“The Answer Sheet”

          Three times nine equals twenty-eight, or is it twenty-nine?  This test had my miniscule mind working at full steam.  I went with twenty-because it was Scottie Pippen’s number.  Man, he and Michael Jordan were amazing back in the day.  I keep digressing, and it was costing me because I lose time to work on the test.  I really have to stop digressing like this.  It is becoming a habit. 

          I went on to the next question, which was a dumb work problem.  For some stupid reason, word problems always made me think of mashed potatoes, and I have no clue why.  And see, here I go digressing again.  The problem said,

          “Jody has three apples.  She eats one, and buys five more.  How many apples does Jody have?”

          Our teacher was eating an apple, which was as annoying as my little brother.  My brain went to work, working as hard as ten horses pulling a freight train.  Three minus one equals two, and two plus five equals seven, so the answer must be seven and I wrote it down.

          That’s when I saw it.  It was just sitting there, silently beckoning me to pick it up.  It glowed like a luminous light.  It was as valuable as five diamonds.  It was as amazing as an angel.  It was… the “Answer Sheet,” or at least that’s what it said at the top.  I slowly swiveled my head around, taking a peek at the teacher.  She was engulfed in her book, which looked as boring as ballet.  As I reached for it, I felt its power radiating off of it.  That’s when I felt someone pinch me.  I twisted around to see who had interrupted me while I was doing something so important.  It was my friend Aldair, and I whispered to him,

          “Can’t you see I’m busy?!”

          “Don’t do it Upesh.  Don’t you know what happens if you get caught?”  My seven-year old brain had no idea what so ever.

          “You get suspended or expelled!”  I listened to his big words and didn’t take it, but I wondered what those two words meant.  I found out a few moments later.

          A boy named Jimmy must have reached for the paper, because a second later, our teacher Mrs. Bohie started yelling at him.  All I heard was “suspended”, and “principal’s office.”  After that day, I learned never to cheat or help anyone cheat.  Oh yah, by the way, Jimmy didn’t come to school for the next two weeks.