(036 - More Revelations...)

Who has missed Simi's POV? Yeah, me too. Would have loved to write in his POV a little more but the opportunity hasn't presented itself. Don't worry, this update and the next will make up for it because they are both on his POV.

I kinda feel this chapter is tacky, so bear with me. But you guys will be the judge. Let me know what you think.

Yeah, let's dive in.

• • • •

(RECAP : SIMI'S POV)

"Do you know what Dyscalculia is?"

Hilary asked me again when I didn't reply her the first time. And I didn't reply because I was repeating the word in my mind, trying to remember if I have heard it somewhere before, but it didn't ring a bell. Though, it did sound familiar, like I have heard a word related to it.

What is Dyscalculia? I asked myself.

I looked at her in silence, blinking in complete confusion while wondering what Dyscalculia was and if it had to do with me almost having a nervous breakdown because of maths.

I was terrible at math, or any subject that had calculations in general. But my reaction to the equation Hilary had given me to solve was a whole different thing entirely.

It was a first. A very scary first.

My expression must have given away my confusion because she just muttered a silent okay, saying after that it's alright if I didn't know what it was. Then she asked another question. This time, I was very familiar with what she asked me.

"Do you know what Dyslexia is?" She asked, and I nodded. Most people were very familiar with that word. They might not know what exactly it meant but they knew it was a learning disorder.

"Dyslexia is a learning disorder that has to do with difficulty in reading." I gave her a simple explanation of what it was, still trying to catch my breath from the episode I almost had.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of haziness as I took the bottled water sitting on the table to down another gulp. I had just taken one gulp when I realized Hilary had suddenly gone silent. When I turned to face her, she looked deep in thoughts.

Wait, does she think I have dyslexia? Was my exact thought.

"Hilary, I don't have dyslexia," I said to her, cutting her thoughts off because she looked at me immediately. "You know I read." I reminded her since we just talked not too long ago about how I was bibliophilic. She nodded.

I don't think I've ever had that much difficulty in reading. Asides from the time when I used to be very slow at it, which was all in the past now, reading has always been pretty easy for me. The words were not hard for me to comprehend and even if they were, I used to have a dictionary by my side back then.

It was one thing that I enjoyed doing in my free time, asides from taking a few laps in the swimming pool.

There's no way I could have dyslexia. It wasn't possible.

"I don't think you have dyslexia either, Simi." Hilary stated calmly, "That's why I asked first if you knew what Dyscalculia is." She added and I looked at her, waiting for her to tell me what that word meant because it was strange to me.

What was it?

"Simi, there is more than one learning disorder aside from Dyslexia. So many other learning disorders that people are not familiar with." She informed me. That revelation took me aback, shocking me in a way that I wasn't sure how to react.

I was no island of knowledge. I have never prided myself in knowing everything or having a university knowledge of everything. But somehow, I feel I should have known about this one. I should have found out about this. Found out that there were more learning disorders than Dyslexia.

I could bet seventy-five percent of the world's population had no idea about this as well

"And Dyscalculia is one of them?" I asked and Hilary nodded slowly as if she was suddenly too careful to use her words.

Then it just clicked. Like someone doused me from head to toe with cold water, the realization dawned on me. Even from the name, I was able to figure out what was peculiar about this particular learning disorder.

And immediately I did, I felt my heart fall deep into the pit of my stomach, even without confirming it yet.

"Let me guess," I began, trying not to allow my voice to sound as crestfallen as I felt. "It's a learning disorder that's peculiar to calculations. People with dyscalculia cannot solve anything with calculations."

I wasn't asking because I was almost too certain I was right. And Hilary confirmed it just by one nod of her head, her eyes trained on me.

I cannot solve anything with calculations...

"You think I have dyscalculia." I wasn't asking her again. I just stated the obvious fact, my eyes trained on her. Hilary had a lot of emotions in her eyes but I could only point three: worry and concern, intertwined with uncertainty. I wasn't even sure what to make of them.

"I can't say for sure," She replied, her voice low, gentle but still filled the same uncertainty. I watched as she carefully stretched her hand out and placed it on my knee, giving me a gentle reassuring squeeze that did nothing to reassure me. "You will have to get a doctor to make the diagnosis." She added, but I shook my head.

