* * *
As the people talked, David was so nervous he could not even remember why he was there. Then they asked the question that David was hoping they would not ask.
“Well, where is it, bug-wit?” Dylan asked.
He suddenly remembered. Earlier in that week, three bullies from the football team (Dylan, Chad, and Greg) had approached him after class. They had demanded that he steal the test score answers from their teacher for the upcoming exam. He could not refuse this job; if he did, they would prevent him from joining the football team, and they were liable to beat him up. The bullies assumed that this would be an easy job since their teacher was David’s mom. David looked at the three bullies, and then looked at the door. “Of course I cannot outrun them they are on the football team, and I’m a nerd.” His thoughts were racing through his mind as he walked toward the bullies.
* * *
He entered room 228 with a nervous sigh. He walked down the long entryway to their room, throwing off his muddy shoes. He looked around the room and saw only Mark, bent over his computer.
“Hey, Mark, is David back yet?” Richard yelled loudly, almost as a joke.
“Nope. Sorry, man,” Mark replied.
Richard started to stare out the window, thinking about David and what was going on with him.
* * *
She opened the letter from David, not really knowing what to expect. She set the envelope down and started to unfold the already- crinkled paper. She looked at the sloppily written note;
Dear Mom,
Dylan, Chad, and Greg will cheat on the exam, make sure to stop them, and be careful.
Cathy looked up from reading the disturbing letter to her living room. She had to think through what to do about this.
* * *
David walked toward Dylan, who seemed to be the leader since he was the biggest and the captain of the football team. He retrieved the zip stick out of his pocket and handed it to him, almost with a grin.
“You are sure nobody saw you get this, right?” asked Dylan.
“Yeah, it was a close one, though,” David responded. David then told them how he had gotten the answers. “I waited for my mom and the secretaries to leave the office, and late that night I crept into her office. I searched through all her cabinets. The answers were in the last cabinet that I looked through. I took the answers and typed them out on her laptop to put them on the zip stick. That’s when I heard a noise…”
* * *
As Richard paced around the somewhat quiet room, he was wondering about David. After an hour of picking up the messy dorm, he could not handle it anymore. He had to go find David. He ran out of the room and started down to the front door of the dorm. He jumped in his red jeep and drove. As he drove, he wondered where David might be. Then he had an epiphany, He would most likely be at the library! He switched on the radio to keep his mind off his scary
thoughts. “Hey, Jude, don’t make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better.” He turned off the radio as he approached the library.
* * *
“I looked up suddenly from my typing and tried to see what made the noise. Then someone switched on the light. It was a janitor. I dove under my mom’s desk and hid. He walked into my mom’s office and started to dust the TV in front of her desk. As the janitor was cleaning, I tried not to make a single noise, and I had to wait for about ten minutes until he left. It certainly felt a lot longer than ten minutes, especially when being cramped under a small desk. But I got the answers for you.”
* * *
After fiddling with the letter, Cathy got up and ambled through the room. Knowing that David was in some kind of trouble made her shiver. She ran up her stairs, looking at the pictures of David hanging on the wall beside her. She went into her bedroom, grabbed her car keys, and put on her bright red coat.
“Steve, there’s a situation, so I have to leave; I’ll be back in about an hour,” Cathy hollered.
* * *
As Richard quietly made his way through the parking lot, walking around all the rain puddles, he noticed a light on in the library. It looked like it was coming from the basement. He stopped for a minute. “That’s got to be David!” He observed the light for a moment and started to make his way to it. He got to the window where the light was coming from and saw David! He was about to leave his hiding spot from behind a bush when he saw the three bullies. “What on earth? Those kids are jerks to David! Why is David with them in the middle of the night?” He saw Dylan toss a little black object in his hand and smile at David. This was the first time ever
he had seen that. Richard accidentally moved the blind to the window and it made the worst squeaking sound. The three bullies started to make their way outside when they heard the sound. They stopped and made their way to the window to find the source of the sound. “What am I going to do? They are coming right towards me!” He tried to silence his worried whispers by pushing his hands to his mouth.
* * *
“What was that?” David made his way to the window, following Dylan, Chad, and Greg. He pushed through them and looked out at the silent parking lot. He noticed Richard’s red Jeep! “Richard is here! I’ve got to protect him!”
“Well, guys, it was probably just the wind,” David nervously said.
The bullies looked at him, their faces now pale white.
“Well, you’re probably right. Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here,” Dylan said.
