I took the papers from Mr. Smith. It was just like what Marianne said—even our essays were identical.
I was utterly bewildered. How could this be possible? I’d clearly answered the paper on my own.
I tried my best to defend myself, yet no one believed in me. After all, both our papers were indeed identical.
Mr. Smith assumed that I was simply under too much pressure over the upcoming exam. He offered me a few words of comfort and warned me not to repeat my mistake again.
Marianne raised her hand again during the math exam in the afternoon. “Isabelle is just too shameless, Mr. Smith. She’s cheating off me again!”
After checking, Mr. Smith realized that our answers were identical once more. His face darkened immediately as he scolded me for not learning my lesson and sent me home to reflect.
I racked my brain during the days I stayed at home. But no matter what, I still couldn’t come up with an explanation.
I couldn’t understand how my answers for both the writing and math papers had turned out identical to Marianne’s, down to the essay, even though I hadn’t cheated.
When I finally stepped into the exam hall for the SAT exam, I pushed aside all distractions and focused on answering the papers.
There was no way the same thing could possibly happen again with how strict the SAT was.
I felt confident after I finished the writing paper. Yet just as the bell rang signaling the end of the exam, Marianne, who was sitting on my left, raised her hand.
She said, “I want to report the student next to me, sir. She’s been cheating off me!”
Two exam supervisors immediately came over to check. Once more, the answers on both our papers were identical.
The punishment came quickly—I would be banned from taking any SAT exams for the next two years.
I came from a poor family, and the SAT exam was my only chance to change my fate. Losing this opportunity meant that I no longer had a future.
In despair, I leaped from the rooftop.
To my surprise, fate presented me with another chance.
This time, I would rewrite my ending.