I must have given her a reason to think I have it. Why? I asked myself

"Why do you think I have it? I must have given you a reason to think I have it." I voiced out my thoughts. Hilary let out a deep breath, taking her hand off my knee as she shrugged.

"You just exhibited a hint of calculation anxiety." She answered. "You nearly had a panic attack because of a maths question, Simi. It's one of the symptoms of Dyscalculia and it's a very serious one."

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀
(Simisola André Jordan)

My feet tapped nervously on the tiled floor, my eyes focused on my hands that were clasped together, fingers intertwined tightly between each other. I was very aware of the chatters and movements in the background but still, they all sounded so distant, so far away because my mind was on a rollercoaster on its own.

I took deep, calming breaths to ease myself of tension, tightening my hands together till my knuckles got white in a bid to calm myself down. But, nothing was working and my heart kept pounding rapidly as we waited for the test results.

My test results.

"Jordan?" A voice pierced through my clouded mind like a knife, causing my head to jerk up on instinct. But before I could stand up, my mom was already on her feet, answering the young nurse that had called our surname.

"Yes?" Mum answered. The nurse walked closer and nodded, beaming at my mum. My heart was still beating rapidly against my chest, anxiety building up in my body, half anticipating what the nurse was going to say.

"The doctor will send for you very soon. Please, be patient." She said, and my mum answered with a smile, nodding as she returned to sit down beside me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, but my leg was still shaking in anxiety.

And the anxiety just happened to increase when my Dad, who was seated at the other side of me, let out a loud hiss.

Yes, he's also here... against my better judgment.

"We should wait again?" He asked rhetorically, his voice laced with maximum impatience. "When I said coming here wasn't necessary, you didn't listen to me. This is a complete waste of my time, Kendra." He complained, glancing at his watch before muttering some incoherent words to himself, before hissing for the second time.

Mum, of course, wasn't having it with him.

"Trying to find out what's wrong with your son is suddenly a waste of your time, Demilade?" She question back, her voice quiet because of people passing but still had some firmness and edge to it.

I shrunk down where I was seated between the two of them, feeling even more uneasy.

"I didn't say that." Dad defended, his voice calmer since he was trying to appease her so that she won't get angry with him. He knew better than to get her angry, especially with him.

But mum was already upset.

"But that's what you implied." She retorted, her voice harder, it made me shrink even further into my seat, my hand now over my face. "Demilade, we are finally getting a lead on what is going on with our son academically and you don't even want to pay attention to it." She sounded pained and I sighed, shaking my head inconspicuously.

The last thing I wanted was for them to argue because of me, but I think that ship has sailed a long time ago.

"I'm not paying attention to it because it's absurd and very unlikely." He retorted back. "Kendra, this has been going on for years. How come we are just finding out now? Doesn't that seem far-fetched to you? Because it does to me."

"Let the doctor's result come out, then we will conclude if it's far-fetched or not," Mum stated shrewdly. Dad opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "And while we are expecting him, you are going to sit here and wait. If there is any meeting after this, you are going to be present. Do you understand?"

"Kendra, I have something I'm supposed to..." Dad began, shaking his head already like he was going to disagree with her but the look she gave him shut him up with immediate effect.

"Demilade, do you understand?" She repeated herself and he nodded, muttering a barely audible yes ma'am, leaning back against his seat in a more relaxed posture. He might as well get relaxed because as long as mum's here, he can't leave.

He respected her too much.

He loved her too much.

In cases like this, she was the boss and he couldn't question her. Twenty-six years of marriage and they were still madly in love with each other. So much in love that sometimes, they acted like teenagers... especially when they were arguing.

It still surprised me how much control mum had over dad in times like this, especially when the arguments were about me. Dad would do everything in his power to make sure mum gets what she wants, even if her requests were always intertwined with mine.

Compromise comes with love. I thought to myself, looking at my Dad who occasionally checked his watch.

I must have been staring at him for too long because his head turned sharply and his eyes met mine. My breath caught in my throat at that instant, and as much as I tried to will myself to look away from his intense gaze, I couldn't. I remained transfixed under his stare.

He wasn't glaring at me, but he wasn't smiling either. I tried to read the emotions on his face but his expression was stoic and unreadable. Though, his eyes were enough to tell me that this was all my fault. Mum arguing with him, was all my fault.

