Framed for Cheating? Watch Me Strike Back

"Isabelle! Why did you cheat off Marianne's paper? You've even copied her essay word for word! You're the top student in the entire grade!" Mr. Alan Smith, my homeroom teacher, shouted furiously.

I looked up and met his gaze, which was filled with anger and disappointment.

I then turned around blankly to look at my surroundings, only to see Marianne Quentin glaring at me seethingly.

She smirked before shrieking, "You're so shameless, Isabelle. You're even copying my essay now!"

My body trembled as if I'd been hit by a bolt of lightning. Only then did I realize that I'd been reborn—and I'd returned to the moment Marianne first accused me of cheating off her.

…

In my past life, the school held its final mock exam a week before the SAT exam.

Just as the writing exam was about to end, Marianne, who was sitting beside me, suddenly raised her hand and shouted, "Isabelle copied my paper, Mr. Smith!"

Mr. Smith was utterly stunned.

I found it completely absurd. How could I—someone who'd held the top rank in our grade all year round—possibly copy her paper?

Marianne stared at me with an unwavering gaze. Her tone was challenging as she said, "Just compare our papers if you don't believe me, Mr. Smith."

I was the first to hand my paper over to Mr. Smith.

Marianne was the childhood friend of my boyfriend, Lance Russell. Ever since I started dating him, she'd been finding fault with me at every turn.

I figured this was just another petty trick Marianne came up with to target me. Having gotten used to it, I didn't take it to heart.

However, Mr. Smith stared at me in shock after checking the papers. "What are you doing, Isabelle? Why did you copy Marianne's answers?"

My mind went blank as I was left completely stunned. How could I have possibly cheated off Marianne?

She tilted her chin, looking smug. "Don't bother denying it, Isabelle. Just see it for yourself. How shameless of you to even copy my essay!"

I took the papers from Mr. Smith. It was just like what Marianne said—even our essays were identical.

I was utterly bewildered. How could this be possible? I'd clearly answered the paper on my own.

I tried my best to defend myself, yet no one believed in me. After all, both our papers were indeed identical.

Mr. Smith assumed that I was simply under too much pressure over the upcoming exam. He offered me a few words of comfort and warned me not to repeat my mistake again.

Marianne raised her hand again during the math exam in the afternoon. "Isabelle is just too shameless, Mr. Smith. She's cheating off me again!"

After checking, Mr. Smith realized that our answers were identical once more. His face darkened immediately as he scolded me for not learning my lesson and sent me home to reflect.

I racked my brain during the days I stayed at home. But no matter what, I still couldn't come up with an explanation.

I couldn't understand how my answers for both the writing and math papers had turned out identical to Marianne's, down to the essay, even though I hadn't cheated.

When I finally stepped into the exam hall for the SAT exam, I pushed aside all distractions and focused on answering the papers.

There was no way the same thing could possibly happen again with how strict the SAT was.

I felt confident after I finished the writing paper. Yet just as the bell rang signaling the end of the exam, Marianne, who was sitting on my left, raised her hand.

She said, "I want to report the student next to me, sir. She's been cheating off me!"

Two exam supervisors immediately came over to check. Once more, the answers on both our papers were identical.

The punishment came quickly—I would be banned from taking any SAT exams for the next two years.

I came from a poor family, and the SAT exam was my only chance to change my fate. Losing this opportunity meant that I no longer had a future.

In despair, I leaped from the rooftop.

To my surprise, fate presented me with another chance.

This time, I would rewrite my ending.