I was sprawled out on my sofa, flipping through my math book. I took a deep breath. Mmmmm. The aroma from the kitchen smelled like food. 

My stomach started to grumble. “Hello…?” I heard Mom say in the neighboring room. I felt a trickle of sweat run down my face. When was I going to finish?!?! I stared down at the next problem. Uhhhhh. 

Slam!! I turned over to see Mom closing the door. “You almost done?” Mom asked behind me. Goosebumps immediately started to crawl all over me. “Yes, mom,” I replied. “This is so hard,” I mumbled to nobody as she walked away. After about twenty extremely boring and frustrating minutes, I was on the same question, wondering if I would ever finish. 

Mom came over next to me and asked, “Do you need any help?” I replied with a grunt. This was a sign that showed her that I was annoyed, so she walked away, for the second time, to continue her work. I did NOT enjoy it when she asked me if I wanted help. It always made me angry and stressed out. I didn’t know why. Another 5 especially boring minutes passed, and Mom came to check on me again! “Are you still stuck on the same question?” she asked me suspiciously. “Yep.” “Do you need help?” she suggested. “Nope.” “It’s okay to ask for help,” she tried. “Okay, fine,” I finally said grudgingly, and so we went through the “trying to make me understand her” process, and that was not easy. “I know, Mom,” I half yelled. Uhhhhh. After some more groaning and some more shouting, Mom finally asked, “Do you want me to help you or not?” I looked at my cat. She was laying a few feet away from us. I knew what she wanted me to say. “Fine,” I almost whispered. Mom smiled at me, then continued. I could feel my hands starting to shake. “Hey,” Mom said when she saw me. “It’s always okay to ask for help.” “Thanks, Mom,” I replied. “No problem,” she answered.