A School Of Weirdos

CHAPTER EIGHT

The next day's exam was easier than I expected. English was the easiest subject, but there was more to come. During our basic science exam, I saw something I had never seen before in an exam: Mathew, my seatmate, was talking to himself while looking at his question paper. He was taking the biology exam that day.

My other seatmates saw what he was doing, but they just looked at it as if it was normal. I had an exam that I was writing. I couldn't afford to be distracted by what he was doing, so I quickly turned my focus back to my own exam.

A few minutes passed, and when I looked back at him, I noticed something: He had a small earpiece in his ears. It wasn't visible unless you were close to him. The device was something I had never seen before, but I could tell it must have been expensive.

I started to suspect that someone must be feeding him the answers through that device, and I guessed that the person feeding Mathew answers was either another student or someone outside the school.

I had heard of students cheating during exams in such way in higher institutions, but I never imagined I'd see it happen in a secondary school. I was shocked and confused by what I was witnessing. Part of me wanted to believe that Mathew was just mumbling to himself and wasn't actually talking to someone else, but I knew that wasn't the case.

I could hear him responding to questions that no one else was asking. It was clear that he was communicating with someone through that device in his ear. It seemed so unfair.

I felt conflicted: On the one hand, I didn't want to snitch on Mathew and get him into trouble, but on the other hand, I didn't like the idea of someone cheating on an exam. It didn't seem right to me, and I felt like it was my duty to report it. However, I didn't want to do anything without thinking it through first. I decided to focus on my own exam.

I decided to ignore Mathew and focus on my own exam. It was hard to concentrate, though, knowing what was going on next to me. I tried to block it out and think only about the questions in front of me. I answered each one carefully, making sure to check my answers for any mistakes.

The exam seemed to go on forever, but eventually it was over. I felt relieved as I handed in my exam booklet. I stood up and stretched my legs, feeling exhausted from the mental effort of concentrating for so long.

Then, I saw Mathew heading towards the door. I felt a sudden urge to stop him and confront him about what I had seen. However, I hesitated, unsure of what to say. Then, I decided not to confront him and instead went back to revising for my next paper.

Throughout the rest of the day, I noticed that Mathew continued to cheat on all his papers. I thought about whether or not I should report him, but I decided against it. I didn't want to make an enemy of a senior student.

Mathew was a tall and intimidating figure, and I didn't want to cross him. I thought it would be best to just keep my head down and focus on my own work. After all, I still had several exams to take, and I didn't want to get distracted by drama.

Afterall, I don't know Mathew and what he might be capable of. Seeing that device on his ear brought me to the realization that he might be a rich guy and I definitely won't like to make trouble with such people.

However, as the day went on, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. I knew what Mathew was doing was wrong, and I felt like I was complicit in his cheating by not reporting him.

I felt that my integrity was being compromised by my inaction. I didn't want to be known as someone who let cheating go unpunished, but I had to keep quiet about it for my own good.

The time flew by and another day came. It was the third day of our exams. I didn't pay any attention to what Mathew might be doing. I didn't even see the device that was in his ear the other day. I guessed that he didn't need to cheat on that day's paper.

The rest of the exam days went smoothly as I focused on my own work. Despite my attempts to avoid thinking about it, I couldn't help but notice that Mathew was still cheating. I heard him responding to something, and I saw the communication device in his ear. Other students also did some malpractice, but I pretended it didn't bother me.

All I had in mind was to finish the exams and look forward to the holidays.

On the last day of our exams, as we said our goodbyes before heading home, Amanda, Michael, and I talked about how we wanted to spend our last holiday. With that, we parted ways until the day we would come back to collect our results and start our holiday.

When the day of the results came, I woke up early and went to school. The results were displayed on the notice board. When I looked at it, I saw my name in the third position out of a class of 52 students. It was impressive, and I felt proud of myself. I showed the results to Amanda and Michael. Amanda took fourth position, and Michael took second. We were part of the top five students in our class.

When I asked Amanda and Michael about the student who took first position, they told me that the student who took first position, Paul, was a quiet person who didn't talk much and didn't have any friends. They said that he always walked home alone.
Paul, my namesake, is a Yoruba boy, unlike me who is an Igbo boy. His full name is Paul Olatunde.

As I listened to my classmates talk about Paul, I wondered what he was like. Was he a weirdo, like some of the other students in our class? Or was he just shy? Later on, I went to the form master's office to pick up my Individual results report card, which had all of my grades on it. Then, I talked with Amanda and Michael before going home.

When I got home, I told my mom about my results. She was proud of me and told me how much I had accomplished. We celebrated my accomplishment with a special dinner, and it was one of the happiest days of my life.

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