Thrice a week the dotty daughter makes calls to her parents. Conversation during weekdays are limited but on Sundays, it stretches up to an hour — topics range from day-to-day events to friends, to health and finally comes the most awaited topic of the tiger mom, the academic part.

‘So how did you do your test, dear?’

‘It was okay.’

‘Okay’ was something the mother couldn’t stand. To her, it meant not so good or average or satisfactory and that was not okay for her. Though she tried with all her might to make her dotty daughter understand the definition of ‘Okay’, she failed. The very sound of the word got on her nerves, but the daughter was not to understand this.

The right coaching brings out the genius in you. Two years of your stay in strict disciplined lifestyle, without any distraction, is what is needed and your life will be set.

One year ago, the soccer mom pretentiously weighed on the merits and demerits, and peppering it with the ever-so-slight dash of emotional manipulation mouthed, ‘I know you want to get good scores just like others, but you are not able to meet your own expectations, right?’

No matter how hard the intelligent teenager tried to exercise her ability to get away, the mother funnelled her rebellious streak into a manageable yes from her darling daughter, albeit a half-hearted nod. But there always were the grumbles, about the course what never was her choice of interest. Basically, to avoid mathematics, the parents knew. Pursuing the well-known path than the lesser explored, was what they preferred. And when it came to this rebellious teenager, the mother knew what best suited her highly intelligent daughter and that was that.

The much-awaited Sunday  calls became the booster shots that helped the teenager settle with the dilemmas of her everyday happenings, be it academic issues or about roommates. The aphorisms of the mother fit well to the vexing challenges the institute threw at her.

‘Mom, please write me a letter.’

At the very spell of it, the mother chose to write about Rhodopsin effect, the one she had come across during her Facebook feed scrolling session. As was expected, the letter served as a motivational fodder that continued for weeks. But it soon fizzled out and the daughter got stuck in the rut again. The mother now had to come up with something new to keep the show going. After all, it’s just the matter of time, you know, or so she believed.

‘Mom, I am here just because you guys have forced me to. Science is not my choice or interest.’

‘Just a few more months left, all you need to do is blindly follow the instructions given. That’s it, sweetheart.’

‘It is not as simple as you think, Mom.’

With all her uncanny ability to convince her dotty daughter, she pulled off a multitude of words that ranged from softly wavy to a determined tone.

‘Well, then, there is no choice.’

Glad to see herself making some headway, never letting the rebellious teenager’s prodding words checkmate her.

‘Exactly. There you got me. I am feeling helpless. You have left me to rot in this suffocating ambience.’

The tension set in. The warrior in the mother started mulling over the task at hand. Not difficult by any yardstick who had walked the tightrope, dealing situations way far tougher than this. If ever she gave up, what a failure it would be! Can her hard work be lost to the apathy of the present?

‘I fully understand your situation dear, but it’s all a matter of time. Just be patient. Soon after your twelfth, you are going to pursue your passion. Isn’t it great?’

‘Oh, now you are getting on with your emotional blackmail trap. Can you please stop that, Mom?’

Before it turned into a high voltage drama, she exactly sniffed out what to come up with.

‘By the way, how’s your new crush?’

At the very toss of the question, the see-saw battle of blame disappeared into thin air. But more than that, it turned a goal dictum on its head.

‘Hope, Papa isn’t around?’

‘Yes, but don’t you worry girl, he is busy watching cricket.

Just as happily the conversation had begun it ended too. But in that brief moment, a tear or two escaped the cool Mom’s eyes.

That, for her, was one of the greatest endeavours of her day by far!