(Person1: the CHEATER)
“Thump, thump. Thump, thump” My
heart beat widely, banging my chest every second. A drop of sweat ran down my
neck, giving me a tingling sensation and causing shiver. Mind going half-blank
and half-thrilled, I began to bite my fingernails and shake my legs hard. Right
then, Mr. Kim came into the room striding fast from the class door to the
podium with his long legs in a second. It was time.
“All right everyone. Please put
everything away. Only pencils and erasers are allowed on the desk. I said only pencils and
erasers! No pencil cases!”
Well, I was
expecting the no-pencil case rule from Mr. Kim. He’s notorious for him
all-seeing eyes and never-ending suspicion about students.
“Hey! I said to put all your
garbage-like notes away! We have to take the test!”
Mr. Kim shouted
to one female student in the front. I just don’t understand those girls who
look at their pitiful notes briefly right before the test. At this time of the
test, nothing is going to help you but all the hard work you have put in during
the semester. However, I had some sympathy for her since the subject for the
test this period is U.S. History, full of stupid acts, policies, wars,
contracts, and names that won’t be heard for the rest of your lives.
“Alright, I’m going to hand out the
answer sheets first. Make sure that you put your name and the student number on the top.”
When I received
the answer sheet, I could hear the moans and groans from all over the class.
Mrs. Son made over 70 questions for the test. Someone shouted,
“Come on, this is not an AP test
that we are taking!”
Murmurs of
discontent and agreement were heard here and there. I agree. 70 questions
including 10 free response problems in 90 minutes? That was too much. What was
Mrs. Son thinking when she was making this?
“Be QUIET! We are taking a test
here! If you take any problems you are more than welcome to go out of this room and run to
Mrs. Son complaining about the number of questions. Let’s see what happens if you do that!”
Mr. Kim growled
in a low, threatening tone. The class went silent in a second. He was right. We
would have to just take the test, except me. Well…‘take’ wasn’t a best word
choice me. I started to make my action.
* * *
“Hey, was it
President Eisenhower who was Republican but made some sort of social security
reform?” I hurriedly asked you sitting diagonally from me. You seemed to do
well on his quizzes and I heard that you were third place in class in mid-terms,
so I thought I could trust you enough for a credible answer.
“What? What did you say?” You looked
quite surprised when he heard the question.
“I asked you about President
Eisenhower! You wouldn’t say that you don’t know!” I whispered in a frantic way
before the test paper reached me.
You looked pretty
nervous then, with red face and shaking his legs. Still, that’s what everyone
feels before taking the test, right?
“I…I’m not sure. Sorry, I can’t
answer. Oh man, I remember that section is important!” you whispered back in a
pitiful voice.
“Wha..what? How can YOU don’t know
that? No! The test is on its way! No!”
“Hey! Didn’t you heard to be quiet?
We are taking a serious test here. If you are not confident or have some problem, you are more than walk
out the room and run to your parents.
If you want to take the test, then shut up and concentrate!” Mr. Kim’s fierce
threats resonated through the room.
* * *
A girl asked me an extremely annoying
question right before I was going to make my action. I lost a few seconds
because of that, but that didn’t hurt me from carry out my perfect plan of CHEATING.
It had two parts. The first part was a classic cheating method of making a
cheating paper with all the important information in it. However, making a
cheating paper for US History was too much work because it covered such a large
amount. So, after completing 60% of the amount, I moved on the second part. The
second part was dangerous yet genius. After listening to numerous lectures in
the classroom, I knew that the window on the left side of the room could
reflect something written on the desk placed on the left side. Thus, I placed
the cunning paper on the very corner of the first table, where nobody sits. I hid
the paper with cans and garbage, so even though someone finds it, they would
just think that it’s a leftover note. When I looked at the window in a 45
degree angle, I could see the cunning paper completely.
“Did
everyone receive the test sheets? Alright then, the test starts NOW!” Mr. Kim
shouted.
With a smug smile on my face, I started
the test.
* * *
“Did
everyone receive the test sheets? Alright then, the test starts NOW!” I
shouted.
Finally, after so much shouting and
growling, the test begun. I thought kids these days are out of common sense. No
matter how many times I repeat the direction, they seem to ask the same
question a minute later or they are doing things that I emphasized not to do
even a minute later. I flashed back to seconds before I announced that the test
started. A minute before than I repeated THREE times to not to talk someone
beside or behind you. However, ignoring my caution, the girl on the left side
of the room talked. Shaking my head, full of anger and disappointment, I began
to patrol the room. I was quite proud of my achievements until then, with
uncovering cheating for five times in past three years. I was confident that
nobody would get past me while cheating in this classroom.
* * *
‘Why
didn’t I think of this before? This is amazing!’
I started to mark the answers easily.
With all the solution in front of my eyes, it was just a piece of gum to literally
‘find’ the right answer.
