Arsalan was in his room wondering what would become of him if he failed his exams. His exams were due next week so he was all lost in thoughts of how to pass the exams.

The thing was that he hadn’t studied throughout the year. He had played games and hung out with his friends almost every evening and hadn’t cared the least about his studies. It wasn’t like he was the worst student in the college who had failed multiple times. He had earned a few distinctions back in school.

The change had only come recently, after he started hanging out with a new group of friends. Being a teenager, it was natural for him to seek companionship, to feel accepted and to experiment with the freedom he had just begun to taste. But somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of the path he once walked with focus and determination. He began to bunk his classes and go out with his friends on long drives and hang out at local cafes.

His parents noticed the drastic change in Arsalan. They were worried about him. Soon, he began to come home late at night and often told lies. Telling a lie became his habit. He began to disobey and shout at his parents, which made them heartbroken, but they never complained.

When Arsalan’s exams approached, he found himself completely unprepared. He discussed his concerns with his new friends, but to his surprise, they couldn’t have cared less.

They laughed out loud and shrugged it off, saying, “Who cares if exams are near?”

Arsalan felt oddly relieved. If they weren’t worried, why should he be?

He decided to cheat in the exams. Sharing his plan with his friends, he told them he would hide some notes under his shirt and take them out only when the invigilator wasn’t nearby. He even offered to help them. But his friends were hesitant. They didn’t care much about the results. In fact, they didn’t care about the exams at all. For them, failing was better than getting caught cheating and having their parents find out. At least failing an exam didn’t carry the same shame as being caught red-handed.

Arsalan, however, felt differently. He knew he couldn’t afford to let his parents find out he had failed, so he convinced himself that cheating was the only option left.

So on the day of the exams, he hid the notes in his shirt and sat casually in his chair. Half an hour after the paper had started, the invigilator entered the class and began inspecting each desk, followed by a manual checking of the students.

Arsalan started to panic. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He thought, “Why not just submit the paper before getting caught and flee the scene?”

He quickly handed over his paper to the teacher and, before the invigilator could reach him, Arsalan tried to leave the room.

Just then, a firm voice called out from behind: “Nobody is allowed to leave until the checking is complete.”

Arsalan froze. There was no escape now. He was sure he’d be caught and humiliated in front of the whole class for trying to cheat.

His father’s words echoed in his mind: “Don’t fall into bad company. It will ruin your academic career.”

He remembered how he hadn’t touched his books for months, as he was always out with his friends. Now, here he was, standing in front of the class, being scolded by the invigilator, while his so-called friends smirked from their seats. The teacher drew a big cross on his paper and cancelled it.

At that moment, Arsalan realised he had truly damaged both his reputation and his academic record. He returned home with teary eyes, hugged his father tightly, confessed everything, and promised to make things right.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 26th, 2025