Time flew by, and it was Wednesday. As Ms. Ingram walked into the classroom holding the math test papers, the atmosphere in the class became tense.
Some of the mischievous underachievers in the class had faces like bitter gourds.
The representative among them was Georgie.
He was now bowing his head, his legs trembling restlessly, as if he had ADHD.
Of course, there were also some unique students who were not only not nervous but even a little excited.
The representative among them was Sheldon. At this moment, he had already prepared his answer pen, looking like a soldier about to go to battle.
"Don't be nervous, everyone, this is just a simple diagnostic test…" Ms. Ingram looked around, staring at the students huddled together in the back row, and said, "Students in the back row, please move forward, one table per person."
There were many empty seats in the front rows of the classroom, so even with one table per person, there was still plenty of room.
As the students adjusted their seats, Ms. Ingram's tone became much stricter, and she admonished, "The score from this test will not be included in your final grade, so you don't need to worry too much."
Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, Ms. Ingram continued, "Of course, don't try to cheat. If I catch you, I will report it truthfully to the school, and it will be recorded in your files."
Amidst Ingram's warning, the students in the back row quickly adjusted their seats.
Unfortunately, because Georgie was a step slow, all the good spots in the class were taken by others. He could only pick up his stationery and reluctantly sit in the first row, on the other side of Sheldon.
After everything quieted down, Ms. Ingram began to hand out the test papers one by one.
This was Mike's second test since coming to school. After he got the paper, he didn't rush to answer but instead browsed through the entire paper first.
Fortunately, this test, except for the last two major problems which involved calculus, all other questions were very simple.
Mike estimated that he should be able to get a perfect score.
With a clear idea in his mind, he flipped over the test paper and began to answer from the first question in an orderly manner.
On the other side, Sheldon, who also received the test paper, also appeared very composed. This math test was not difficult for him either.
However, after only half an hour, when Sheldon finished the previous questions and came to the last two major problems, he couldn't help but frown.
The math curriculum for eleventh grade had not yet covered the application of calculus, and these last two major problems were clearly beyond the scope.
Sheldon thought for a moment and was about to raise his hand to signal the teacher about the out-of-scope questions.
However, at that moment, his peripheral vision happened to catch Mike next to him also solving the last two questions.
As a proud academic overachiever, Sheldon did not want to lose to anyone when it came to academics.
So, he suppressed the urge to raise his hand. Instead, he took out a scratch paper and began to calculate the answers to the last two major problems using his own problem-solving approach.
Another half an hour passed, and Sheldon, having filled his scratch paper, finally deduced the answers to the last two questions with his extraordinary intelligence.
Afterward, he copied the answers onto his test paper with a sense of accomplishment and then looked over at Mike.
However, Mike, who had been diligently answering questions earlier, was now lie lying on the desk. Judging by the indentations on his face, he must have been asleep for a while.
Sheldon, who considered Mike his only opponent, shook his head regretfully at the sight.
From Sheldon's perspective, he thought Mike had given up early because he couldn't solve the last two major problems.
After unilaterally enjoying the thrill of defeating his opponent, Sheldon finally had time to look at the other students.
Witnessing other students struggling and looking distressed because they couldn't solve the problems also gave Sheldon a great sense of superiority.
And after he scanned the classroom, he suddenly noticed Georgie, sitting on his other side, lifting one leg while Ms. Ingram wasn't paying attention.
Today, Georgie had specifically worn a new pair of flat shoes. The key was that Sheldon saw densely written math formulas on the bottom of the flat shoe.
'This is cheating!' Sheldon realized what his brother was doing.
Sheldon, who was ashamed of Georgie's actions, immediately looked at Ms. Ingram, who was dozing on the podium, wanting to report Georgie's cheating.
However, he suddenly remembered what Ms. Ingram had said earlier about the serious consequences of being caught cheating, and he hesitated for a moment.
After much thought, Sheldon decided to personally stop his brother from cheating without alarming the teacher.
"Georgie! Georgie—" Sheldon whispered.
Georgie, who was engrossed in cheating, was startled by the call. He quickly put his leg down and then pretended that nothing had happened, a series of actions that could be described as very fluid.
Of course, if he hadn't been sweating profusely, he would have appeared more natural.
Afterward, Georgie, wiping off his sweat, secretly glanced at the podium and saw Ms. Ingram dozing. Relieved, he turned his head angrily and asked, "Sheldon, what's wrong with you?"
"Shoes—" Sheldon whispered a reminder.
"What, shoes?" Georgie continued to play dumb.
"Shoes… This is… cheating…"
Seeing that the other party refused to admit it, Sheldon also became a little agitated.
Just as the brothers were quietly communicating, Ms. Ingram on the podium suddenly spoke up: "Quiet—"
Sheldon, who was trying to cover for someone else for the first time during a test, couldn't help but feel a little guilty at this moment. He cautiously looked up, and his gaze just happened to meet the teacher's.
Immediately, Sheldon, startled, quickly lowered his head again like a child who had done something wrong.
"Is something wrong, Sheldon?" Ms. Ingram asked, seeing Sheldon's strange reaction.
"N-nothing—" Sheldon nervously shook his head.
"Hmm, answer carefully, this test is very important for you." Ms. Ingram subtly hinted. Then, after scanning the classroom with her eyes, she dozed off on the podium again.
Subsequently, Sheldon, who dared not cause trouble again below the podium, could only watch helplessly as Georgie lifted his leg again.
Seeing his brother cheat made Sheldon feel incredibly uncomfortable. Especially since he also felt a little guilty for covering for him earlier.
Finally, after an hour, Sheldon's torment ended.
The test time ended, and Ms. Ingram collected the test papers one by one.
After she left, the class was filled with groans, lamenting the difficulty of the test.
Sheldon, now relaxed, looked at Mike, who had just gotten up and was rubbing the sleep marks on his face, and couldn't help but ask, "Mike, how did you do on this test?"
"It was alright, the questions weren't difficult," Mike said casually.
'How could it not be difficult? The last two questions were clearly very hard.' Sheldon was surprised by Mike's reaction, and then realized that Mike probably hadn't included the last two out-of-scope questions.
Just as Sheldon fell into thought.
Georgie, who had prepared in advance this time and solved many problems, leaned over and said, "Yeah, this test was indeed very simple. I feel like I can get a good score."
Hearing Georgie say this, Sheldon suddenly turned his head and accused, "Georgie, why did you chea… change into new shoes?"
That was close, Sheldon almost said the word "cheat."
"None of your business!" Georgie retorted stubbornly, and then, amidst Sheldon's angry expression, he picked up his stationery and walked towards the back row.
But as he passed Sheldon, he whispered a reminder, "Don't forget, you're my accomplice too."
The "accomplice" in Georgie's words meant that Sheldon had discovered his cheating but not only didn't report it in time but also helped cover for him.
Sheldon, who originally wanted to say something more, heard his brother's words and felt as if his weakness had been seized, so he could only watch him leave resentfully.