Not long after I was taken to a separate room, the bell rang—signaling the end of the English exam.
And yet, not a single one of my classmates went home. Instead, they all came running toward me. Leading the pack was Hadley Klein—my best friend slash forever crush.
She was breathless, face flushed, sweating from rushing over. “There has to be a mistake. Cole would never cheat. He’s the top student at our school and he’s already on track for Ivy League. He has zero reason to do something like this!”
One of the exam proctors standing beside me looked moved, letting out a sigh. “That girl really cares about you. She ran straight here to speak up for you the second she finished her exam.”
I let out a cold laugh. “Does she?”
Hadley and I had grown up together, but our worlds couldn’t be more different.
She came from privilege. I didn’t. But she’d never once looked down on me for it. We’d always been close friends.
For the longest time, I believed that if I worked hard enough, made it into a top university, maybe—just maybe—I’d be good enough to stand beside her.
But after the sun sets today, there won’t be a single chance left for us.
Another proctor in the room couldn’t hide her confusion. “You’re a future valedictorian. Why would you cheat? Is this worth throwing your future away?”
I looked up at her, calm and steady and said, word by word, “Because if I didn’t do it, I’d be dead.”
That stunned her.
All the teachers in the room froze. The look on her face said it all—my words had scared the hell out of her.
But I? I was calm. Even smiling faintly. Like what I’d just said hadn’t come from me at all.
Soon, my homeroom teacher showed up, his face thunderous. He slammed his fist down on the window frame from outside and glared at me through the glass with sheer disappointment.
“Have you lost your damn mind?! The college entrance exam determines your entire future—why the hell would you throw it all away by cheating?”
“Your parents work their fingers to the bone every day—long hours at the factory and extra shifts just to scrape together enough for your tuition. And this is how you repay them? By risking everything and getting disqualified?!”
At the mention of my parents, I lowered my head and bit my lip.
Everyone assumed it was guilt—like I couldn’t face the shame of being caught. Which, of course, only made it look more like I really had cheated.
But the truth was, this was the only way I could get into Princeton.
Soon after, the principal arrived and with him came Mr. Haskins from the Princeton admissions office.
The moment Mr. Haskins saw me sitting in handcuffs, he froze.
“Mr. Grady, what are you doing here?” he asked, baffled. “You already secured early admission to our university through the national science competition. Why would you still be taking the entrance exam and…cheating?”
Dead silence followed.
Every eye turned to me.
Hadley looked like a deer caught in headlights. “He already got in?” she asked, disbelief.
Even the principal and my homeroom teacher were shocked. They turned to Mr. Haskins, as if hoping he’d say he’d made a mistake.
“No. There’s no mistake,” he said firmly. “Mr. Grady has been officially accepted into the Physics Department through the competition track. His acceptance letter should be arriving any day now.”
Now the confusion in the room reached a whole new level.
Everyone looked at each other, trying to make sense of it. Why would someone who’d already secured a spot at the top university in the country risk everything to cheat on a test he didn’t even need to take?
“I know!” My homeroom teacher suddenly blurted out, startling everyone around him. “Someone must’ve framed you! It’s okay, Cole. You can tell us the truth. Someone planted those cheat sheets on your desk, didn’t they?”
The principal quickly stepped in, nodding so hard it looked like his head might come off. “That’s right. Cole, if you just say you didn’t do it, we’ll get to the bottom of this and we’ll clear your name.”
All eyes were on me—hopeful, determined, practically begging to believe I was innocent.
And I knew, without a doubt, that if I denied it right then and there, those teachers would move heaven and earth to protect me.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I stared straight ahead, my face blank and said in a flat, emotionless voice, “I cheated. The cheat sheets are mine.”
