It's been almost a month ever since Yasmine had been tolerating Elijah's sense of humor. Him always teasing and trying to pipe her up had become the norm for her even though she kept playing cool and acting like she didn't care on the outside.As Yasmine sat down to dinner with her parents on that Thursday evening, she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Progress reports had been submitted, and she knew her parents were eager to hear about her performance in her classes. While she had been tolerating Elijah's playful jokes in both her chemistry and drama classes, she hadn't shared much about her school life with her parents.

Yasmine's mom: I heard from your school that progress reports are out for all students.

Yasmine's dad: How were your results? I hope they were good...

Jasper's quick response about his grades made Yasmine feel even more anxious about discussing her own progress report.

Jasper: I received mine in my 2nd period class and I got straight As. All of them being higher than 96%.

He showed them his progress report with his letter grades and percentages.

Yasmine's dad: Wow, impressive, Jasper. You're doing better than last year.

Yasmine's mom: You know what? We should hang this right on the fridge next to your other achievements.

Yasmine's dad: But don't slack off and keep up the good work. Wouldn't want one of your grades to turn into a B because of an exam or quiz.

Jasper: Of course, I will, dad.

Yasmine's parents seemed pleased with Jasper's performance and praised him for his excellent grades. However, their tone shifted when they turned back to Yasmine.

Yasmine's mom: So, Yasmine...How was your progress report? I hope you got straight As like your brother.

Yasmine: I did, mom...

Yasmine's dad: Really? Do you know your exact grade percentages?

Yasmine: No, I don't. It didn't say on my progress report. But I'm sure I did fine.

Yasmine's mom: "Fine" isn't good enough for us to hear. We need to know the scores so that we know you're truly working hard in all your classes.

Her parents had always emphasized the importance of staying on top of her grades and being responsible about her education. Yasmine's parents, still unconvinced about her response regarding her grade percentages, decided to take a more proactive approach. They felt it was essential to have a clear understanding of Yasmine's academic performance, so they decided to call her guidance counselor. They wanted to confirm her grades and get a better insight into her overall progress in her classes.

Yasmine's mom: I'm going to call your guidance counselor to see what happened.

She quickly searched for her guidance counselor Miss Riley's number in her contacts and called her to wait for her answer. Finally, Miss Riley answered.

Miss Riley: Hello, this is Cheryl Riley speaking...How may I help you?

Yasmine's mom: Hi, I'm Yasmine Huang's mom. I'm here to address an issue about grades...

Yasmine's mom: Her older brother, Jasper Huang had received his progress report showing his letter grade percentages.

Yasmine's mom: But not Yasmine...Can you tell me what's going on?

Miss Riley: Hmm, that's a little strange. Did she receive two papers in her envelope?

Yasmine's mom: I'm not sure, Miss.

Miss Riley: Lemme check her name...

After a few minutes of typing Yasmine's name in her search bar for progress reports and finally her grade percentages were shown.

Miss Riley: Okay, Mrs. Huang...I have her grade percentages on my screen. Can't find any other crazy explanation for your daughter.

Yasmine's mom: Would you mind telling me how she did?

Miss Riley: She got a 98.14% in Precalc honors...

Miss Riley: 100% in P.E...

Miss Riley: 99.48% in chemistry honors...

Miss Riley: 97.89% in English honors...

Miss Riley: 99.23% in 3D art...

Miss Riley: 100% in Drama 1...

Miss Riley: And a 93.67% in Home EC...

Mrs. Huang: What?! Did you say she has a 93 in Home EC? That's not good...

Miss Riley: Umm, what are you talking about, ma'am? She still has an A in the class...

Mrs. Huang: Not in our eyes...Anything below a 95 is NOT considered an A and is unacceptable in the Huang family.

Miss Riley: Miss, don't be so hard on your daughter. She has super high grades already in her other classes...

Miss Riley: Home EC isn't as easy as it was last year.

Mrs. Huang: Doesn't matter. Yasmine understood very well what we expect from her all the time.

Mrs. Huang: But thanks for informing us anyways. Have a good day.

Yasmine's mom hung up the phone after the conversation with Miss Reilly, the guidance counselor. Her expression was stern, and there was a clear sense of disappointment in her voice as she turned to Yasmine. She felt that Yasmine had not been entirely honest about her knowledge of her grade percentages.

Yasmine's mom: Yasmine, your guidance counselor told us everything!

Yasmine's mom: I don't understand why you lied about not knowing about your grade percentages!

Yasmine's mom: It was your responsibility to ask one of your teachers about them.

Jasper: He tried to defend his sister. Don't get mad at Yasmine. It's not her fault  she didn't know. 

Jasper: Y'all should chill. Like her guidance counselor said, don't worry too much about her. 

However, their parents ignored Jasper's words and continued to scold Yasmine. 

Yasmine: Mom, I didn't lie! I truly didn't know. No one in my 1st period knew about how well or bad we did statistically.

Yasmine's dad: Why do you have a 93 in Home EC? I thought you said you were doing great in that class!

Yasmine's dad: We asked and you told us you got a 100 on everything.

Yasmine: I thought so too...We only recently had a small quiz and I thought I did well.

Yasmine's mom: Guess you didn't! I guess we haven't been tough enough with you, Yasmine.

Yasmine's mom: No more hangouts with your friends on the weekends until your grade in Home EC is made up.

Yasmine's dad: All we expect from you is to do excellent in school. You need to take your studies more seriously.

Yasmine's dad: We've been noticing you're getting a little more distracted than usual.

She was feeling the pressure of her parents' strict expectations and the restrictions placed on her social life, so she decided to speak up about the situation.

Yasmine: What? Mom and dad, that's not fair. You didn't shat on Jasper for getting a B in one of his classes when he was a junior.

Yasmine: Why are you giving me this punishment?

Yasmine's mom: Well, because it was Covid time. Now that you're both back to in-person learning, things should be more doable.

Yasmine: But not everything is as easy as you both think it is!

Yasmine's dad: Don't talk back to us, Yasmine. After you finish dinner, go to your room and study ahead for Home EC.