I looked away immediately, looking down to my lap. He was probably meant to be in an important business meeting that morning, but because of me, mum stopped has stopped him from going.

Maybe telling them about Hilary's discovery had been a bad idea. What just happened was proof enough that I should have kept it to myself and figured everything out on my own.

We had to cut the tutorials short because I wasn't in the right state of mind anymore. From the way Hilary was so reluctant to leave, I could tell she wanted to stay with me, and help me figure this... whatever it was out. I didn't want her to leave either, didn't want my day with her to end on such a note.

I can still remember the look on her face, the subtle body language that I could pick up from a mile away. She wanted me to tell her to stay. She wanted me to say it with my mouth. But I didn't, because I wasn't sure how to.

So, she left... because I didn't stop her.

But then it gave me time to do my research on Dyscalculia. I spent almost three hours, looking through several sites and reading several articles, looking up what it was and if I have been experiencing other symptoms asides from calculation anxiety.

And I found them. Four other symptoms that I have been exhibiting and had no idea that I was exhibiting them because I thought they were completely normal since I was just bad at calculations.

Poor sense of numbers and estimation. Check.

Being slow to perform calculations. Check.

Having weak mental arithmetic skills. Check.

Forgetting mathematical procedures, especially as they become more complex. Double Check.

I had been destabilized after that, my mind thrown into turmoil.

How did I not know that I have a learning disorder? How did it not occur to me? If the diagnosis comes out positive, what will happen? Will I be taken out of school?

These thoughts were enough to terrify the fuck out of me.

I had immediately told mum about it when she came home from work and she had taken it even more seriously than I did. What I didn't expect however was her telling Dad about it over dinner. Of course, he dismissed it but she wasn't having it.

That's why we were presently at Atlantic Cove Teaching Hospital Complex, waiting for my test results. Trust me, they weren't just ordinary medical tests and that's what made me even more terrified.

"Simi,"

My head jerked up at my mum's calm voice, and I looked up to meet her eyes. She was staring at me, worry creased over her forehead and concern evident in her eyes. She must have been watching me for a while, must have seen the conflict of emotions in my expression because that would explain why she looked so worried.

I didn't answer her, didn't know what to say to her. I just allowed her to see me, bare like that, scared and terrified out of my mind for what was to come.

She sighed, throwing her hand around my shoulder. She didn't need to tell me before I rested my head on her shoulder, exhaling deeply when she pulled me close to herself, patting my shoulder softly.

"It's going to be okay." She whispered and I nodded, hoping by God that she was right.

The nurse from earlier came back to call us, letting us know that the doctor was ready to see us now. So, we followed her as she led the way to a wing of the hospital that read EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT. The name was enough to tell me that the result must have come out positive for us to be here.

When we got to a door, we stopped and the nurse knocked on it.

"Come in," a deep, manly voice called out and the nurse opened the door, holding it open for us to come in. Unlike the hallway and the waiting room that was quite chilly due to the air conditioning, this particular room felt lukewarm and it felt pretty nice.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jordan, I presume." The same deep voice that had called us in rang out. I stopped looking around the office and turned towards the direction the voice had come from, noticing the man standing behind the large table for the first time since we came in.

He was huge. Dark in complexion and huge. He was handsome, but also looked very intimidating.

"Yes," It was mum that had responded with a smile, exchanging a handshake with the man behind the desk who beamed back at her, showcasing his pearly whites. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to see us, Dr. Oyeniyi. We really appreciate it." She said.

The man shook his head, still beaming.

"It's no problem at all. It's my job and I'm very happy to help." Dr. Oyeniyi, as my mum had called him, answered. Then he turned to me, a welcoming smile stretched across his lips. Suddenly, he didn't feel intimidating anymore, and I could feel the tension in me reduce a bit.

"Hello, you must be Simisola." He began, his deep voice quite gentle and welcoming, that I immediately nodded, feeling slightly at ease. "It's nice to meet you. My name is David Oyeniyi, but you can just call me David. I'm an educational therapist, and I'll be your consultant for today."

I nodded again, mustering a small smile to flash back at him since he was smiling at me.

"Don't be nervous." He told me, holding his hands up and gesturing for me to calm down. "I am here to help you in whatever way I can. So, feel free to talk to me and open up about anything. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir" I answered, my voice coming out in a whisper. He chuckled deeply, waving his hand dismissively at me.

