Chapter 3

I was about to say something when my father waved me off impatiently, like I was something dirty. "Get lost. I don't want you here in our way. I'm taking Jacob out for his favorite food so that he can regain some strength for the afternoon exam."

Jacob winked at me with a small smile, looking nothing like the victim he played just seconds ago. All three of them turned to leave without even looking back at me.

The crowd around us dispersed, but they continued staring and pointing at me even before they left. I was not angry, and I smiled instead.

When it was time for the afternoon exam, Jacob sat beside me on purpose, and he leaned into my ear to whisper, "You're just garbage that's only good enough to work at a factory. That spot in Kale University is mine."

[Hahaha! Good job, Jacob! That's a nice line. A supporting character like Jonah is only good for making the male lead look good!]

I ignored him. The moment I had the math papers in my hand, I started to repeat the wrong way to answer the questions in my mind. When the answer for the multiple-choice question was A, I would repeat silently in my mind to pick C. "This was the same question as the last time. The answer must be C."

When the answer to one of the open-ended questions was 5, I would exclaim in my mind, "How did I get 5 from the calculations? The answer is obviously 7. Yikes, I almost lost points there."

Even the correct answer to the bonus question that was worth 14 points was mutilated by me from the formula to the derivation process. I repeated it three times in my mind to make sure Jacob managed to copy the incorrect answer.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and saw his pen scribbling speedily on the paper without even using any of the draft papers. He wrote with ease without pausing, and this situation repeated for the next few exams.

Jacob would pass in his papers early and leave the hall, and that was when I quickly filled in my papers with the correct answers. Every time we were done with an exam, Jacob would come up with different stories to complain to my parents about me. I would either be affecting his process by glaring at him during the exam, or I would be coughing on purpose just to make him jump outside the exam hall.

My parents would always berate me, and I would listen quietly without explaining myself. They had no idea that every exam paper Jacob completed was a trap I had set for him.

When I returned home, the laughter in the living room stopped the moment I pushed the door open. My mother walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron, and her face fell when she saw me.

"What are you standing there for? We're having a celebration for Jacob today. His estimated score is at 1,550, which means he is sure to get into Kale University. You shouldn't upset him the moment you're home."

Jacob was curled up on the couch when he heard my mother's words. He looked up and waved his phone at me. "Did you get your points estimate, Jonah? Our classmates are asking how you did. After all, you're used to copying my answers."

I did not say anything, but went straight to my room and closed the door to block the noise outside. When I started scrolling through my friends' social media posts, the first post I saw was from Jacob, who posted ten minutes ago.

[My score is estimated at 1,550. All the hard work paid off.]

There were dozens of comments from our classmates below his post, heaping praises on him.

[That's incredible! You're a genius!]

[You're all set for Kale University, unlike someone who only cheats on their exam. This time, he'll probably end up in community college since he can't copy your answers on the exam.]

I continued scrolling until I saw a post of mine from three months ago, when I received a certificate for being the champion in a competition. The latest comments below that post were from today, and they sounded horrible.

[How dare a cheater post a picture of his face with that certificate! Did he copy that from Jacob as well?]

[His score is probably estimated at 400 or 500 since he doesn't have the chance to copy any answers during the SATs.]