The front door was open so he walked straight in, went down the hall and saw his mother in the kitchen, facing away from him. He entered the kitchen to go and kiss his mother as he always did when he came home from school. She turned around and he saw her face - so terribly changed. "So you're home, you little beast!" she screamed at him. "You have a bit of explaining to do, my young man."
Len jumped back in fright. What was wrong with his mother? She must be seriously ill; she certainly looked it! Before the woman could continue, Len's father charged into the room in a rage.
"Well, I see you're home. How dare you! How dare you! I had to come home from work as soon as I found out."
"Found out what, Father? What have I done?"
"You know damn well what you've done!" yelled his father, and slapped him furiously on the face. Len began to cry in fright, running from the room. His parents chased after him, soon catching him. His father grabbed him by the neck and slapped his face again, making him scream.
"What have I done? Please tell me, what have I done?"
His father hit him again, and said, his voice trembling with rage, "Get out of my house! Get out, and never come back!" and then slapped him on the back of his head so hard that Len fell to the floor, howling with pain and fear. His father kicked him. "Get up! Up and out! Come on!" He began to drag the fear-stricken boy across the floor, but Len stood up as soon as he could. He saw Mark and Sadie standing by the hallway wall, Mark poking out his tongue and making ugly faces, Sadie turning up her nose in disgust. Ken screamed, bewildered, as he was half-dragged, half-pushed to the front door, where his father threw him out, down the steps onto the concrete walk, and slammed the door.
There he lay, wondering, pain in his body and mind. What had he done? What had he done? After a long period of time he lifted himself up and began to stagger towards the front gate. Just then the front door flew open and his father appeared, shaking his fist. "Go on, pig. Get out, before I come after you with a stick!"
Len dragged himself through the front gate, and trudged along the footpath. A few people passed, laughing, as if at him, and he walked, hardly seeing where he was heading. An old man watering some flowers looked at him, staring with evil eyes, then looked away in disgust. Len started running, his mind whirling. Why? Why? What had happened? His parents had never even been cross with him before. He ran exhausted, worn out, across the main street. He fell down, mainly in despair, not knowing what he was doing, not understanding anything. He just lay there, catching his breath, his heart beating violently, and at last began to get up, but was suddenly run over by a bus.