By: David He

“Come meet me in my office after school, Tom,” Mrs. Strucker, the English teacher at Lumburd Middle School, said. “We’re going to have to discuss your grades.”

Tom was in the sixth grade. He always had trouble learning at school on every subject, even though he was always trying his hardest. No matter how much studying he did at home or tutoring he took, his tests and quizzes were always marked with a “D” or, if he got lucky, a “C.”

When Tom got his first report card back, which was full of “D’s,” his parents thought he had a learning disability, like dyslexia, but when his parents took him to the doctor, he wasn’t diagnosed with anything.

Tom’s parents thought that Tom was just not trying on his exams, but Tom was trying to do his best, so he became frustrated at his parents and himself.

When the day’s classes ended, Tom trudged towards Mrs. Strucker’s office, expecting another rant about how he hadn’t reached his “full potential.” In the past, he has gotten called to Mrs. Strucker’s office multiple times, and he didn’t have good memories of her because she was always so strict and harsh towards him.

When Tom reached the door to her office, he took a deep breath and went inside.

“Hello, Tom,” Mrs. Strucker said. “Please take a seat,” gesturing towards the chair across her table.

Tom set down his backpack and sat, not looking Mrs.Strucker in the eye.

“So, Tom, I hate to tell you this, but if you get another “D” in my class, you’re not passing this class,” Mrs. Strucker said.

“Look, I know you’re trying, but our school policies say that a “D” is not a passing grade, so if you want to pass English 6, you’ll have to find some way to get better grades.”

Tom tried to keep his anger and frustration in while listening to Mrs. Strucker. He was tempted to let out his frustration and yell at Mrs. Strucker, but he just sat there, looking at the wall.

“…succeed in this class,” Mrs. Strucker said while Tom wasn’t paying attention.

“Do you understand, Tom?”

“Yeah, sure,” Tom mumbled. He looked at the clock and asked, “Can I go now?”

Mrs. Strucker frowned and didn’t look pleased, but she reluctantly sighed and said, “All right, go home now.”

While Tom was walking home from school, he thought about how he could possibly pass that class.

“Should I just do the extra credit?” Tom thought. “No, I’ll probably fail that too.”

When he was almost home, he then decided that, as long as he kept trying his hardest, everything would somehow turn out okay. This was the first time he thought of his scenario like that, and it calmed his nerves. He took a deep breath and continued to walk home.