The classroom glowed with sunshine. Round tables stood in neat clusters, and crayons lay in open tins. Zara sat at her table and stared at the math worksheet in front of her. The numbers seemed to wobble and drift, like little fish swimming in a pond.
Zara tapped her pencil against the desk. Tap, tap, tap. A tiny grey smudge of graphite appeared right on the tip of her nose. She did not notice. She kept staring at the numbers, hoping they would line up and stay still.
Zara drew a wobbly picture of apples to help her count. One, two, three — but the apples kept multiplying until the page was full of a whole orchard. Then she tried stacking her erasers, but they toppled with a loud clatter. Her lower lip began to wobble.
She pushed the worksheet away and let out a long breath. She wanted to give up. She thought about the apples and the clattering erasers and how none of it made sense. Then she remembered something her teacher had said: you do not have to do it alone.
Zara took a slow breath and held up the worksheet. Leo slid his chair over and pointed at the problem. Maya pulled out a sheet of graph paper. Omar produced four shiny buttons from his pocket. 'Let's figure it out together,' Zara said, and the four of them leaned in until their heads almost touched.
Zara traced the numbers with her finger. One, two, three, four. Leo counted the buttons aloud. Maya pointed to the graph paper squares. Omar arranged the buttons in neat little rows on the table. The numbers stopped swimming. They lined up like soldiers.
One by one, the answer clicked into place. Zara counted the buttons again. One, two, three, four, five, six. She wrote the number down with a triumphant flourish. The pencil moved fast and sure across the paper.
Zara finished the problem and sat back with a big grin. She reached for her pencil to celebrate — then sneezed. Achoo! The pencil flew out of her hand and landed with a soft tap right into Omar's lap. Everyone froze. The pencil lay there between Omar's knees like a tiny yellow bridge.
Everyone froze. Then Omar picked up the pencil and held it out like a trophy. Zara's grin returned, wider than ever. Then Leo snorted. Then Maya giggled. Then Omar laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. They all burst out laughing together.
Zara walked to the front of the class and handed her worksheet to the teacher. She turned around and spotted Leo and Maya huddled over their own papers, whispering and pointing at each other's work. They looked just a little bit stuck. Zara smiled and walked back to her table.
Zara picked up her pencil and sat down at her table. The next problem waited on the page, still and quiet. She looked at the numbers and they did not swim this time. She took a slow breath, traced the first digit, and got to work.
The classroom hummed with the soft sounds of working. Pencils scratched on paper. Chairs squeaked. Whispered voices floated between the tables. Zara solved one problem, then another, then another. The numbers stayed right where they belonged.