"Don't call me sir. I'm just twenty-nine." He teased and my smile widened a bit. I felt even more relaxed. "Please, take a seat." He offered us, gesturing to the three chairs in front of his desk.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Oyeniyi," Dad began as we took our seat, me between my parents of course. "But how long is this meeting going to take?" He asked. I had to stop myself from letting out a sigh.

I shouldn't have been surprised that Dad asked that question, but I was. Mostly because I thought that at least, he'd feign interest in the sight of a stranger. I wasn't looking at mum but I knew she had glared at him.

But, the young doctor only smiled in understanding.

"Giving the delicacy of the situation, I'd say this meeting is going to take a while," He told Dad, "But I'd advise that you stay to listen to what I have to say because you obviously want to know what's going with your son." He added in a business-like manner, glancing at me for a bit before looking back at my dad.

Dad didn't say anything and just nodded to what the doctor had said. Honestly, I'd prefer if he wasn't here at all. I didn't want him discrediting anything Dr. David would say.

"So, what did the test results say?" Mum asked the doctor, who turned away from my dad to look at her.

"Mrs. Jordan, whoever your source is, whoever told you that Simi has Dyscalculia is very correct. The test result shows that indeed, your son has the learning disorder." He stated shrewdly, and a gasp escaped mum's lips.

I saw it coming. I saw that response coming from a mile away. Why then did it still hurt like I wasn't expecting it?

Hilary was right. I have dyscalculia. I thought to myself as I felt my heart drop even further down my stomach.

"What!" Dad exclaimed, in surprise. I knew he was only shocked because he had been proven wrong. Somehow, it made me a little happy that this wasn't farfetched like he had called it earlier.

But of course, Dr. David didn't see it that way. His next statement showed that he had interpreted Dad's outburst to be one of mortification.

"Don't worry, it's not a deadly disease or something." He told my parents, trying to calm them down, especially mum who looked quite pale. "Dyscalculia is a learning disorder and it can be managed, no matter how late the diagnosis is." He added.

I heard mum sigh before I felt her hand on mine, holding on to me reassuringly. But, I wasn't getting reassured in any way.

"Can we get more enlightenment on what this... Dyscalculia of a thing is? What causes it?" Dad asked, and I turned to him, quite surprised that now he seemed rather interested in knowing what this was

Dr. David leaned forward, resting her arms on her desk.

"Dyscalculia, as I said before, is a learning disorder that's peculiar to difficulty in maths, or any subject that entails calculations, that is, physics and chemistry included." He explained.

"Most people are familiar with Dyslexia as the only learning disorder, which is the one peculiar to difficulty in reading, but there is more than just one learning disorder.-

The two major causes of dyscalculia are heredity and brain development during childbirth. Research has shown that Dyscalculia tends to run in the family and the difficulty in solving maths can be genetic." He further explained.

"Well, I'm an engineer." Dad quickly said, trying to override that particular cause of dyscalculia. "Maths has never been a problem for me, and neither has it been a problem for my wife." He stated, looking at mum.

"I also have a daughter, who is overseas presently. She has never had any issue with any subject about calculations. Simi is the only one, so it can't be genetics." He added as an afterthought.

Great. Indirectly comparing me to Toyosi again. I fought the urge to roll my eyes in annoyance.

"Well, then it could have been brain development during childbirth." The doctor offered the second cause. My mum sat up for this.

"You mean, if a child is born prematurely or in any way that is unnatural, his or her brain could have been affected?" She asked and he nodded.

"Exactly." He affirmed.

Mum let out a deep breath, exchanging a look with Dad before leaning back on her seat. The look they had exchanged was not hidden to Dr. David or me. I had no idea how to interpret it, but from the look of things, it seemed like the doctor did.

"I'll take that look to mean Simisola had an unusual childbirth." He stated. My forehead creased a deep frown, my eyes darting between both my parents.

Wait, what?

"Yes," Mum was the one who spoke, confirming what the doctor had said, shocking me. "Simi was given birth prematurely. Specifically two months to his EDD." She revealed, knocking the breath right out of me.

I was born prematurely and I'm just finding out?