* * *
(Person2: the BYSTANDER)
I started down the long test from the
first question. It was relatively easy and so was the next question. Then, I got
stuck on the third one, which was about President Eisenhower. I pulled my hair
and knocked on my head, trying to remember what I memorized. After few seconds
and I looked up on the window, still combing through my brain to remember.
‘Please
God. If you are there, help with this one.’
I prayed in my head. Then, I suddenly
saw it. I saw the answer, hovering on the window right in my sight.
* * *
I strolled up and down the room, slashing
my all-seeing eyes here and there. Fortunately for the test takers, I didn’t
find anything abnormal. They seemed to be taking the test with their best
efforts. I felt pity of some of them who already retired and started rolling
their pencils. Still, most of the students were working hard. Then, on my third
trip down the room, I finally caught something out of sight. It was happening
on the left side of the room; the two students, who fudged my directions before
by talking, where both looking out the window for a long time.
‘Well,
well, what is happening over there?’
I casually strolled towards the left
side, inspecting every element around them. At first, he looked pretty nervous when I started to walk towards him. To my disappointment, nothing was
wrong. They seemed to be taking the test as hard as the students around them.
* * *
Perfectly planned out, even the
notorious Mr. Kim couldn’t uncover my genius cheating operation. Still, I was
so surprised when Mr. Kim started to come over to my table.
‘Thump,
thump. Thump, thump.’
Barely holding the heart that felt like
bursting out from my chest and shivering from the tingling sense down my spine,
I went back to enjoying the outside view.
* * *
After few minutes from help of the God, I
finally figured out the trick; the guy in front of me. I don’t know how, but he
was the guy who planned everything out. I knew this since he was also looking
outside the window for a minute or so and write down the answers.
‘So,
that’s what made you the third place in mid-term, huh? That’s why you were so confident before the test saying
that the lowest score you can receive is 90! Well, you know what, I figured out the little trickery of
yours. It’s all over!’
I began to raise my hand: only in my
HEAD. My hand refused to move as my conscious told to do so. Then, a spark of
conflict burst through my head.
‘Should
I tell Mr. Kim? Of course I should! This is cheating and this must be stopped!
This is immoral, against the
rules, and… I just have to tell the teacher!’
I repeatedly told my hand to move and
call Mr. Kim. However, it didn’t. Right then, another thought crossed my mind.
‘Still,
with all that information, I can get a very good score of the test! Since I studied
harder than him, I would
probably do better on the free response questions, right?’
All kinds of thoughts passed through my
mind. I was surprised that it wasn’t so natural to sue cheating, especially
when you can cheat together with the original cheater. Seconds passed and
minutes passed. I stuck to cheating together. However, sense of immorality just
didn’t get erased, disturbing me every question. Then, Mr. Kim suddenly
shouted,
“Alright
kiddies, only five more minutes left!”
Mixture of sound of discontent, worries,
and relief streamed out of the students.
“What?
No!” I shouted, without even knowing that I’m shouting.
* * *
“Hey!
This test isn’t over yet! Stop muttering helpless things and start wrapping up!”
‘Finally,
this stupid test assistant was coming to an end.’ I thought.
However, that strange sense of suspicion
on the left side kept hovering over my head. It felt like that I saw the
similar scene before. I wasn’t a man who passes by something doubtful even a
one bit.
‘Well,
I’ll just have to check after the test,’ I thought.
The time watch beeped in my hand,
telling that the test was over.
“Alright
students, put your hands on your heads, the test is over. If you move before I take
all the answer sheets that
would count as cheating”
* * *
(Person1: the CHEATER)
I was right on time. Even with the
cunning paper, it was pretty hard to figure out the answers without any
studying what-so-ever. It felt great. I was flooded with sense of achievement.
‘Should
I recover the window-cheat paper right after the test?’ I thought.
‘Nah,
I should recover it after a few days. It would look suspicious if I go right
there when everyone is leaving the
classroom.’
The test was over and I had no regrets
at all. At that time, overwhelmed by the joy of completing the cheating without
getting caught and talking to my friends about the tricky questions, I couldn’t
hear someone calling me from behind.
* * *
The test was over and I messed up the
whole test, caught up between morality and good score. I couldn’t believe
myself from letting the cheater walking right away from me. The tears welled up
in my eyes. I began to call him from few meters behind. But he didn’t look
back, surrounded by bunch of boys complaining about insane number of questions.
“Hey,
I need to talk to you!”
I shouted at him, trying as hard as I can
to prevent the tears falling down from my eyes. However, he was long gone with
his friends.
* * *
After all the students have left, I went
over to the left side and began to search from the back. I thoroughly
investigated each desk, one by one. Then, on the last desk, the desk on the
very front that I oversaw, I finally found it. The smile began to form on my
face.
“You
know kid? You are using the exact cheating process that I used right before I got
caught. It seems like that it’s
going to happen to you too!”
Laughing and full of memories, I began
to walk out the empty classroom.
