Teen All Smiles For Senior Portrait Nearly Decade After Being Hit In Lip By Bullet

(CBS) -- Two years ago when a Chicago teen went to the white house, something striking happened when he met the first lady…Marcus Norris didn't smile. CBS 2's Chris Martinez reports, now we know why.

Some habits are tough to break, but today Marcus Norris is letting go of the past with ease.

It's been nearly a decade, since the high school senior, lost his smile. At just nine-years-old a stray bullet tore through the wall of his South Side home, hitting Marcus in the upper lip.

Doctors removed the bullet, but at the time he was too young for dental implants.

"Yeah I remember it but I don't like to talk about it because I get emotional," Marcus said.

All that has changed now, thanks to Tim Jackson with the Becoming a Better Man program and other supporters, even strangers. Together they raised the money to restore the young man's smile just in time for Wednesday's senior portrait.

"We met a real need and I know his confidence is a whole lot better so I feel a whole lot better about his future," Jackson said.

"The best part is I could take my pictures and smile and stuff and take pictures with everybody and smile without hiding," Norris said. "I'm happy I can smile."

For now, Marcus has temporary dentures but will eventually get permanent implants. He hopes to get those later this year.