Sometimes, a scare tactic like that works in triggering motivations, problem is... The student is clearly motivated, there was just something lacking, whether or not it's in the teacher's way of teaching or the student in general remained to be seen.
They were unaware of my presence until I called for their attention.
"Uhm..."
Both of them turned to me.
"...I'm Maizono Sayaka, and I came for supplementary classes..."
"Ah, Maizono chan, Good Afternoon."
"Good Afternoon to you too."
I turned my attention to the other student present and greeted him as I did the teacher, and he greeted back cheerfully.
He reminded me of an energetic puppy.
"Ah, yes... This is Mr. ---, ---. He will be joining us in attending these supplementary classes."
The student turned to me and introduced himself.
"My name is --- ---, It is nice to meet you."
He reached out a hand.
"Likewise."
I returned his handshake.
During our time at classes together, it turns out that --- kun excels at sports, and is slightly above average on other subjects, all except Mathematics.
This was a subject he was incredibly weak at, and as a result, he grew to be fearful of it.
Linear Equations were one of the subjects for the 1st Quarter of the Year along with the Pythagorean Theorem, and according to the homeroom teacher, the majority of the students were able to pass on the exams with the exception of --- kun.
Apparently, he had received 2 retries of the same exam, and both retries are only a few points below zero, should he fail the 3rd one, the 1st quarter of his report card would be listed as "failed" in the Mathematics subject.
I have no problems with any of the subjects, I was in the Top 20s list during the 1st Quarter, and dropped down in the 2nd Quarter due to my work, but I am able to maintain my grades in activities and exams, and simply needed my quotas in days to be met in order for my grades be calculated like everyone else's, which I'm sure I can achieve; my manager is kind enough to help me free up every weekend during the month from my schedule, which is something I'm thankful for.
Soon enough, the bell rang and we were required to pass our papers before we left the classroom.
--- kun went first but...
"---... The entire thing is wrong again!"
Said the teacher, as they put down his activity sheet.
"Wh-What?! I thought I was doing fine!"
--- took a step back.
The teacher pinched the bridge of their nose, it was obvious that they didn't like scolding the boy.
"Go review your notes again, I'll be back with another paper for you."
After that statement, the teacher came to get my paper with only minimum reviews, I'm fairly confident that I got everything right, it was just simple polynomials after all.
They left the classroom, presumably to get --- kun another activity sheet, said student went back to his seat and immediately went to review his notes.
He seemed genuinely frustrated, and was on the verge of crying because of it.
To see him like that made me genuinely feel bad for him, so, I made the effort to approach him.
"Hello, --- kun."
Chapter 18
Depuis le début