"But the doctor said there was nothing wrong with him." Dad quickly intervened. "We ran all kinds of tests on him to make sure he was fine." He added.

Dr. David shook his head.

"Mr. Jordan, dyscalculia is not a microscopic organism that lives in the body and can be discovered through the use of a microscope." He told my Dad, basically educating him. "It's something neurological, meaning it's related to the brain. It's a developmental issue that will only start showing when the child is growing up." He said.

"So, you are saying Simi might have had dyscalculia since birth?" Mum asked, trying to gather everything the woman behind the desk was saying.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Mrs. Jordan." He affirmed again.

Wow...

That seemed to knock my parents' socks off because they were thrown into silence, digesting this new information. Dr. David left them to think for a moment, leaning back against his chair. I was also trying to digest the information about my birth.

How did mum not tell me about this?

"What about the diagnosis?" Dad spoke first, breaking the silence. "How then did you diagnose Simi since it this issue isn't exactly Medical related?" He asked.

"That's because the test wasn't medically carried out." The doctor answered him. "Due to the peculiarity of his case, we had specialists test his ability to do math operations effectively and accurately through the use of mathematical fluency and calculations tests, as well as comprehensive mathematics ability tests." He expatiated.

Now, it all made sense why I wasn't kept under an MRI scan but was given quantitative reasoning and algebra questions to solve as the test. Tests I couldn't comprehend or finish.

It was an epic fail.

"And did he pass these tests?" Mum asked.

Mum, I wouldn't be here if I passed the tests! I wanted to scream but I stopped myself from voicing those words out in utter frustration.

"He didn't." Dr. David replied, shaking his head. Mum let out a deep breath, nodding her head slowly.

"But it's not unfixable." He continued gently, in a voice that told me that there was still a way out of this. "Yes, the diagnosis is late, giving Simi's age and class, but it's better late than never. There is still a way out of this, so you don't have to worry." He reassured and mum nodded again.

All this while, Dad was quiet, his expression forlorn like he was deep in thoughts. I looked at him, somehow desperate to know what was going on in his mind, what he thought about all of this.

Now that he has finally found out that me failing my classes isn't entirely my fault but because I have dyscalculia which was all discovered till now, how did he feel?

"Simi," The doctor called my attention and I looked at him, answering him. "I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer me honestly, okay?" I nodded again, but then I felt uneasy, wondering what kind of questions he wanted to ask me.

"You are nineteen years old." He said and I nodded. "And you are in SS3, your final year of high school, is that correct?" He inquired and I nodded again.

"But you have repeated twice," He stated shrewdly, but I nodded anyway like he had asked another random question.

Before my test, I had been interviewed by one of the doctors that tested me and I told him everything. I guess it was all documented because Dr. David was speaking like he already knew the answers to my questions.

"Before this diagnosis, why did you think you were failing your classes?" He asked me, peering right at me. This question was entirely different from the last, and I knew it would be somehow answering this question truthfully in front of my parents, especially in front of my Dad.

Dad has always made me believe that I wasn't serious with my studies, that I never wanted to be serious. But of course, that wasn't the case at all. It wasn't like I enjoyed failing, repeating my classes, being the laughing stock of the entire school.

I hated it.

So why then would I intentionally not want to be serious with studies? It made no sense.

But of course, I couldn't tell Dr. David all of that. No matter how bad my dad has made me feel, I will never discredit him in the presence of a stranger for whatever reason. I still respect him no matter what.

So, I answered instead.

"Because I wasn't putting in my best," I responded, feeling my parents' eyes on me, especially my Dad. I swallowed, kept a straight face, and continued. "I felt like I wasn't serious with my academics and that's why I was failing."

"Is that how you really felt or that's what you were made to believe?" He asked, his question direct and point-blank, it shocked me. My poker face faltered and I was sure he noticed it.

And he wasn't even done with the questions.

"Do you get bullied into thinking you were not putting in your best or you were not serious about your academics when you are putting in the best you can to come out with a good result?" He asked again. I didn't expect that question at all, and I wasn't sure how to even answer it.

Dr. David was asking me these questions like he could see into my mind, see and hear everything my Dad has ever said to me, every scene where he had made me feel like I wasn't doing enough, then projecting it into questions.

But still, I couldn't answer him. I was neither going to affirm nor deny that question. I just kept quiet.

