Work Text:
Rivkah: Age 8
Rivkah likes school, she likes going in, she likes learning, she likes her friends and she likes her teachers. She loves to read. She does not love math. Math is impossibly hard for her. She’s asked her dad’s to help and they will always sit with her, but they don’t make it make sense. Nothing she does makes it make sense. She does all her homework, she asks questions in class, but she can never quite get there.
It's the end of the day and for possibly the first time ever, Rivkah doesn’t want to go home. She moves slowly, cleaning up her desk, putting up her chair, and getting her coat and backpack from the coatroom. Inside her backpack is the math test they took yesterday, and Rivkah had failed.
Her teacher had told her it was okay, that some things were harder for some people and that she was proud that she kept trying. But Rivkah didn’t feel proud. She felt humiliated. It seemed like it was easy for everyone else. She dragged her feet leaving, stepping outside and looking for Daddy’s car. She saw his car, and she saw him wave to her and she waved back, walking over and getting in.
“Hey Rivi! How was school?” He asked, as she climbed into her seat and buckled up.
“It was okay.” She said, sounding subdued. Robby had immediately clocked that something was off the second he saw her walking out and her response made him worry even more. But cars were not the best places to have serious conversations.
“Okay, Papa is home tonight, we thought maybe we’d order pizza. How does that sound?”
“Fine.” She said. Another red flag for Robby, she loved pizza. He drove them home and when he parked, he saw her taking her time, like she had coming out of school.
“Is everything okay, baby?” He asked and she bit her lip and nodded. “It doesn’t seem like everything is okay. Alright, let’s start with this: are you hurt physically?”
He picked her up, along with her backpack, and carried her into the house. She was getting older and he didn’t carry her as much anymore, but he knew when she was upset she was very tactile. He felt her little breath catch and she shook her head no.
They came into the house and Jack immediately noticed something was wrong. He came over to them and Robby sat down with her on the couch. “So, you aren’t hurt physically, that’s good. Did you have a fight with one of your friends?”
She shook her head again, tears starting to roll down her face. “Sweetheart…” Jack said, helplessly.
“Did you get a bad grade?” Robby finally asked and she turned to bury her face in his chest, nodding her head yes. Robby rubbed her back as he and Jack shared a fond look over the top of her. She put so much pressure on herself sometimes. Robby just rocked her and rubbed her back and let her cry. Once she had cried herself out, she looked up at him.
Jack had gotten up and got a warm washcloth and a bottle of water. He gently wiped her face and then gave her a sip of the water. “Alright, sweet girl. You got a bad grade, that feels really yucky doesn’t it?” Robby comforted her. She nodded. “Was it on a worksheet, a project, or a test?” He asked.
She sniffled hard. “A t-test.” She told him.
“Yeah, that can feel really scary, can’t it?” Robby continued to soothe her. “Was it a reading test, spelling test, math test, or science test?”
“M-math.”
“Hmm, math has been really hard for you, hasn’t it?” She nodded again. “So, on this math test that got a bad grade, let me ask you a few questions. Was your teacher upset with you?” She shook her head no. “Did any of the kids tease you?” She shook her head again. “Did you try your hardest?”
“Yes, Daddy. I tried but…” She took another little shuddering breath. “I don’t understand, the numbers don’t make any sense to me.”
“And Daddy and Papa aren’t very good helpers, are we? Cause math makes sense to us, so it's hard for us to understand how to help you. It makes sense why you were so upset.” Robby told her.
“Were you worried that Daddy and I were going to be upset with you?” Jack asked and she nodded again.
“We won’t ever be upset with you for a bad grade—especially if you try. When I was in school, it was really hard for me to learn spelling. But spelling is easy for you.” Jack told her, reaching over and pressing a kiss to her hair. “Sometimes something is just hard for certain people. Daddy and I will see if we can find someone who can help you understand better than we can.”
“I’m not in trouble?” She asked, finally looking up at them.
“No, baby girl, you aren’t in trouble. You did your best and you got a bad grade. Papa and I both got bad grades lots of times when we were in school. Sometimes, even now, we learn things that we didn’t know before. We know math is hard for you, everything is going to be just fine.” Robby pressed a kiss to the same place Jack had. “We love you, even if you can never do math.”
“Love you, too.” She snuggled into him. Then she looked up through her lashes, with her brown eyes that were almost carbon copies of Robby’s own. “Can we still have pizza?”