The three boys made their way out of the dark creepy basement, kicking the boxes of books out of their way. David glanced around the vast library, making his way up the stairs. He was desperately trying to find Richard.
* * *
Cathy walked out of her house, carefully shutting the door behind her. She walked across her front yard, too busy and worried to notice the beautiful flowers around her. She got into her silver Honda and drove to the school. When she entered the school parking lot, she stopped the car and got out. She buttoned her coat to stop the cold and shoved her hands in her pockets. She arrived at the door and rattled her keys, trying to find the right one. She walked into the college and made her way to her office. She opened the door to find that her papers had been messed up and that her laptop was on.
* * *
After having quite a shock, Richard carefully got up from his hiding spot and wiped the mud off him. He waited until he saw the three bullies leave, and when they left, he made his way into the library to find David. He walked up the brick steps, trying not to slip on the wet stairs, and opened the squeaky door.
“Hello? David where are you?” Richard called out.
“I’m in here,” David shouted.
Richard walked down the basement stairs, holding onto the wood railing and following the sound of David’s voice. He walked into the room to see David sitting on a table, weeping.
“Dude, what is going on?” Richard asked.
* * *
“Hey Richard.” David swallowed his tears as he talked.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Richard asked very worried.
“Do you promise not to tell anyone?” David asked concerned.
“Of course,” Richard said.
“Well, Dylan, Chad, and Greg are making me steal the answers to that upcoming exam we have. I went to my mom’s office last night and stole the answers from her laptop. I’m just worried because if anyone finds out that I stole the answers, I could be expelled,” David said, fighting his tears.
“So, you are just going to let them get away with stealing?” Richard asked.
“No, of course not. I wrote my mom a letter and she will know what to do, hopefully,” David said. He looked around the room to make sure no one was listening in.
* * *
“Oh my gosh! My office!” Cathy walked through her office, observing the mess. She walked to her laptop and pulled up the most recent item. “Well, now I have my evidence.” Cathy printed off the typed answers and looked at them. She cried, wondering about David. Every time she called him, he did not answer. She picked up her office and went home. When she pulled into her driveway, she looked at her house. She saw Steve through the window, sitting reading his newspaper and patting the dog. She got out of her car slowly and walked to the front door. She went inside her house and plopped onto the couch thinking. “David did steal the answers and gave them to the others kids, so that means he is just as guilty.”
* * *
Richard walked David out of the basement, patting him on the back and letting him know that everything would be ok.
“What do you say we go back to the dorm and watch some TV?” Richard said cheerfully.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” replied Mark. They walked up their stairs, looking at the rows of books that surrounded them, and headed towards the door. They got into his jeep and drove towards the dorm.
“Is there anything I can do to help you out?” Richard asked.
“No, thanks. I don’t want you to get into trouble,” David replied. They hopped out of the jeep and headed to room 228. They walked into their room and jumped onto the couch. Richard
turned on the TV and snacked on some leftovers. David looked at the TV but was not focused on it. He needed to call his mom and talk to her about this.
* * *
Ring- Ring- Ring. Cathy’s phone was ringing. She jumped up from her chair and knitting and answered her phone.
“Hello?” Cathy asked.
“Hey, Mom. It’s David,” David responded
“David! Are you ok? What’s going on?” Cathy asked, worried.
“Yeah, I am ok. I gave the answers to those bullies. I do not know what was going on with me; I just could not handle the pressure. I should have gone to you instead of stealing. I am sorry, Mom. I know I deserve any punishment,” David said.
“That’s ok, and I’m glad you are safe. Don’t worry. I will find a way for you not to get expelled, since you confessed,” Cathy said.
“Ok, thanks, Mom. I have to go. Bye,” David said.
“Bye,” Cathy said. She hung up the phone and sat back down on the sofa.
“Who was that?” Steve asked.
“Oh, that was David. Don’t worry. He is safe,” Cathy said.
She fiddled with her phone, thinking of a way to help David. “That’s it!” She jumped off the sofa and ran to her kitchen.
* * *
Thud. Richard suddenly woke up and realized he had fallen off the coach after falling asleep. “Hahaha!” David was laughing and pointing at him.
“Oh, be quite,” Richard replied. Have you gotten things figured out?”
“I don’t know yet.” David said.
The door was violently being knocked at. David looked at him, and they looked at each other with frightened faces.
* * *
“I’ll get it,” David said as he walked to the door and opened it.
“Oh my gosh! What are they doing here?” To his shock, David saw Dylan, Chad, and Greg standing on his doorstep.
