*The 2026 Ka Hana Kaulana staff chose this short story as one creative work to submit to the National Scholastic Press Association’s Individual Awards contest.

This is a story about a girl who experiences academic pressure at home. I was inspired by the people around me and I wrote this in hopes that those who go through academic pressure make sure that they are still seen and loved, to be reassured that they are much more than their grades.

The bus drove down the road, alive with noise from almost every corner. Chatter and laughter spread throughout it. It halted at every single stop, students starting to leave the bus one by one. In the middle of all of this noise sat Minh. 

She was tense, her knuckles white as she clutched her physics test. A big red 78% screamed at her on the top right of her paper. The vibrant red felt like a jab to her heart, as if taunting her for how badly she had done on her test. She bounced her knee continuously, the sickening feeling deep down growing more intense with every stop the bus made.

“Minh, are you good?” Her friend pinched her, noticing her jittery movements.

“Yes, Hana, I feel great,” Minh muttered, her eyes staring blankly at the score. 

Hana’s eyes narrowed, following Minh’s gaze to her test. She slowly realized what that look of sorrow was for and sighed, rummaging through her untidy bag. Minh did not bother to acknowledge Hana’s words, her dark eyes fixated on her test with an unreadable expression.

“Here, look at my test. I got 65%, lower than you huh?” Hana smiled, an attempt to cheer Minh up.

“That doesn’t matter to me. That’s your score, not mine.”

Hana stared at her in silence, “You’re being impossible. It’s not the end of the world.”

She was right–it was not the end of the world–but that did not stop Minh from feeling like her sanity was being taken away from her with each growing second. After an eternity, she lifted her head to see where they were. Her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights when she realized she could see her house getting closer and closer every speedbump the bus drove over.

She watched as Hana slung her bag over her shoulder, standing up and getting ready to exit the bus. Hana calmly stepped out of the bus with not a single worry. 

“Come on, stop standing there before the bus closes on you.” Hana chuckled, but Minh would not be against that idea. Still, she stepped off the bus and turned around, seeing her house right there.

She held Hana’s wrist tightly, not wanting to leave just yet. Hana’s eyebrows furrowed, sending a warning to Minh.

“Minh, I have to go home and get ready for soccer practice. Let go and go home, you’ll be fine.”

“But-”

“Minh.”

The latter went silent, staring at her home like it was a jail cell. She put Hana’s busy schedule into consideration before letting go.

“Have fun at soccer.” She bit her lip and slowly walked away, barely hearing Hana’s farewell.

The clouds slowly covered the sun, leaving barely any sunlight to shine in the neighborhood as rain started to fall. Droplets of rain started to trickle down her arms. She stared at the sad sky for a long moment, gathering her thoughts before looking back at her porch. Her steps felt heavy as she walked down the crosswalk, nearing her house. Her hands trembled so badly that she struggled to hold onto her keys that continuously slipped through her clammy grip.

“Please don’t be home,” her hushed voice shook as she finally managed to grab a hold of her keys. She carefully unlocked the door, her heart pounding so loudly. The usually reserved girl put her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath, reassuring herself that going inside would not be bad.

She turned the knob gently, afraid that the house would hurt her. She tiptoed inside the house, holding her breath and closing the door behind her.

“Minh, you’re home.” A deep voice called out. Minh froze on the spot, the color on her face draining as she slowly lifted her head.

She met her father’s gaze, his piercing eyes read her mind.

“Your test. Give it to me,” he asked, his tone demanding and stern as he set his laptop to the side with an expectant expression. He was not about to ask again, and that was what made Minh feel terrified.

She stepped forward, a weight on her shoulder as she handed the test to him. Before he could start to read, she hung her head down low to avoid his disapproving stare. For a moment, there was complete silence. She thought that she was off the hook until she heard her dad mutter something in Vietnamese before continuing.

“Are you kidding me, Minh?” His eyes were dark, his expression contorted with anger and disappointment, something that the girl knew was definitely not good.

“Ba, I’m-”

“I have raised you for 16 years, teaching you how to do well in life and keep our family’s reputation, and you come home with this? Are you trying to embarrass me?” He stood up, his face red with rage as he looked down on Minh. The young girl looked up at him, his towering presence sent shivers down her spine and the hairs on her arms stood.

His previously relaxed expression had become the complete opposite. His jaw was clenched, nostrils flaring. He usually kept a calm and stoic expression, but now he had done a complete 180 of his mood. Minh’s mind was racing, words unable to come out of her throat.

“Does he really only care about my grades and how our family sees us? Is that all I’m worth to him?” The thought ran through her mind, a thought that she did not want to believe was true at all.

“No, Ba, I’m sorry. I really tried on this test, I didn’t want to get a bad score,” Her voice croaked as she forced her words out, a cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.

