PSLE: Cheating

You were in an exam hall and you did not know how to do the questions.

. What did you do?

. What happened to you?

. What happened in the end?

                The clock was ticking furiously.  I scratched my head anxiously for I did not know how to do the Mathematics problem sums.  They were all Greek to me.  I was already stuck at the first question and twenty minutes had already passed.  My heart pounded like African drums.   If I had not been playing for the past few days, I would not be in this pathetic state now.  What should I do?  I would surely flunk this paper.  

                Suddenly, a brainwave hit me like a lightning bolt.  My eyes darted from side to side.  Next to me was my best friend, Tom, who had consistently aced in every examination.  He was rapidly jotting down his answers.  It must have been a piece of cake for him!   I decided to get his help.  When the invigilator was not watching, I tapped on his shoulder gently and whispered with gesturing hands, “Lend me see your papers!”

                Upon hearing it, Tom shook his head vigorously.  “It’s cheating!”  he muttered and continued answering his script.  How could he leave me in a lurch?  I was his best friend after all!  This time, I gave him a hard nudge at his side.  To my horror, he still ignored me and moved away further from me. 

                I looked about and noticed that the teacher had left the class for a while.  My chance has arrived!  I snatched Tom’s papers and started scribbling down all the answers.  Jubilance swelled my heart!  Finally, I was done for the first ten questions.  Before I could even flip to the next page, Tom grabbed the papers and there was a loud rip!  The exam paper was torn into two.  Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not with me.  The teacher had just entered and witnessed the scuffle between us.

                “Tom and John!  What are you doing?”  She stared daggers at me.  Fear ripped my lungs and my face turned deathly pale. 

                “I…I…am not cheati…” I stammered, but the words just stubbornly refused to slip out of my mouth.  By this time, Tom started bursting into tears, “I didn’t do anything!  It was Tom!”

                “You naughty imp!” she hollered as her lips curled in distaste.  She stomped forward and dragged me by the ear to the principal’s office.

                “Ouch!  Ouch!”  I screamed in pain but her hand just refused to let go!  Soon, I reached the 'gates of hell'!   

                “What have you done?” the bespectacled principal screeched in a high-pitched nasal voice.

                I froze, my legs standing rooted to the ground.  “Please give me a chance!” I beseeched incessantly.  My pleas fell on deaf ears.   The principal gave me two strokes of cane on my buttocks in the presence of my parents!  As if that was not enough, my parents literally turned me into a zebra with their gargantuan belt at home.  I was covered with red welts.  Who could I blame but myself?  My laziness has reduced me to such a pitiful state.