Chapter 1: The Difficult Question The classroom was unusually quiet.It was Monday morning at Westbridge High School, and the only sounds were the scratching of pencils against paper and the occasional turning of a page.Maya sat near the window, staring at her mathematics test.One question had been staring back at her for nearly ten minutes.She sighed."Why won't you make sense?"She had always been a good student. Her notebooks were neat, her assignments were usually complete, and her grades were nothing to be ashamed of.But mathematics had a way of humbling her.Especially questions like this one.Maya read it again.She wrote an equation.Crossed it out.Tried another.Crossed that out too.She glanced around the classroom.Several students were already writing confidently.At the front, their mathematics teacher walked between the rows, occasionally stopping to check someone's work.Maya lowered her head.She hated being stuck.She hated even more when other people noticed.Then a quiet voice came from behind her."You're making it harder than it is."Maya turned.Ethan Cole was sitting at the desk behind her.He was one of the quietest students in their class. He rarely spoke unless necessary, but everyone knew he was exceptionally intelligent.He had already completed most of his test.Maya whispered, "Then why don't you tell me the answer?"Ethan shook his head."Because you'll forget it.""Then what am I supposed to do?"He leaned forward slightly and pointed at her paper."Look at the second part first."Maya looked at the question."The second part?""Yes.""And then?""Ask yourself what information you already have."Maya stared at the page.She thought for a moment.Then she wrote something down.Ethan nodded."Good."Maya continued.One step.Then another.Her eyes widened."I think I got it.""Check it."She checked her calculations.Her face lit up."I got it!"Ethan smiled."See?"Maya looked at him."You knew I could solve it.""I knew you could if you stopped panicking."She frowned."I wasn't panicking.""You were.""I was thinking.""You were erasing the same line five times."Maya tried not to laugh."Maybe I was thinking very hard."Ethan laughed quietly.It was the first time she had heard him laugh.The bell rang.Everyone immediately began packing their books.Maya closed her notebook and looked at Ethan."Thank you."He shrugged."No problem."She hesitated."Ethan?""Yes?""Could you teach me how you solve questions like that?"He looked surprised."After school?""Yes."He nodded."Okay."Maya smiled."Thanks."Neither of them knew it yet, but that small conversation would change both their lives.---After school, Maya waited in the library.She sat at a table near the windows, surrounded by textbooks.She checked the clock.3:35 p.m.Ethan had said after school.She wondered if he would actually come.At exactly 3:40, he appeared."You waited."Maya smiled."You said you'd come."Ethan placed his books on the table."Fair enough."For the next hour, Ethan taught her different ways of approaching difficult questions.He never laughed when she made mistakes.Instead, he would say, "Try again."And somehow, those two words made Maya feel less afraid of getting things wrong.By the time they finished, she had solved six questions she had previously thought were impossible."This is amazing," Maya said."It's just practice.""You make it look easy.""It isn't easy.""Then how do you do it?""I make mistakes until I understand them."Maya smiled."That's actually good advice."Ethan packed his books."You should remember it.""I will."They walked out of the library together.For the first time in a long while, Maya didn't feel embarrassed about struggling with mathematics.She had found someone who didn't make her feel stupid for not knowing something.And Ethan had found someone who genuinely appreciated his quiet way of helping.Their friendship had begun with nothing more than a difficult question.Neither of them knew that it would eventually follow them far beyond high school.