He saw my hesitance and nodded. It almost seemed like he understood what exactly was going on, and somehow, I appreciated that he push it.

"Be honest with me, Simi," He began, his voice calm and gentle, letting me know that I could confide to him. "Do you get bullied in school because of your academics? Both by students and by teachers?" He asked, being specific with his question now.

This one, I could answer. So, I nodded.

I have never spoken to my mum about the bullying and emotional abuse in school, so she was rather shocked to find out now.

"Simi!" She exclaimed, shocked. "You have been bullied in school and you didn't think to tell me!" She snapped, anger sipping in her tone. I sighed.

"I didn't want you to worry-" I began to say but she held her hand up to stop me from speaking any further, her eyes staring right above my head to look at my Dad.

I followed her gaze to look at my Dad, and for the first time, I saw an emotion marred across his face. It was barely visible but I could see it.

It looked like remorse.

"Kendra..." He called softly, almost sounding apologetic.

"This is all your fault." She pointed at him, sounding extremely pained with her voice sounding like she wanted to cry. The fact that she seemed so hurt about this made my eyes prick with tears. But I quickly sniffed to push them back.

Not here, Simi. Not here.

"If only you were not so hard on him, no one will have the audacity to bully my son! You caused all this!" Mum snapped her tone accusatory but still held pain.

I held my head in my hands, my mind in the thrall of emotions, flowing through me all at the same time. I could feel the tears coming back up, my eyes getting clouded.

Simi, get it together.

"Kendra, that's not fair." Dad was calm in his response but he sounded equally pained. "You of all people should know that all I've ever wanted for my kids is the best." He defended, sounding hurt at her accusations.

Yes, you have always wanted what was best for us. But you never put what we want into consideration. I thought to myself, shaking my head.

"Sir, ma'am, this is not the time to argue or shift blames." Dr. David cut into the frenzy, his voice calm but also authoritative.

"It's no news that most parents and even teachers in school are ignorant to issues like learning disorder. It's not their fault because it's not an issue that is spoken about, even mental health. But I think it's high time we start talking about these things." He stated matter-of-factly, looking between my parents.

It felt like He was talking specifically to my parents but I was also listening, also learning as he continued.

"Most people have closed their minds to things like this and have attributed it to be something that can only happen to the whites. That is a very wrong mentality. Anybody can have these things, anybody can feel these things irrespective of the country or the race." He said to us.

And we kept listening.

"Kids that aren't doing well in the classroom, majority of them have one learning disability or the other. Is it dyslexia, or dysgraphia, even dyspraxia, and in Simi's case, dyscalculia? But due to the lack of understanding of the school and the parents, no one thinks in that direction at all, concluding that the child is just lazy and unserious.-

It gets even worse when the child is being constantly bullied because of it. This can permanently damage the child's self-esteem, which becomes rather detrimental to the child's future. That would have been Simi's case if someone had not pointed it out. Someone that knows these things already. Someone that has been paying close attention to your son." Dr. David said.

An image appeared in my mind as soon as she made that last statement.

Hilary...

A girl - no - The Girl. That Girl.

Someone that I had just started getting close to. Someone that I was just getting to know. It's not up to two months since we became close, became friends, yet she was the one that was able to notice these things about me. Things that my parents were never able to notice. Things that Gloria didn't notice.

Not that I was blaming them, because I was equally ignorant, but... Hilary.

She was the reason I was here, getting the help I need.

Where has she been all my life?

"Are you saying we don't pay attention to our son?" Dad's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. His voice sounded controlled, but I didn't miss the offense in them. He had taken offense in what Dr. David said.

"Demilade, I don't think that's what he meant." Mum chided softly as the doctor rose his hands up in surrender.

"Of course, it's not what I meant." Dr. David said, repeating what mum had said. "What I meant is that, you didn't know what you were looking for, so there is no way you could have figured out Simi had dyscalculia. However, the person that brought your attention to it, whoever it was-"

"Hilary."

I blurted out before I could stop myself, cutting Dr. David off and bringing their attention to myself. I swallowed for the second time, looking at the doctor.

"Her name is Hilary. She's my... friend." I added, tugging nervously on the collar of my shirt. Dr. David looked quite amused as he nodded. Then, he looked back at my parents.

