“Get out of the way, Abby!” Lily cried. “The ball is going to hit you!”

It was a Tuesday morning, Lily and Abby, the twins, were having a great time in their gym class and even better, they won the game too.

“Nice play, girls,” Miss Davis, the twins’ gym teacher, said while having a glance at the wall clock. The bell rang just then. “Class dismissed!” Miss Davis called out.

The girls trotted towards their locker. Lily picked the books she needed for her English class while Abby studied herself in the mirror.

Abby was looking disappointed; she wanted to play the game a little more.

“Hurry up, Abby! Pick up your books, or else Mr Johnson will be mad. Didn’t you hear what he said last time when we were late in his class?” Lily imitated Mr Johnson’s stern voice. “What is taking everyone so long? Is it that hard to pick books from the locker?”

The girls hurried towards their class so they wouldn’t have to face Mr Johnson.

Lily and Abby were the most popular girls in the school. They were smart and trendy, so everyone wanted to be in their company, especially with Abby, because Abby was very stylish. She would come up with ideas that left students and teachers in awe. Usually, their table would be packed with students in the cafeteria, everyone would have turns sitting with them.

With all the fame and attention, Abby was losing focus on her studies. She was failing her subjects miserably.

Abby became worried about her studies when she was warned by the principal that she could be expelled from the school if she didn’t pass the upcoming exams.

Abby decided to tell Lily what the principal said. She imitated the principal and said, “Abby, I’m so disappointed with your results. You and Lily topped the class. Lily is showing good progress, but what happened to you? Your teachers are disappointed because you have been failing each exam. Now, I have discussed with your parents that if you don’t pass the upcoming exams, you will be expelled.”

Lily, looking at her sister’s sad face, decided to help her in her studies. But Abby never sat down to study with Lily. She always had alot of excuses — sometimes she was with her friends, sometimes chatting on phone and at other times she was out shopping.

As the exams were getting closer and Abby didn’t study at all, she decided to cheat. At first, it looked like a bad idea to her, but she thought to herself that she didn’t have a choice. Abby didn’t tell anyone about her plan. She decided to make cheat sheets and looked through the internet for some ideas on how to do it.

The day of the exams came and Abby was confident that she couldn’t fail the exam now. The exam was going smoothly, but suddenly Miss Emily caught Abby red-handed. Miss Emily was very disappointed because she also admired Abby.

Miss Emily reported Abby’s cheating to the teacher who was overseeing the exam. The teacher collected the evidence, which included the cheat sheets Abby had prepared.

Abby was immediately summoned to the principal’s office to explain her actions. She admitted to cheating and expressed deep remorse for her actions. The principal, while still disappointed, recognised that Abby was a talented and intelligent student, but she had made a mistake. He decided to give her a chance to make amends.

As a consequence of her actions, Abby was not allowed to take the rest of the exams, thus failing in those subjects. She received a serious warning and was placed on academic probation.

In addition to the academic consequences, Abby faced disciplinary action, including detention and counselling on the importance of academic integrity.

Abby’s parents were informed of her cheating and the subsequent actions taken by the school. They were disappointed, but supportive of their daughter’s efforts to make amends.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 2nd, 2023