Chapter 3: First Day of School (part 2)

"I have a question! "What if-" Evelyn blurted out, but Mrs. Bing Bong glared at her, preventing her from continuing.Ooh!"Alright, class. Remember to raise your beak whenever you want to ask a question or add to what someone said!"This is the first time she's been called out! I wish Maggie had experienced this as well...Evelyn's beak raised after hearing that and changed her attitude."Yes, Evelyn?""You've only mentioned how to earn gems by being a good student. But what if you cheat on a test?"Cheating on a test, huh?"You would be benched at recess and lunch wouldn't be allowed to attend class parties. Instead, you'd have to study for two whole school hours and have extra homework!"When Evelyn's jaw hit the floor, I almost burst out laughing. Holding in all that caused me to shed a few tears. Laughter and positive ones this time.Mrs. Bing Bong, please forgive me for interrupting you..." Evelyn apologized after an awkward silence accompanied by Maggie's staring in a 'wow, you're trying to be the teacher's pet' manner.I joined in, and she smirked at me.Does that mean we're on the same side or what?Know-it-all: You're falling for her traps.Evincing that I was accurate was crucial for our relationship."It's fine. If anyone does that during testing time, I will issue bench slips; it's not a scare tactic on my part. It will actually happen."The entire class looked as if they had just seen a ghost. They were stunned. Their eyes were wide open and looking everywhere but at the teacher and assistant. Ms. Bing Bing's words were the only ones that caused them to breathe.In her words, the pre-test would be all about math and only about math.It was Maggie's turn to raise her beak."Oh, yes, Maggie?""My question is, what do preschoolers learn?"Is it really necessary for her to ask?"They match various objects with their names and count them," Mrs. Bing Bing answered.Silently, I gasped. Maggie cheated because she rephrased the question from 'What's on the pre-test?'' To make matters worse, we all had different questions dedicated to the corresponding grade levels, but her question was for her benefit only!To be honest, I've always envied Maggie because she's always reading or doing math problems in her spare time. Assuming she passes this test, I'm afraid...We received all our test papers and pencils from Mrs. Bing Bong and she said, "Okay, class." It's time to start testing!"Wonderful...just wonderful.Right when concentration mode hit, a huge boulder stood in the way as Maggie was murmuring to herself"One, two, three, four...four shoes!"Oh my gosh, can you please be quiet?She began to flip through the test with a ton of noise and continued when no one told her explicitly to stop her distracting actions.Tina, focus on yourself, not anyone else.I stared at the test paper in horror.Is this real? How much is five plus three? It might be a lucky day for me ! Here's my guess, and I hope I get it right! Four. Oh my goodness, I have no idea what to do anymore...maybe this is where cheating is necessary.Maggie technically did it, and I still cared about her. In other words, I wanted everything to be equal between us, so I wouldn't get in trouble for doing what she did. "Chicky?" I whispered. She looked at me. I showed her my test paper and vaguely said, "I'm not sure how to solve this problem."We were siblings, so we understood each other even in extreme circumstances."Oh, okay, so first... " she began, but Mrs. Bing Bong interrupted her."Do you really think you can fool me, Tina? You're benched!" "B-bu-but what did I do?" I asked rather innocently, hoping to not get in trouble so early in the school year. No matter how much I blink my doggy eyes at her opposite face, a menacing look struck.Maybe the blues' mother hates me now... "Not only did you ask Chicky for help during the individual work period, but you also talked during the testing period! Are you aware of how upsetting that is to your fellow classmates? Here is your bench slip," she explained, handing me that glowing yellow warning sign as if it stared at me.Why didn't trouble creep up upon Maggie then?"Okay, fine! I tested you on whether you were really scaring us about doing something bad," I blankly said. "That is the worst excuse I have ever heard! "Go back to your seat and do your work," she ordered sternly."Testing is awful! Ugh! I hate tests!" During the process of writing down random numbers I heard Maggie say that she was finished. Already?! Evelyn turned in hers after some time as well! How can they be so quick? Now the real question is "Can they achieve 100%?" The next five minutes filled up with more struggle on my part, Chicky looking like a total nerd, and I hearing the last thing I wanted to hear. "Congratulations, Maggie and Evelyn! You both scored 100%! Everyone, except Tina, stop testing." Are you serious? The fact that I could listen in wasn't denied to me.While I kept my eyes on my test, I used my ears to listen."Maggie and Evelyn have earned the first candies of the school year!" announced Mrs. Bing Bong.They annoy me so much! I feel like an omission because of them. With puppy dog eyes, I asked, "Can I please have some?"They shook their heads and turned their backs on me, munching on their 'precious' candy.How did Evelyn become so good at academics? Maggie must have taught her over the summer. Her ways and language influenced her as well!Know-it-all: Calm down, Tina.Me: Don't tell me what to do! You're not the one whose experiencing it first-hand.