On the eve of a highly anticipated and challenging 300-level Metallurgical & Materials Engineering exam at IRR University, Edikan tried very well to assimilate all the course's notes, but the more he tried, the more the assimilation kept running away from him. The impending exam anxiety drove him to compile a collection of minuscule notes on a piece of paper, intending to use it as a surreptitious reference during the test, which is popularly called 'expo'.
The D-Day finally came. He woke up from his two-hour struggled sleep with his eyes looking swollen as if he had drunk alcohol in the night. He went on to take his bath, got prepared, arranged his pen, ID card, and calculator inside his small bag, and left for school.
Getting to school, he met people clustered on the door to the exam hall. He moved closer to find out that the exam board was doing a thorough screening before allowing the students inside.
"Let me announce it again: once you're caught with something implicating during this screening, consider yourself failed already. Check yourself well before you come for screening." The senior lecturer kept announcing continuously as the students stepped in for screening.
Edikan was so determined, and whatever the lecturer was announcing is never his business. This determination led him to sneak the paper along, tucked beneath his tongue, and when it was his turn, he stepped in with boldness. The staffs in charge of the screening did their touches and presses on the body, but nothing was found and he was let in.
As the examination commenced, the tough questions left the entire class in a state of perplexity, prompting hushed murmurs of bewilderment.
The murmurs turned into loud noises, and the stern invigilator couldn't bear it anymore, so he had to give out a stern warning, "From now on, anyone found wanting would face a serious penalty of -10 marks. Try me and see."
As soon as he said that, the class went into dead silence, with everyone concentrating on their writings even though nothing was coming out due to how tough the question was.
Time was running out, and with the pressure mounting, the time came for Edikan to utilise his concealed cheat sheet. He carefully maneuvered the soggy paper, dampened by his saliva, into a discreet location, hoping to gain a momentary advantage.
However, unbeknownst to him, the vigilant invigilator had been closely monitoring his actions.
Ending number one:
Edikan was trying to be smart about his actions. He looked around and made sure that the invigilator had gone a little bit far away, so he bent his head spying at the paper. And suddenly all he could hear was the voice of the invigilator sounding like a drum very close to him, "You! Bring it out. You think I've not been watching you? I was once like you. Bring it out!". Edikan became shocked, his body became cold like a corpse in the mug.
Edikan was caught red-handed; he couldn't say anything or try to deny his act. He remained silent for about 3 minutes before he uttered and began to plead for forgiveness: "Sir, please, I'm so sorry. Please... Please..."
"Shut up!" The teacher burst into laughter as he saw the begging face of Edikan, and he continued, "I was expecting you to say it's the handwork of the devil." He laughed again.
"I don't take nonsense; fill out this paper if you want to continue writing," the invigilator handed him an examination malpractice form to fill out.
Edikan knew that there's a chance of survival when it comes to facing the malpractice panel, so he agreed, filled out the malpractice form, and the invigilator handed him a fresh answer booklet to start afresh.
After the whole exam, Edikan's issue was tabled by the malpractice judges, he was found guilty and got expelled from the school.
Ending number two:
Edikan smartly targeted when the invigilator was a bit far from him and brought out the cheat and placed it on his lap. As soon as he bent his head to take a glance at the paper, he heard the door of the hall being slammed. He turned up, and before his eyes, the invigilator was heading straight to him.
Did he see me?
Is he coming for me?
His mind wondered for seconds beating fast as if he just finished 100m race, and he picked up the paper, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it.
"You, get up, I saw you!" The invigilator ordered in a loud voice, pointing at a guy behind Edikan as he walked to the spot.
The already fled Edikan's heart took a deep sigh of relief even in its state of panting. He used his hand to do the cross sign, and he thanked God that it wasn't him that the invigilator was calling on.
The invigilator searched the student behind Edikan, and a lot of cheats were found with him. The invigilator forced him to sign the malpractice form, and after the exam, he faced the malpractice panel and was found guilty, and got expelled.
Edikan thanked God all through the remaining days of his school for escaping what seemed to be his fate.
