Lisa Johnson was a twelve-year-old girl living in America. She was a meritorious student studying in Class 7. Until Class 6, she had only one subject called Science, and she always scored well in it. But from Class 7, Science was divided into Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. That was when things began to change.
Lisa performed well in Biology and most of her other subjects. However, Chemistry felt confusing to her. Chemical equations, symbols, and reactions seemed difficult to understand. Along with that, she was also not very confident in Mathematics. Even though her marks in other subjects were good, her overall percentage dropped because of Chemistry and Maths. This made her feel disappointed.
Her father, David Johnson, a forty-one-year-old businessman, owned a large car company. He loved Lisa deeply and worked very hard to give her the best facilities in life. Seeing her struggle in Chemistry, he arranged expensive tuition classes for her.
However, when her marks did not improve quickly, he sometimes misunderstood her.
"Lisa, I am paying so much for your tuition. You must focus more," he would say seriously.
Lisa felt hurt because she was trying her best. She studied late at night and practiced sums again and again, but some concepts still felt unclear. She never wanted to disappoint her father.
Her mother, Rupsa, aged thirty-eight, was a homemaker who also ran a small beauty parlour. She was calm and understanding. Whenever Lisa felt low, her mother encouraged her gently. "Learning takes time," she would say. "You are capable, just don't lose confidence."
Lisa was the only child of her parents, and the entire family adored her.
Her grandmother, sixty-five years old, was affectionate and caring. She prayed every morning for Lisa's success. Her grandfather, seventy, was wise and patient. He often told her, "Difficult subjects are like mountains. They look big from far away, but step by step, you can climb them."
At school, there was a thirty-five-year-old English teacher named Robert. Many students liked him because he joked with them and enjoyed talking with the more talkative girls in class. But seeing Lisa's quiet and innocent nature, he behaved cruelly with her. He often ignored her efforts, picked on her mistakes, and scolded her more harshly than others.
Lisa was a beautiful girl, though not very fair like her mother. She was simple, polite, and shy. Because she did not talk much, Robert rarely appreciated her and sometimes hurt her feelings with his sharp words. Lisa's friends requested him not to be so harsh because she cried easily, but it did not change much. Slowly, Lisa began to fear answering questions in class.
Still, Lisa carried a quiet determination in her heart. She wanted to overcome her fear of Chemistry and Mathematics. She wanted to prove to her father that she was sincere. And most importantly, she wanted to believe in herself again.
She did not know that this struggle was only the beginning of a journey that would slowly change her life.