While looking for someone to do yardwork for her, Mrs. Kaye comes across seventeen-year-old Clark. His countenance reminds her of an ad she saw in the paper looking for a little girl who ran away. Strangely he does not remind her of the child in the photograph, but rather what she pictures the mother must look like after the loss of her child. Clark lives on his own and is on a constant journey of self-improvement. He refuses to owe anyone anything and holds himself to rigid standards in regard to paying his own way. This contrasts heavily with Mrs. Kaye's own two sons. Looking for someone to help with his homework, Clark convinces Mrs. Kaye by using his work ethic to persuade her rather than his words. The hard work he does in the yard and his hesitance to take a break for milk and cookies causes Mrs. Kaye to feel bad for him. Despite her initial discomfort with the idea, she gradually comes around to it. She suggests the idea to her husband. Although he is also hesitant at first, he accepts the idea after watching Clark at work and speaking with him. Her husband's harsh tone does not seem to bother Clark and in fact, he seems to admire the older man as he later starts to imitate him.

Clark remains formal and keeps his environment clean once he has moved in. He works most of the time, that is, when he is not with his girlfriend on Sundays, and it becomes obvious that part of what he is making up for with hard work is a poor education. Clark is hesitant to secure tutoring from his teachers at school, so Mrs. Kaye asks a teacher to tutor her instead so she can be of more help to him. She knows Clark would despise this, especially because he is not paying her extra to do that and certainly is not paying the teacher to do it. After Clark finds out that Mrs. Kaye got math tutoring for free so she could help him, and the teacher refuses to let Clark pay him anything for the work, it becomes apparent that something has changed. Usually strict and formal, Clark falls asleep lying on the lawn and later sits on a chaise without asking. He then writes a story in the middle of the night. Mrs. Kaye reads the autobiographical work and learns that he had a younger sister who was thrown out of a window when he was a young child, presumably by her parents. She wasn't very smart and he learned to avoid doing what she did in order to avoid the wrath of his parents. This brings Mrs. Kaye closer with Clark when she tells him she can correct some parts of the writing, but doesn't want to interfere with his imperfect words because they are the best way to tell his own story.

Soon after this, one of Mrs. Kaye's sons bursts into the room. It turns out that Clark was sleeping with his girlfriend. Mrs. Kaye's son brandishes a knife and both ignore her as they circle each other. Clark is about to lunge for a knife himself, but she interferes, knocking over the knives and cutting herself in the process. After this, Clark has to move out. He moves with little fuss, leaving his room clean. Mrs. Kaye is worried about him as he doesn't go to school the next morning, but he soon sends her copies of some of his diary entries, where she learns that Clark understands why she interfered in the fight and hopes to see her again someday.