Great piece, and you remind me of my mom when my sisters were that age. I was the youngest.

When my sisters were in high school, my mom was one of the "cool" moms, ferrying my sisters and their friends to their respective activities, while studiously not listening to their conversations.

And she gained the trust of several, to the extent that during one football game, which we attended to watch my oldest sister perform with her drill team, a school acquaintance who was having a bad trip recognized my mom in the stands, so she was asked to take the young girl home, which of course she immediately agreed to do.

And I remember well being watched and not heard, though thankfully not by my mom. Great description.