 “What are you yelling for, Thanh?” Her mom came out from the hallway, drying her hair with a towel. They both turned their heads at the sound of her voice.

“Your daughter got a bad score on her test, that’s what!” He snapped. Minh flinched at the sentence, tears starting to build up. 

“What do you mean, ‘your daughter?’ Am I not your daughter as well?” The thought crossed her mind, throwing a jab at her wall of composure that was already starting to crack by itself.

“You must be overreacting, Thanh. Let me see,” Her mom put the towel over her own shoulder, stepping forward to gently grab the test. Her eyes skimmed the paper before landing on the red number on the top of the paper. Her eyebrows furrowed before she gasped softly, a sound of disapproval escaping her lips.

“It’s horrible, she’s learning to slack off,” he growled, turning back to Minh, ignoring the jingling of the door opening. “Keep this up and you’ll be out of this house in no time,” he threatened, making the young girl freeze up.

“What’s going on?” A calming voice broke into the tense situation. Minh looked up through her tears, seeing her older brother, Bach. He sensed something was wrong, looking around the room. He saw that his father was red in the face and his mother had her gaze turned away from Minh.

“Your sister didn’t do so well on her test,” she softly responded to Bach, handing the test over to him. His brown eyes skimmed over the test, his facial expression neither upset or happy.

“78%? That seems fine?” He handed the test back to his mother, not seeing the problem.

“78%? Fine? You’re crazy if you thought a score like that would pass in my household,” his father snarled.

The voices started to blur together, making Minh feel overwhelmed. She backed up and took the chance to escape to her room, her thoughts scattered everywhere.

“Minh, you better come back-” her father called out, his demand interrupted by the loud slam of the girl’s door. “This disrespectful girl, just asking for a punishment,” he grumbled, heading to her room.

His steps were cut short when something grabbed his wrist. He turned back, his jaw clenched upon seeing Bach being the one to hold him back.

“Ba, you’re overreacting. Minh didn’t even do that bad on the test.” Bach loosened his grip once he had his father’s attention. “She’s a teenager, she can only handle so much.”

“She does nothing at home but play games. What is there to handle?” His father’s eyes almost popped out of his own head from anger. He turned away to continue walking to Minh’s room.

“You clearly don’t see the amount of effort she puts into her studies just to impress you. Do you see her only worthy of your love when she scores a 90 or above?”

The man stopped in his tracks, taking a short moment to process what Bach had just said.

“No, of course not. I just want what’s best for her-”

“Something that would be best for her is her learning to try her best. Would you rather her do bad knowing she didn’t try, or do bad knowing she tried her best?” Bach spoke once again, cutting the man’s speech off.

The room became quiet, a thoughtful look on the man’s face. Never in Minh’s 16 years did he consider the fact that she really was just trying her best. Only now had it clicked to him that Minh didn’t get a bad score on her test on purpose. He thought back to her regretful and apologetic expression, her words and Bach echoing in his mind.

“I really tried on this test, I didn’t want to get a bad score.”

“Would you rather her do bad knowing she didn’t try, or do bad knowing she tried her best?”

Thanh’s fists clenched and unclenched. He felt confused.

“At the end of the day, she’s still your daughter. You shouldn’t love her grades more than you love Minh herself,” Bach softly spoke. The few words made Thanh realize his wrongs, regret written all over his face once he started to consider just how his daughter might be feeling about herself.

“I’ll… do something I suppose,” he whispered to himself and left to go to the kitchen. Bach watched his father walk off, almost surprised that he had been able to get through the man’s head.

Minh sat in her room, her face buried in her pillows. Her body shook as she tried to not make a sound. She feared that her father would once again come in to scold her. She was not stable enough for that right now.

Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door, then another. She quickly wiped the fallen tears off of her face, sitting up.

“Come in,” her voice cracked.

Her father slowly opened the door, taking a few steps in. She visibly tensed up, hanging her head low.

“Con oi, don’t cry.”

The room was quiet, the only sound being the soft rustles of leaves outside. She looked up at him, her eyes big and confused. She had never heard her father speak so softly before.

“Wipe your eyes before you get sick,” he put a plate of her favorite fruits down on her table.

She sniffled and nodded, quickly using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her tears away. 

“You know, Ba just cares about your future, right?” He sat down beside her, caressing her hair softly. “You’re my princess. I want you to grow up successful.”

She sat there speechless, her words unable to come out of her throat. He did not expect her to speak to him, just wanting her to know that he was at least apologetic for what he said to her.

“I love you, okay? Ba is…” He paused for a moment before deciding to prioritize his daughter’s feelings before his ego. “Ba is sorry.” He pulled her into his arms, more unspoken words lingering above the two of them. Minh was stunned before hugging him back, finally allowing her tears to fall again.

Her tears soaked his shirt as she held the back of his shirt tightly, “I love you too, Ba.”