7
♡ fo
Early in the morning, I stretched my legs, catching Ivy’s glance. She smirked, her voice dripping with mock sincerity. “Good luck, Hazel. You’re so amazing; I’m sure you’ll get into Harvard–MIT in one go.”
I smiled, accepting her “blessing.” I knew she had a plan. I was just waiting for her to
make her move.
The next day, as I finished the final SAT exam and hadn’t even left the testing hall, two officers approached me and cuffed my hands.
“Someone reported you for cheating,” one officer said.
I was baffled. The security checks before entering the exam room were strict. I hadn’t brought anything in!
But the officers were determined. They crouched down and ripped open the hem of my pants, pulling out a small piece of paper.
- “What’s this, Hazel Bright?”
Feigning understanding, I replied, “Oh, I know what that is.”
The testing hall buzzed with whispers.
“She cheated! I can’t believe it!”
“She was first in the city for the last two mock exams. Were those scores all fake?”
“Yeah, I thought it was impossible for anyone to jump from 200 to 700 in just six months.”
I cleared my throat, projecting my voice so everyone could hear. “This is a charm I made
for good luck. It’s my ‘Pass Harvard–MIT‘ token!”
The officers unrolled the paper. Sure enough, it was a charm with no test–related
material.
They glanced at each other, then continued their search. They checked my desk, my
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21:30 Mon, Nov 25 @
clothing, and even took me to the teacher’s lounge for a full body inspection. Nothing.
Finally, one officer apologized. “Sorry, Hazel. We received a report and had to follow protocol, but you’re clear. There’s no evidence of cheating.”
I calmly left the school, knowing exactly who had orchestrated this. Ivy.
♡ fo
A few weeks earlier, I had caught her with my school uniform pants, claiming she noticed a tear and wanted to sew it for me. Suspicious of her sudden kindness, I checked the hem later and found a sloppily sewn edge containing a tiny slip of paper. Printed on it, in microscopic text, were notes about literary passages likely to appear on the exam.
I’d known then that Ivy planned to accuse me of cheating. Instead of confronting her, I decided to turn the tables. I replaced the cheat sheet with a harmless charm I made online.
On the morning of the exam, I stretched deliberately, letting Ivy spot the altered hem. She must have thought her plan was succeeding.
Walking out of the exam hall with the officers, I saw Ivy animatedly talking to Mom and
Dad in the distance.
As I approached, Ivy cried out, pretending to be devastated. “Hazel! I know how badly
wanted to get into Harvard–MIT, but cheating? Now it’s all over. No college will take you, id you might even go to jail!”
Mom, sobbing, punched my arm. “Hazel, why would you do this? No matter what you scored, we’d have supported you as long as you were honest. But cheating? Now you’ve
ruined your future!”
One of the officers stepped in. “Ma’am, your daughter didn’t cheat. We found no evidence of wrongdoing.”
For the first time, Ivy’s fake sadness melted into genuine panic.
“That’s impossible. She…” Ivy’s gaze darted to my pant leg, now split open to reveal the charm. Her face turned pale, then red, then white again. She seemed to realize what had happened and went silent.
I’d already informed the officers of Ivy’s scheme. If she admitted the cheat sheet existed,
21:30 Mon, Nov 25
r
♡ fo
Mom wiped her tears and beamed. “I knew it! Hazel’s too smart to cheat.” She handed me a bouquet of flowers. “Congratulations, sweetie. It’s over. You’re free now.”
I took the flowers and, feigning nonchalance asked Ivy, “Did you finish your test early
today?”
Ivy froze, her lips slightly parted. Her eyes flitted nervously toward the officers.
Mom answered for her. “Your sister finished a while ago. She said she did really well- better than usual!”
21:30 Mon, Nov 25
