The Defeated Cheated

(In chemistry class, we are given an assignment to do some problems out of the textbook, to be turned in by the end of the period. My friend, who is usually a decent student but sometimes decides to go completely out of character with some silly stunt, sits next to me.)

Friend: “So did you finish the first one yet?”

Me: “Uh, yeah, why? Do you need help?”

Friend: “No, I was figuring we could do it together.”

Me: “You mean talk through the problems together?”

Friend: “No, no. As partners. I’ll look up stuff. You write.”

Me: “But it’s not a group project… [Teacher] isn’t going to buy that. And I don’t really need to look anything up anyway.”

Friend: “It’s cool. It’s cool. I’ll just help.”

(Needless to say, I did my work while she goofed around. At the end of the class, she took my paper, wrote her name on it underneath mine, and turned it in. She got the paper back with a 10 out of 10. I got a zero for ‘not turning it in.’ The worst part was I couldn’t contest the grade without making myself look complicit in her cheating.)