As soon as the children returned from the school assembly, the classroom was filled with excited chatter.

Anjali Ma’am entered the class at that moment, accompanied by a small, blue-eyed girl. She signalled everyone to sit and, pointing to the girl, said, “This is your new classmate. Her name is Ayesha. Today is her first day. I am sure you will all be friends with her and help her catch up with everything she has missed.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the children said in unison.

The teacher smiled, and after Ayesha went to her seat, she started teaching again. As usual, after the class, she asked, “Was that understood by all?”

Silence followed. A hand rose slowly. It was Ayesha’s.

“Go ahead, Ayesha. Do you want to ask something?” Anjali Ma’am asked tenderly.

“Yes, Ma’am. I could understand some parts of it, but the other parts were a bit unclear. If you could repeat it one more time, please,” Ayesha said as she stood up.

“Very good, Ayesha. You should always raise your hand and ask if you don’t understand. I am very happy with you. Please sit down.” She explained the chapter to Ayesha again.

Ayesha did this in all their classes. The other students made fun of her for it, upsetting her.

“Ayesha, do you have a button in your hand?” Rinki asked.

“Obviously. As soon as Madam finishes speaking, her hand goes up,” Mohan said, and the whole class burst into laughter.

“No, no! She has an auto-start button,” Mayank, who came first in the class, said.

A sad Ayesha said, “I started late, so I lag behind in some courses. Maybe that is why I need to ask more.”

“Yes, yes. Otherwise, you are so good at your studies, you’d top the class!” Mayank said and everyone started laughing.

After a month, Ayesha would raise her hands not only to ask questions but also to give answers. The teachers praised her.

Slowly, Ayesha made a few friends like Ragini who started asking questions.

As soon as the teacher left the class, Mayank and his friends started teasing Ragini as well. “Copycat, copycat! Ayesha’s copycat!”

Ayesha began to cry and said, “Why are all of you after Ragini now? At least she’s bold enough to ask questions.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Mayank snapped and went to his seat.

Despite Ayesha repeatedly encouraging her, Ragini never asked another question.

Soon, it was time for the half-yearly exams, and the results were declared a while later.

Mayank was the most surprised. The one who always came first had now come second. Ayesha had topped the class. Mayank was so upset by this that he began to cry.

Anjali Ma’am walked up to him and gently stroked his head.

“Mayank, do not be so sad. You and Ayesha are equally intelligent, but since Ayesha often asks questions, she clears away her confusion. That makes the subject clear to her.”

“Ma’am, I never imagined being anything apart from the topper,” Mayank said, wiping his tears.

“Look, Mayank. It doesn’t matter whether you come first, second or third. What matters is that you clearly understand your subject. Healthy competition is good; there shouldn’t be any jealousy,” Anjali Ma’am explained lovingly.

“I work hard, but I still can’t understand a few things,” Mayank said sheepishly.

“You should also clear your confusion in class. You’ll then be clear about the topics and be able to get better marks, too,” Ma’am said.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Mayank said as he looked at her with a new determination.

The next day, Anjali Ma’am was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of raised hands after she had asked a question.

“All of you are on the right path to success. You might be first, second or third in the exams, but all of you are first in the exam of life, and you will reach greater heights from here,” Ma’am said happily.

All the children were delighted to hear that. They had decided to clear their confusion in class from now on.