Covid Success 🦠

Nahia was at school, but not in the way you would expect. Due to Covid-19, she was on Zoom in her purple bedroom and was sitting on her bed with flowers on the comforter. Her math teacher, Mr. Zorn, was droning on about the concept of algebra to a group of bored seventh graders.

Nahia is a sweet girl. She is athletic and plays competitive soccer. But here's the thing: she has ADHD and dyslexia, making it hard for her to learn at school. On Zoom, it was much harder to focus, or so her parents thought.

That night, at dinner, Nahia’s parents exchanged worried glances. They asked her about her day. Nahia excitedly told them about Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo. Her parents carefully avoided questions about reading and writing so as not to spoil her mood. Nahia told them about her new homeroom teacher, Mrs. Sonsett, who had super big earrings that made Nahia laugh. She then finished dinner and went upstairs to finish up some homework.

Nahia’s mom got up to do the dishes and turned to her husband.

“We need to talk to Mrs. Sonsett about Nahia,” her mom said, breaking the silence.

“Hon,” said Nahia’s dad. “Are you sure we should intervene? Last time, she wouldn’t speak to us for a week!”

Nahia’s mom gave him a hard look and went back to the dishes.

“Okay, I’ll call her,” he surrendered.

The next day, Nahia’s dad picked up the phone and called Mrs. Sonsett. Nahia’s teacher picked up in a bright cheery tone, even though it was seven in the morning. “Hello! This is Anna Sonsett!”

“This is Edward Edgewall. I’m calling to talk to you about Nahia.”

“I need to tell you something about Nahia too!” Mrs. Sonsett exclaimed.“We had a spelling test yesterday, and Nahia got the highest grade in her class.”

Nahia’s dad stood in silence for a moment before Mrs. Sonsett reminded him of what he was initially calling about. “Oh, well….” he trailed off for a moment before finishing. “My wife wanted me to tell you a bit about Nahia, but I’m now thinking that it’s not necessary.”

“Alright, if you need me, give me a jingle!” Mrs. Sonsett replied cheerily. With that, Nahia’s dad hung up.

Nahia’s mom walked into the room just then. “So?” she asked expectantly. “How’d it go?”

“I didn’t tell her..” said Nahia’s dad. He then relayed what Mrs. Sonsett had told him.

Nahia’s mom was astounded. “How?” she wondered.

Nahia’s dad just shook his head and walked out, just as shocked as his wife about Nahia’s sudden success.

"Mom! Dad!" Nahia shouted as she ran into the room waving a sheet of freshly printed paper. "Look! This is the test I took yesterday!"

Her parents took the paper and scanned it up and down looking for a grading mistake made by the teacher. When they found none, they looked again and again to no avail. They looked up at Nahia with matching expressions of shock.

"Was it Mrs. Sonsett?" Nahia's mom asked.

"Was it your tutor?" Nahia's dad asked, thinking of the tutor Nahia disliked and insisted that she didn't need.

"No!" said Nahia. She skipped gaily around cheering for herself. "I understood it better on Zoom because I can private message the teacher if I'm confused. When I'm in person, I get too nervous to ask for her to re-explain things that I don't get!" Her parents looked at each other, then back at Nahia. They looked at her test. 105%. She had even gotten every single bonus word right!

"You weren't cheating, were you, Nahia?" asked her mom.

"Not at all!" Nahia exclaimed, frowning. "Why would I? The web camera’s always on, and I’m always sure to be honest."

"We are so proud of you!" said Nahia's dad while looking at his wife. "Let’s take you out to dinner for this amazing work! Where do you want to go?"

"Why don’t we go to that Italian restaurant down the street?" Nahia asked excitedly.

"Why ever not!" Nahia's mom exclaimed.