The Last Test I’ll Ever Take - Chapter 3: Chapter 3
You are reading The Last Test I’ll Ever Take, Chapter 3: Chapter 3. Read more chapters of The Last Test I’ll Ever Take.
My homeroom teacher completely lost it when she heard me. She collapsed onto the floor, slapping her thighs and pounding the ground in fury. "Good Lord, Jessica! You're nothing but trouble on two legs!"
The principal's face cycled through a dozen expressions before settling on rage. He jabbed a finger at me. "Since you clearly don't appreciate second chances, don't blame us for playing hardball! That £50,000 Glasgow scholarship advance for your father's treatment? Consider it revoked. We were going to release it after exams, but now? Not a penny!"
That shattered my composure. I shot up from my chair. "You can't do this! That money is my father's lifeline!"
The principal's face turned an ugly shade of purple. "Me? You're blaming me? You torched your own future! That scholarship's for Glasgow students—which you are not!"
Desperation clawed at my throat. "I could be!"
"Don't make me laugh!" He jerked his thumb toward the window. "See that? Police cruiser pulling up. You're about to get hauled in for questioning."
I was boiling inside but trapped—how could I explain this mess? "Principal, please—just give me one more chance!"
He waved me off like swatting a fly, his face set in stone.
Then Mom burst in—she should've been at Dad's hospital bedside.
The second she saw me in handcuffs, her eyes went bloodshot. "Wh-what's happening...?"
I froze. "Mom? Why are you here?"
She was shaking, barely holding it together. "Your teacher called! Said you—my Jessica—got caught cheating on the college entrance exam! I told her she was crazy, that my girl would never... Then she said to come see for myself." Her voice cracked. "Jessica... tell me it's not true."
My throat closed up. No words came.
Suddenly, reporters shoved past Mom, cameras flashing like strobe lights. They'd been lurking outside but smelled blood in the water—a top student caught cheating? Front-page gold.
"Jessica Stockholm, right?" One journalist shoved a mic in my face. "First cheating scandal in city history. How does it feel knowing this'll follow you forever?"
Another chimed in: "Sources say your mocks were consistently 700+. Why risk it? What's your side?" The flashes blinded me.
Emmet and classmates bodily blocked them. "Back off! Jessica, snap out of it! Why are you self-destructing like this?"
Outside, the cruiser's siren whooped. Time was up.
Emmet's neck flushed crimson. He gripped Mom's shoulders, shouting at me: "Jessica, for God's sake—say you didn't cheat! If you don't, Dad's surgery money's gone!"
Mom gasped. When the principal confirmed the scholarship was canceled, she looked like a panicked animal. "Jessica, we promised the surgeon payment tomorrow! Please—just take it back this once! Do it for your father!" Then she did the unthinkable—dropped to her knees.
Since when do parents kneel to their children?
"Mom, get up!" My vision swam red.
She shook her head, tears streaming. "I can't. If I do, your father dies. You've always been such a good girl, Jessica. Just... just lie this once. Please."
Emmet roared: "DENY IT ALREADY! If they take you now, those vultures will air this everywhere! You'll be radioactive—our family won't show our faces in this town again!"
The principal's face cycled through a dozen expressions before settling on rage. He jabbed a finger at me. "Since you clearly don't appreciate second chances, don't blame us for playing hardball! That £50,000 Glasgow scholarship advance for your father's treatment? Consider it revoked. We were going to release it after exams, but now? Not a penny!"
That shattered my composure. I shot up from my chair. "You can't do this! That money is my father's lifeline!"
The principal's face turned an ugly shade of purple. "Me? You're blaming me? You torched your own future! That scholarship's for Glasgow students—which you are not!"
Desperation clawed at my throat. "I could be!"
"Don't make me laugh!" He jerked his thumb toward the window. "See that? Police cruiser pulling up. You're about to get hauled in for questioning."
I was boiling inside but trapped—how could I explain this mess? "Principal, please—just give me one more chance!"
He waved me off like swatting a fly, his face set in stone.
Then Mom burst in—she should've been at Dad's hospital bedside.
The second she saw me in handcuffs, her eyes went bloodshot. "Wh-what's happening...?"
I froze. "Mom? Why are you here?"
She was shaking, barely holding it together. "Your teacher called! Said you—my Jessica—got caught cheating on the college entrance exam! I told her she was crazy, that my girl would never... Then she said to come see for myself." Her voice cracked. "Jessica... tell me it's not true."
My throat closed up. No words came.
Suddenly, reporters shoved past Mom, cameras flashing like strobe lights. They'd been lurking outside but smelled blood in the water—a top student caught cheating? Front-page gold.
"Jessica Stockholm, right?" One journalist shoved a mic in my face. "First cheating scandal in city history. How does it feel knowing this'll follow you forever?"
Another chimed in: "Sources say your mocks were consistently 700+. Why risk it? What's your side?" The flashes blinded me.
Emmet and classmates bodily blocked them. "Back off! Jessica, snap out of it! Why are you self-destructing like this?"
Outside, the cruiser's siren whooped. Time was up.
Emmet's neck flushed crimson. He gripped Mom's shoulders, shouting at me: "Jessica, for God's sake—say you didn't cheat! If you don't, Dad's surgery money's gone!"
Mom gasped. When the principal confirmed the scholarship was canceled, she looked like a panicked animal. "Jessica, we promised the surgeon payment tomorrow! Please—just take it back this once! Do it for your father!" Then she did the unthinkable—dropped to her knees.
Since when do parents kneel to their children?
"Mom, get up!" My vision swam red.
She shook her head, tears streaming. "I can't. If I do, your father dies. You've always been such a good girl, Jessica. Just... just lie this once. Please."
Emmet roared: "DENY IT ALREADY! If they take you now, those vultures will air this everywhere! You'll be radioactive—our family won't show our faces in this town again!"
End of The Last Test I’ll Ever Take Chapter 3. Continue reading Chapter 4 or return to The Last Test I’ll Ever Take book page.