The exam paper had twenty-five arithmetic problems which we were supposed to complete in two hours time. I began answering my paper deftly. Contrary to most boys of my age, I loved Maths. I quickly began solving the problems one after the other. At some point during the middle of the exam, I heard a whisper. I turned to my side to see another boy of my class Dawson calling out my name.
"Tom, Do you have a spare pen?" he whispered to me. "Yes," I answered in a low voice and handed him my spare pen. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we heard the loud explosive voice of Mr. Hayes from the corner of the room. He was pointing a finger at me and shouting at the top of his voice. "You there. Yes, you boy. Cheating in the exam. Come over here, will you?" he said in a threatening tone. Every boy in the class was staring at me.
"But, S-Sir, I was not cheating" I stuttered in fear. "Do you think I am a fool or a liar?". "I saw you with my own eyes taking notes from the other boy." Trembling with fear I made my way to the dais. Mr. Hayes snatched my answer sheet and scribbled something on it. He handed the answer sheet back to me and asked me to leave the exam hall at once.
"Caught cheating in the exam. Zero Marks". These were the words scribbled by Mr. Hayes on my answer sheet. I left the exam hall with a bowed head and clenching my answer sheet. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
Later that day, I was summoned to the Headmaster's room for punishment. Everyone knew what that meant. I would be caned for bad behavior. Trembling with fear, I made my way to the Headmaster's room. I knocked on the door. A voice barked from inside the room "Come in!".
I walked in slowly and stood in a corner. "Mr. Hayes caught cheating you in the exam today. What do you have to say for yourself?" the Headmaster asked me menacingly. I raised my head a little to glance at the angry face of the Headmaster and muttered "Headmaster Sir, I was not cheating. I was only trying to help Dawson."
"Are you implying that Mr. Hayes is a liar?". "He saw you cheating on the exam today. And, why would a good student like Dawson need your help?".
I was scared by the flurry of his questions. Also, I was a little taken aback by his last sentence. Dawson was indeed a very good student. I knew that there was no more point in arguing with the Headmaster. Since Mr. Hayes and the Headmaster had already decided that I was cheating. My fate had already been sealed.
The Headmaster asked me to kneel down and punished me with six cane strokes on my buttocks. Every cane stroke felt like a lightning bolt on my rear. Bruised and deeply insulted, I left the Headmaster's room. But, I did not cry. I decided I would not feel weak despite the injustice meted out to me.
I walked slowly back to my dorm room clenching my buttocks with both my hands. I could feel the deep bruises and cuts. A little blood had trickled through the cuts and dried leaving blue marks. It would take at the least three weeks to heal the wounds.
When I went back to the dormitory, I was surprised to find all the boys from my class there. They surrounded me and expressed their deepest sympathies. The boys knew that what had happened was wrong. Dawson came over to me and hugged me. He started crying and started saying that it was all his fault. He begged me to forgive him.
I consoled him and said that there was nothing to forgive. I hugged him and said that the grown-ups had not understood what we were doing.
That day, I learned two important lessons in life.
One, that life is not always fair.
Two, that children are not always at fault.
I am glad about whatever happened to me. It taught me a new perspective about life.
The End
No comments:
Post a Comment