"Hilary knew what she was looking for." He continued what he was saying earlier. "Hilary already had a background knowledge of the learning disorder and that's why she was able to point out the symptoms easily." He stated and my parents nodded.

Dr. David sighed, leaning forward again.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jordan, the last thing Simi needs right now is for anyone to make him feel inferior, or less of himself." He began, and I knew he wanted to give my parents some advice. I sunk in my seat, wrapping my hands around my body.

"You have a very intelligent and brilliant son irrespective of his academic issues, and I can tell that just by looking at him. He has a bright future and it won't be fair on him to limit his successes to just the four walls of a classroom." The doctor glanced at me as he said that, and I felt my heart swell in my chest at the compliment.

From a stranger, someone who knew closer to nothing about me, it meant a lot. A whole lot.

"Simi is the captain of the school's swim team." Mum pipped him, looking at me with so much pride glistening in her eyes. I felt my lips tug in a smile of their own. Dr. David looked at me, his lips also stretching in a smile.

"Really." He said, and I nodded on confirmation. "How many awards have you won for your school, Simi?" He asked. I looked up thoughtfully, trying to count them in my mind but I couldn't. After the thirtieth medal, I had won in my first SS2, I stopped counting.

"Roughly thirty," I answered. The doctor's eyes widened in shock, and I felt my lips stretch even further, so much that my cheeks began to hurt. They can hurt for all I care anyway.

"Roughly. Meaning it's more than that." He said and I nodded.

He muttered a low wow, clearly in awe. Mum laughed lightly in pride, throwing her hands over my shoulder as she gave me a side hug. I felt so proud of myself. The doctor's reaction and my mum's happiness made me feel like I wasn't wasting my time trying to be the best I can in swimming.

"When you become an Olympic gold Medalist, please don't forget us o." Dr. David whined and I laughed. I actually laugh, the pride swelling more and more in my chest.

These were the kind of encouragements I wanted - no - needed, irrespective of my academic challenges.

But it was short-lived when Dad, who had been silent since Mum brought up my swimming cleared his throat, the disinterest in his features. He turned to Dem David, his expression stoic.

"Doctor, can we please talk about how we are going to help Simi improve academically?" He requested his tone as hard as his expression. "That is the most important thing right now." He added, basically dismissing our talk on my swimming.

Dr. David seemed to have already grasped what was going on because he only nodded, turning to focus on my Dad now. My mood dampened immediately, even though mum had was on mine, giving it occasional reassuring squeezes.

"Right," The doctor said. "Simi will have to come back for more tests so that we'll be able to know where exactly his issues are. This means we want to find out the particular topics he finds more difficult to comprehend and the ones he can understand a bit." He explained.

"And how will this help?" Dad asked.

"It will help us to know the kind of learning arrangements and techniques that will be efficient for Simi and how we can administer it." The doctor replied.

"Will this work? Will the learning techniques help him?" Dad asked eagerly, almost impatiently.

Of course, that's what he's more concerned about. I thought, fighting the overwhelming urge to roll my eyes.

"We'll just have to wait to find out, sir." Dr. David answered. "In the meantime, let's focus on Simi's strengths and not his weaknesses."

Of course, my Dad didn't have an answer to that.

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

The ride back home was very quiet and pretty awkward, especially for me since I had to watch Dad try to have a conversation with mum, but she was giving him the silent treatment. When mum gives dad the silent treatment like this, it could only mean she was very angry with him.

I could guess why.

When we got home, she immediately got down from the car and walked into the house, ignoring Dad's calls. Exhaling, I followed her, going straight to my room as soon as I entered the house.

Kicking my shoes off my leg, I brought out my phone, about to text Hilary the diagnosis when I began to hear my parents' voice faintly. I stopped what I was doing, trying to listen to them but because of how soundproof this entire house was, I couldn't.

So, I walked out of my room and went towards the stairs, hiding behind a wall to eavesdrop on their conversation. I could bet anything that it was about what had gone down at the hospital today. And I was right.

"Are you seriously going to keep giving me the silent treatment?" Dad asked, speaking to mum. I couldn't see them but could hear their voices, most likely coming from the kitchen. "Kendra, what do I even do? Why are you suddenly not talking to me?"