“Um, hey, guys. What’s up?” David asked.
“We saw Richards’s car in the library parking lot. What did you tell him?” Dylan said.
“Nothing. I just asked him to come pick me up at the library. He does not know anything, and I plan to keep it that way, but you guys are making it obvious that something is going on. So why don’t you guys just leave,” David replied.
“All right,” Dylan said.
David shut the door and turned around to face Richard. Their faces were pale.
“Hey, who was that?” Mark shouted from his room.
“Nobody!” Richard and David replied.
* * *
Cathy was digging through her papers trying to find it. “Aha!” Cathy opened the letter that she received from David and quickly read it. “This will help David. The exam is tomorrow. I have got to go to the dean of the school, Mr. Ralph.” Cathy grabbed her coat, purse, and held the note tightly in her hand. She got into the car and made her way to the college. She pulled into the parking lot and parked her car. She walked up to Mr. Ralph’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in!” Mr. Ralph called.
Cathy walked inside his office and sat down on one of the chairs near his desk.
“Oh, hi, Cathy! How are you?” Mr. Ralph asked cheerfully.
“Hi, Mr. Ralph. I came to see you because three students in my class- Dylan, Chad, and Greg- are trying to cheat on the exam I am giving tomorrow. My son David stole the answers from my office for them. He was under intense peer pressure and just did not know what to do. He wrote me a note telling me about the bullies.” Cathy handed him the note as she talked.
“Oh my! Well, tomorrow give the exam out, and we will catch them in the act. We will ask them some questions tomorrow. I’m sorry about your son, Cathy,” Mr. Ralph said.
“It’s ok,” Cathy said. She got up from her seat. “Well, I have got to go. Thank you for your time.”
“Any time! Thank you, Cathy. Bye,” Mr. Ralph said. He returned to his desk as Cathy left.
* * *
“All right, I am going to bed!” Richard shouted.
He slammed his books shut and jumped on his bed. Not even bothering to put on pajamas, he started to fall asleep. With all the stress of the exam, he did not care as long as he got sleep. Beep- beep- beep.
“It can’t be six a.m. already!” Richard grunted.
He crawled out of bed and turned off his alarm. He punched David and Mark to get up as well. Today was the big day, the exam. All three boys showered, got dressed, and made their way to class.
* * *
David walked in front of Richard and Mark, humming to class as quickly as possible. He needed to find out what had happened to Dylan, Chad, and Greg. He entered the classroom and looked around. He only saw his mom. Richard and Mark walked into the classroom and sat down. David walked over to his mom.
“Is everything all right with the bullies?” David asked.
Before he had received an answer, the bullies walked into the room and sat down. They glared at him to insure he would not tell anyone. David sat down, realizing he would have to wait to see what would happen.
* * *
Cathy waited for everyone to be in class and handed out the exam. She watched the bullies while they were taking their exam. Ten minutes into the exam, Mr. Ralph walked into the classroom.
“Excuse me; can I see Dylan, Chad, Greg, and David in my office please?” Mr. Ralph asked.
Cathy walked the three boys out and then returned to the classroom.
* * *
David walked behind the three bullies and Mr. Ralph. He wished he had never gotten involved in this. The group walked into Mr. Ralph’s office. The bullies and David sat on a large sofa in the back of the room and Mr. Ralph sat at his desk. Nobody said anything for a few minutes while Mr. Ralph looked at his computer. He turned it off and stared at the boys.
“Now you- Dylan, Chad, and Greg- we found out what you all did and you three will be expelled from this college. David, since you confessed to stealing the answers for the boys, you will have to do four months of community service, but you are not expelled,” Mr. Ralph said as he stood up from his desk.
The bullies got up from the sofa and left the room. David, however, still sat on the couch. He had tears streaming down his face. Cathy walked into the room and sat down next to David. She tried to comfort him as much as she could, but he still felt guilty.
“It’s ok. You have learned your lesson,” Cathy said.
Cathy and David walked back into the classroom. David finished taking his exam and then left.
* * *
Richard finished taking his exam and then ran all over campus trying to find David. After a lot of searching, he found David at the college stadium. There was a big sign above the entrance
gate: Football Tryouts Today. He saw David with the new team captain, John. Richard went back to the dorm and waited for David. After a while, David returned to the dorm.
“Well did you make the team?” Richard asked.
“Yes!” David replied, grinning. He now knew everything would be ok now.
“What position?” Richard asked.
“Running back position!” David exclaimed happily.