"How to Satisfy Your Parents Completely"
By Ynden Lizardo
All A’s and a sixty-three.
All A’s and a sixty-three.
Kevin Li sat on his bus and stared at his progress report in utter disbelief. If he was smart enough to receive excellent grades in the rest of his classes, then why was he struggling to pass calculus?
He never imagined his grade could ever be that low. His mom was a math teacher at another high school, but he never asked her for help because he didn’t want her to know he needed it. Why couldn’t he have inherited her “good at math” gene? A sixty-seven meant that Mrs. Li would make him do an hour of calculus practice every morning and night until he could raise his grade at least twenty points higher.
Kevin assumed that he’d have pass approximately the next fifteen consecutive assignments in order to get bumped out of the scholarship warning zone. He sighed and looked at the window. His bus was on the interstate now, along with all of the privileged kids who got to ride home after school in their (parent’s) cars. They were driving at a speed higher than what he received for calculus, and he debated whether or not to jump out of the window instead of riding the bus all the way home. Oh gosh, he could already imagine her imminent disappointment.
He looked broodingly again at his little sheet of misfortune. You know, he thought, a six almost looks like an eight. He took out a black ink pen. He could doctor his grade; after all, he did receive an A in art class.
He felt an invisible mental force slap him. Even if he made it look like a B, then he would have to explain how it dropped to a C on his report card. He could only bring up his grade to a mid-seventy at most, if he managed to get A’s on every assignment from now on.
Kevin smirked. He was being stupid. He was stupid.
He closed his eyes and envisioned the lecture his mom would give him, since he was too old to receive beatings. She would probably disown him. Ever since he was eight, she would always tell him how much she had to sacrifice so that he could receive an education in the States. She’d say that American culture was getting to him and he was taking everything for granted. If she was feeling merciful and decide not to disown him, then she’d send him back to his relatives in Shanghai. That would be a problem since he has long forgotten how to speak Mandarin. His grandparents would be ashamed of him.
He felt an urge to talk about his grievances to the only person he wouldn’t judge him: his older brother, Kyle. However, Kyle was probably busy at Harvard. Besides, he graduated as the valedictorian of his high school. He wouldn’t be able to relate. Stupid Kyle.
When he opened his eyes, the bus was heading towards his stop at the edge of his subdivision and he panicked a little in his seat. He really did not want to go home. His stomach felt queasy with anguish and his palms started sweating. The sunlight streaming through the windows suddenly became a lot more intense. He stopped thinking clearly for a moment. Nobody said that he had to go straight home after school. He wondered how long he could go without food.
The bus finally pulled to a complete stop. He groaned, then sighed determinedly. With his jaw locked, he picked up his backpack and got off the bus.
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