"I'm not talking to you because while the doctor and I were trying to make Simi understand that he's more than his academic issues, you decided to bring it back up!" Mum snapped as she walked out of the kitchen, Dad hot on her tail.

I could see them now.

"That's because you were all getting distracted from the issue at hand!" Dad retorted, stopping mum from walking away any further. "The doctor that is supposed to help us decided to talk about something irrelevant and I had to bring him back to track!"

Wow!

I felt a pang in my chest as he referred to my swimming as irrelevant. I always felt he just thought it to be a distraction, but now he was totally disregarding it like it meant nothing.

"So talking about Simi's swimming successes is irrelevant?" Mum asked incredulously, looking at my Dad in utter disbelief. "You call something your son loves, something your son is extremely good at irrelevant? Can you hear yourself, Demilade!"

"Compared to his academics, it is very irrelevant Kendra." He maintained adamantly. "How am I the only one that seems to care about Simi's academics?"

"Don't you dare say that!" Mum snapped, causing Dad to flinch slightly. "Don't you pull that card on me and make it seem like I don't care about my son, because clearly, I care about him a lot than you do! You are more concerned with him taking over your legacy!"

It was no news that Dad wanted me to take over his engineering empire, but the thought of it again made me grimace in complete disdain.

Over my dead body.

"And how is that such a bad thing?" Dad threw his hands up in frustration. "His future will be secure that way!"

"What about what he loves?" Mum asked him, her voice lower now. I could hear it quivering and my heart broke even more. "What about his passion, Demilade? If your Dad had acted the way you were acting right now, do you think you'd have studied engineering? Won't you have become a medical doctor as he wanted?"

"This is different, Kendra.-"

"No, it's not Demilade and you know it. You know..." Mum trailed off all of a sudden. It almost felt like her words had hung in her throat.

At first, I thought she had noticed me hiding behind the wall, but it wasn't that. Not after Dad had called her name with so much concern laced in his voice.

"Kendra? Are you okay?" He asked her, and I peered from behind the wall again, wanting to see what was going on clearly.

I frowned when I saw mum clutching her left hand to her chest like she was trying to catch her breath, her right hand holding the headrest of one of the dining table chairs in a death grip.

What's going on?

"Kendra, are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" Dad repeated, and I could hear the panic sipping into his voice little by little. I found myself stepping out from beneath the wall, not caring if I was seen now.

My mum wasn't looking too good, and it bothered me.

"Mum?" I called, my voice coming out in a barely audible whisper.

I wasn't sure how the both of them heard it because they both turned to look at me. My eyes met my mum's, and I almost veered back at how sunken they looked. Eyes that were vibrant and full of life this morning and all through the day till this moment suddenly looked so hollow.

Not just that, it looked like mum had suddenly lost all her color because she looked incredibly pale like all the blood had drained out of her system.

Dad looked scared out of his mind.

"Kendra, maybe you should..." He began, moving close to her to hold her, probably wanting to take her to sit down for a moment,

Only for her to just slump against his body like a log, causing my dad to shout in alarm. My eyes widened in equal alarm as I darted down the stairs in haste.

"Kendra!" Dad yelled, shaking mum's unconscious body vigorously.

"Mum!" I screamed in panic.

𝐀/𝐍

Eweeyy! What is going on? 👀. I honestly pray it's not something serious o😬. Do you think it's something serious? I don't even know what to think.

*Draws the sign of the cross over chest*.

So, for everyone that didn't know what Dyscalculia is, here you go. What is in the chapter is just a background knowledge of the learning disorder. As the book goes on, it will keep unfolding and we'll see if Simi can actually manage his and how he'll manage it.

When I explained what Dyscalculia was to some people in the comment section of the last update, I had a few of my readers discover that they have or had dyscalculia but didn't know about it. Didn't even know that it was called a name, but just thought they were just bad at maths like Simi said.

While maths isn't for every, like me, some people might genuinely have dyscalculia. This is why I'm writing about it. Someone was very disrespectful in the last update, basically disregarding dyscalculia. But of course, I shut her down because I won't condone insensitive of any type. Always be open to knowledge ✨.

Like I said in the author's note above, we'll be having another Simi's POV in the next chapter. This time, Hilary will be appearing and we'll get to experience firsthand Simi's attraction for her😌.

Are you ready?🌚