Insults fired out of his mouth in return to his mother’s argument, only to immediately flicker out. “I’m sorry,” he frantically repeated as his mom stood in shock. He stood there, begging for forgiveness as any person would do towards their idol. “Please get out,” his mother uttered angrily, stoically. He abided by her command and quietly gathered his things and left. No goodbye, no nothing, just resentment where mutual respect used to be.

He stepped out into a world with nowhere to go and whispered, “What next?” in the cold, empty night.

Senior Mark Funches was kicked out of his home by his mother last year for arguing with her.

“I was kicked out because I challenged my mom’s position within the home, which made her highly upset,” Funches said. “She had called me out on my grades and so as a come back I called her out on her relationship with my dad. I feel like she had the right to throw me out for that.”

Left to fend for himself, Funches decided to move in with Matthew Pfluger, a friend of his who attends Pleasant Grove.

“When he got kicked out, the original plan was for him to go home later that day,” Pfluger said. “When his mom wouldn’t let him go home, my brother was in college and his room was open, so we just let him stay.”

Now with a roof over his head, he sought to earn money in order to cover his expenses. He eventually settled with the idea of selling candy in a duffle bag for the price of a dollar.

“I sold candy because it helped me have money in my pocket, so I could help pay for food and my phone bill,” Funches said. “I always offered to help more, and repay the people that treated me well.”

It was difficult for Funches to adapt to his new reality, as he struggled to deal with everything that had transpired. Some students laughed at Funches after learning why he was selling candy, and they questioned his intentions.

“Dealing with the stress of school and my situation at the time was hard because when I told people, they laughed,” Funches said. ”And I didn’t think it was very funny.”

Even though he was away from his parents, he still longed to see them.

“I missed my dad but I was really mad at my mom,” Funches said. “My dad was the only one that backed me up and checked up on me.”

Although his experience wasn’t the best, he refused to let that put him down. For the most part, he took valuable life lessons out of his unfortunate turn of events.

“I learned that I can handle myself as far as bills go,” Funches said. “I feel ready for when I decide to move out.”

Funches is now back in his parent’s home, and feels as if there is now a common ground between him and his parents.

“I feel better towards them. Now I feel like I can look them in the eye and they have actually forgiven me,” Funches said. “We fight a lot less and we joke more often, and there is a safer feel to our household. It’s nice.”