already focused on what I need to accomplish today.

"I'm going out to get some school supplies," I call out to Mom as she gathers her cleaning supplies by the door.

She pauses and looks at me with that worried expression she's been wearing more often lately. "School supplies? What kind of supplies?"

"Just some notebooks and ...