Upcoming Midterms

Zayd felt rather troubled by his Aunt's call. He was not allowed to attend the Boxing Lessons any longer as his Aunt had found out about the upcoming midterms.

It wasn't a problem for Zayd as he already knew midterms meant clubs getting cancelled. Luckily, Zayd was able to get home without wasting too much time.

---

"Zayd, you need to focus. These next years of your life are pivotal in deciding your future to a large extent. I know it seems like these midterms aren't even that important, but they are. They are good to practise for the future. I want the best for you. If you go to do those midterms and don't do your best, I will be disappointed." Aunt Naomi gave Zayd her version of a pep talk. It was on the border of becoming a straight-up lecture.

"I understand," Zayd replied succinctly.

---

'Okay, the first thing to revise is Science. Let's go through Biology first.' Zayd was not dull-witted- instead, he was a master procrastinator. He got bored most of the time and wanted to have fun with whatever he was doing.

Working for a total time of an hour with breaks every 20 minutes, Zayd got through a lot of content he had not been able to cover in the library. As he thought of that, he remembered Minoru. Zayd never interacted with anyone at Middle School or High School other than Himari. He had not talked to her earlier today as she was with her friends, and he did not want to feed the flames that were the rumours.

Moving on after his fifteen-minute break, Zayd focused on doing some Mathematics. It was Zayd's worst subject by a long shot, but only because Zayd was quite bad with numbers. Otherwise, even other subjects were a breeze so long as he put in some basic effort.

Psychology studies have shown the effects of different types of praise on children. In terms of motivation, studies show that praising someone for the efforts they put into something is more effective than praising the person themselves.

For example, telling a kid who tried painting that 'you've tried very hard, well done.' It has better effects than telling a kid, 'you're such a good artist, well done.'

Effort changes because the child feels like they need to try hard to do good instead of doing little to do well. So they never put effort into things that matter. With time and a growth-suited environment, this can change.

Zayd vividly pictured the times when he was younger, and the teachers would praise him for being a genius. Zayd never liked it. It garnered attention from jealous people who, as children, lacked restraints on their actions. Eventually, the situation escalated from mere jealousy to attempted bullying. So Zayd fought them and made them regret what they did.

---

A few days passed, Zayd was studying quite rigorously, which pleased his Aunt very much. It was self-imposed, so Zayd never minded it. When Zayd put his mind to things, he always got stuff done. A few hours of studying felt like nothing as he had some music playing in the background to help him relax.

"Zayd!" His Aunt called for him from downstairs. Zayd felt like his ears had grown to recognise her voice specifically. Somehow, he always managed to hear her even over the loudest things. For example, they had gone to a theme park one time, along the way to some rides- it was deafening as his Aunt talked to him. However, he could make out every word.

Going downstairs, Zayd saw his Aunt on the couch. She wasn't watching anything, and the room was dark as the lights were on in the kitchen area but not in the living area.

The house had an open floor plan- the walls were only around them, and nothing separated the different areas that would usually be separate rooms.

Seeing his Aunt, Zayd knew she could not keep up the strict demeanour she had held for the past few days due to the midterms. She patted the space next to her on the couch. Gesturing for Zayd to sit.

As he sat down beside her, he could not guess what was on her mind.

"What's up, Aunt Naomi?" Zayd inquired. His Aunt put her head on his shoulder.

"Nothing much. I don't see much of you since you've been staying up in your room all day when you weren't at school or the Gym. I felt a little extra lonely, plus, you should have a break."

"Sorry, I was listening to what you said the other day. Do you remember? When you said the midterms are good for practice? Plus... there's also the fact that I didn't want to let you down."

"Awww. Zayd..." His Aunt smiled beautifully. She leaned in for a hug. "You always know the right words to make me happy."

Zayd smiled back as he wrapped his arm around his Aunt's shoulder and embraced her for a moment.

Releasing her, he looked into her eyes, noticing something.

She looked tired. Bags - that were barely visible due to makeup - hung under her eyes.

"Aunt Naomi, have you not been getting enough sleep lately? Your eyes are yellow. Are you feeling okay?"

"Honestly? I don't think so. You know I never handled stress well. There's a lot on my mind right now. Unlike you, you're so much like my dad, your grandad. He was so relaxed even if the house was falling to pieces around him- he never let anything affect him. I am so envious of you. You're like a little version of him."

"Little?" Zayd asked in an offended manner.

"Sorry, 'Mr Babyface', I forget you're sixteen now. In my mind, it was only the other day when you arrived."

"Okay, I forgive you," Zayd said.

Aunt Naomi harrumphed in triumph and rested her head on Zayd's shoulder again. This time, she closed her eyes.

"You know, Zayd, your shoulder is quite comfortable." She sighed as Zayd put his arm around his Aunt's waist and held her tightly against him.

Sitting there in silence for a while, Aunt Naomi had fallen asleep.

'Her breathing changed. Is she asleep?' Zayd asked himself. If she was not asleep, he did not wish to disturb her. Meanwhile, if the opposite were to be the case, he'd take her upstairs.

Lifting his Aunt in a princess carry but wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Zayd took his Aunt to her bed and put her under the covers. Making sure everything seemed okay, he felt a little bad still for neglecting his Aunt. Kissing her forehead as repentance, Zayd bid the sleeping beauty a restful night.