No regrets, on stopping her friend from helping the students cheat on an exam, and after so many years, looking back, the narrator still believed she’d done the right things! Translated…
After the incident, I’d felt tangled inside, and would often wondered, if I’d, done it wrong………
The most memorable reunion came, twenty years after our high school graduation. Back then, I was feeling expectant, also, somewhat, unsettled too, it’d been so many years already, I’d really want to take a good look at May, but, I’d not known, how I was going to, face her.
- The Best Friend Who Took the Examinations Alongside Me
May and I were, best friends back in high school, back then, we’d worked hard together, and competed with each other as well, and, in the end, May was able to use the points added from her being an immigrated Asian, to get into the same teacher’s college as I. After we graduated, we went to teach at separate schools, she’d taught English, and I, language. Back when we were still young, we’d become, very passionate with work, wanted to make a name for ourselves. Back then, the instructors were “graded” based off of how well the students were performing on exams, and so, there’s this, fierce competition between the teachers too. May who has the will to win started out, taking on a last year graduating class, she was very focused, very responsible, took her work seriously, there was even once that she’d, passed out in class, for having tutored the students after school.
The very next year there was the high school entrance exams, I was set to monitor the exams at May’s school. As the bell ring for the English exams, I gazed out the window, and, I saw May, walking towards me all of a sudden. I’d become confused at how she was there (back then, there was no tapes separating the testing grounds), but, before I could react, May had, walked into class, and started teaching the students how to answer the question…oh, no, she’d told the students what the answers were straight up! This was helping her students CHEAT, I was, dumbfounded, shocked. I’d immediately walked toward her, asked her to leave the classroom. She’d looked at me, then, left the class.
not my photo…
Since, May and I stopped interacting, the once-best friends are now, enemies. And still, after the incident, I’d felt conflicted, I’d often wondered, if, I’d done it all wrong? That could I have been, more lenient, and, on behalf of my former classmate, let the students slid? But, that was, related to the kids’ future life of a series of hard tests. More importantly, as a school teacher, she’d become, a worst kind of a role model, how awful! But, I’d never, told anybody about this, and only May and I knew of this.
The very next year, the school didn’t call me again, to monitor the exams. May is related to our school principal, and I don’t know if this is related to any of this, but, even if I’d lost the opportunity to make more money, I’d still had, no regrets.
Many years later, I’d heard, that May married over to Europe, and had two beautiful babies. Then, I’d heard, that May had, divorced and lost her job, and was living off of government assistance with her two sons.
- Bumping into One Another After the Incident Over Monitoring the Examination Process
On our twentieth high school reunion, I’d bumped into May again; this was, the very first time we’d seen one another, after the incident of her, helping her students cheat, and I’d felt, somewhat uneasy. May still dressed well, it’s just, that her fatigue couldn’t stay hidden from her eyes and gazes. As she saw me, she said a passionate hello, nobody mentioned the incident, we’d talked on, like we were, back in our younger years as students.
I don’t know, if May had really, forgotten about the incident of helping her students cheat on the exams, but now I’d understood, that because we were young, because we’d wanted it all, we’d done things we shouldn’t have, and we’d finally understood, as we looked back when we’re all older, then understood, what we’d cared so much of, was nothing. And, had May regretted what she’d done? Does she feel that she was, improper looking back? Would she feel that what she’d done back then was, wrong? Seeing how she’d talked so casually about living in Europe, there’s not that scent of, disappointment whatsoever, I truly feel happy for her.
Afterwards, we’d hugged goodbye, and wished one another the best. Looking at her leaving, there was, that scent of feeling that arose in me, just like her, I’d, married afar too, and, is May, who worked hard to save her face, keeping a ton of the sorrows to herself? And, don’t know when we’ll have our get-together again, after this goodbye.
As I’d walked home with another classmate, I’d mentioned of the events of how May had helped her students cheat back then. My classmate told me, “Why couldn’t you just turn a blind eye? It’s not you’re at loss.” I’d rebutted, “That was, a very, serious exam!”, my classmate sighed, and then, fell silent. And, I’d thought about it, if I had the choices again, as May walked in to the classrooms, to help her students cheat, I would’ve still, asked her to leave immediately, without a doubt.
So, you’d answered to your conscience, and that, is what mattered the most to you, and, your classmate was wrong, in helping her students cheat on their exams, because, cheating doesn’t help, it will only make the students lack that competitive edge later on in life.
Life, the Obstacle Course 