Oh No You didn't!!

It was my first month of being a freshman and I had a new teacher that was intimidating and very effective. She was a great teacher, pleasant to those who deserved it and kept you always thinking. The year had started great and I had never been in trouble or suspected of being a cheater till the day I was completely wronged. It all started with five vocabulary words.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was the story we were reading and I was excited, because I had always heard of the story but never read it myself. We had started the first chapter as a class and so far the book was understandable. Then we were given five vocabulary words to learn and memorized. She gave us three days to study and told us that the test was going to be on Thursday. When I left the class room I scammed through that piece of paper like it was water from the fountain of youth. The first thing I did for homework was write those five words I had never seen, ten times each. Then I started memorizing them between classes, testing myself on each symbol. Wednesday comes and I start to get nervous so all day I had someone, anyone ask me what this word or that word, means. I studied with my father, mother, sister, grandmother, and even my little brother. Thursday morning I made sure I knew every word when I heard it and even knew how to spelled it. 

I walked into her room and sat at my assigned seat, making sure I got there early so that I could do bell work and then maybe look over the study words one last time. I finished my bell work by the time the last bell rang and we were given 5 minutes to study. Then she asked us to clear out our desks and to make sure we have a pencil and a blank piece of paper. I sat there with a fresh pencil sharper than a two inch sword and a clean sheet of college ruled paper. The she said she told us that we were to turn them in on the shelf in front of the room and were to sit and read our books till everyone was done.

After a couple of seconds she said, “Now you may start.” Not knowing whether to start or to wait, I sat there in confusion. I waited but afraid if I wait any longer I may forget the words so I started writing what I had remembered starting from one and I reached to the fourth word. Finishing the fourth word, and the teacher says,

“Okay, number one is...”

Oh man! I was doing it all wrong she had said a different word. Should I get a clean paper? No, she’ll think I’m trying to look at my study words. So I used my large eraser to clean my paper of my error.

I finished the quiz, feeling confident in myself, and I rush off to computers where I can check my score on the test. When I went to my English grades I saw my grade had went down so I open it more and I noticed it said,

“Zero for CHEATING”

I felt my eyes start to water up and burn, I felt so betrayed and violated. I turned to see her standing in the door way gesturing to come her way. I got up pushing in my chair and telling my self ‘Control Alex, Control yourself.’ When I reached her she asked me if I knew why she wanted to talk to me, and I told her that she accused me of cheating when I didn’t. Then she showed me my paper and told me that it looked as if I went home, copied the words on that paper, used it for the quiz and erased it as I went along. Overcomed with anger, I argued with her that I wouldn’t cheat on a five word vocabulary quiz. She said she would give it to the Mr. Julian and let him talk to my parents about it but from then on I was to have a Saturday Detention and a possible expulsion. 

I finished my computer class assignment holding back tears of anger and injustice. When the bell rang i power walked to the office to call my father. Trying to control my voice inorder for him to understand but i finally make out the words, “thhthey think I ..I ..I cheeeaaated on a five wwword quiz and they gggave meee a Saturday Deeetteention” There was a silence for a moment and then a response,

“I’ll be there in five minutes”

Many of things happened after that but it resulted with me being given Saturday Detention for not following directions. Which was still an unfair punishment for that. So they punished me as a cheater but named it false. I later caused her to get fired but I will never forget this injustice of my integrity.