Unseen Passage for Class 4 - Passage 09

Riya might not be smart enough to pass the test, but she was clever enough to get away with cheating on it. As Riya passed by Sunil on the way to her desk, she winked and let fall a tiny slip of paper. It drifted down like a feather and settled lightly upon Sunil's desk. The test answers! Sunil peeked over at the 'pencil woman' but she had not noticed, she was too busy grading Riya's test now, making check mark after check mark and nodding her head. So the answers were indeed the right ones and here they sat on his desk.

Sunil had no idea how hard the test would be. No matter that he had resisted, no matter that he had chosen this seat precisely to avoid this situation, here he was, staring at a slip of paper that contained the key to his hopes. All he had to do was turn it over and look at the answers. The other children were too busy sniffling and biting their fingernails to notice and if he hurried, he might even copy the answers down before the 'pencil woman' looked up again. She had finished grading Riya's paper and was concentrating on the next script. Sunil stared a long moment at the paper, sorely tempted.

Then, he reached out and flicked it from his desk and onto the floor. What good would those opportunities do him if he was not qualified to be given them? And where was the pleasure in cheating? If he could not pass fairly, he did not want to pass. He thought this - and mostly believed it - and felt his spirits boosted by the decision. But even so, a few seconds passed before he could tear his eyes from the paper on the floor. "All right," he told himself, returning to the test, "get a move on, Sunil, and don't look back. There's no time to waste!"