: "She's Cheating!" .....💔

Every year is a new Lesson. Every day is a new memory.

There has always been an extreme something that has taught me every year. Taught me things I never knew I needed to learn.

Looking back, I have a story— A story that changed my perception and made me strong and soft from the inside.

'Ammara' a class fellow of mine (Well, not now) A girl with a height of 5 feet 9 inches. She was a sweet girl, not very bright, but she once scored 10 marks more than I did, which ultimately became the talk of the class.

May 16, 2024, (this year) was the day I saw her, again; in my college. I was heartbroken to see her again. Idk if I should have been happy or really sad to see her.

I'm not making any sense...? I will! Just bear with me. Hear this out:

2 and a half years ago, when I was in 9th standard—A new student entered our class. She was 'Ammara'. Our teacher introduced her as she would do any other new student. When it was time for her to sit somewhere, my teacher motioned my other friend Zara to move and make her some space to sit. Zara was my old friend... Not a best friend, but she was hella funny, and she was a bit harsh too, sometimes. But never with me...

[Aren't we sometimes a hypocrite? We, sometimes, consider a person as 'Fine' if that person is not giving us a hard time... No matter if he's a bully with everyone else...!]

I'm not saying that she was a bully... But she was way too straightforward! She wouldn't give a shit about what others think about her? And that was ok. But she wouldn't give a SHIT if she would hurt someone... And that was quite brutal.

Back to that situation. Zara gave her the place to sit and shook her hand. I was a bit worried about 'Ammara' because Zara was a tough girl. A week passed and Ammara started approaching me. After every lecture, she would come near my seat and ask me about my family, goals, and stuff like that. She was a nice girl but sometimes she would say things that would make us all crack so hard. Maybe she was innocent... Things were going fine. I couldn't believe my eyes that Zara and Ammara had become bosom friends. Zara was not the type to make more friends other than me and my other friends, but life can turn its course at any point—unknowingly.

I was OKAY with Ammara; I mean what kind of problem would I have with a decent and nice girl? But it wasn't the case with all other class fellows. Some had 'unreason grudges' against her. Some of them would say, "She is nosy", and others would be like, "She acts to be kind and she is an absolute nonsense". After Zara, I was her friend in the class.

No one can abide by the fact that 'No one in this world is PERFECT'. We all are perfectly imperfect people. We are happy and sad. We are good and bad. But it doesn't mean that our single 'Mistake' can wash our 'Good acts'.

Ammara, although was a sweet and caring person— She once, also did a verb that was not good. Not good at all. What happened was that we all gathered at a ceremony of our mutual friend, at her house. We enjoyed a lot there. But the very next day; when we were talking about how much fun we had, Ammara was saying things like, "Did you guys enjoy it? Nah! I'm not going to her house anymore. Did ya'll see the servings? They were short of food. The place where they made us sit was so uncomfortable. I hated it!", we all were shocked to hear her bad comments. We were only relieved that Sadia (The host of that ceremony, our friend, and a very close friend of Zara) was absent from school that day.

But the next day, surprisingly or shockingly, Zara mouthed bad about Ammara to Sadia and read every word Ammara said yesterday. Sadia was 'heartbroken' and she was burning with rage about what Ammara had said.

In that week, so many things happened... Ammara and Zara fought with their serpent-like words. But, ultimately Ammara accepted her mistake and wholeheartedly apologized to Sadia. If Sadia hadn't been burning for her words she might have forgiven her but she didn't.

Things were not looking as good as they were between Sadia and Ammara. But Zara and Ammara were still sitting next to each other. In fact, after a week and a half, they got together again. Happily.......

Times passed........................

Then came our Mid-term Exams. I was freaking out because it seemed to me that I wasn't prepared at all. But 1st exam was English and it went pretty clean. It was the 'Chemistry' exam. Or the day things happened that shouldn't have happened.

That was the day when everything went wrong for someone and because of someone.

We were all sitting at our desks waiting for the Chemistry exam to start. Soon the teacher distributed the sheets and the exam paper and the exam started.

[ Everyone knows that every student cheats when it comes to exams. We all did, a short question from peeking into the neighbor's paper— An MCQ; whistling our friend. And our class was considerate enough not to tell the teacher about any cheater. It was not a nice act of ours. I must say that it was worse, but we couldn't help ourselves that time.]

Ammara was hiding a sheet of paper in her chemistry paper, that she had prepared at her home. It had written 2 long questions on it. From which one was fortunately written in the question paper. She was writing it calmly and thanks to her luck, the teacher didn't notice her a bit. Her luck was Nicer to her but her friend wasn't.

Our teacher had announced clearly 3 days before the exam started that if she caught any student CHEATING, she was going to expel her and that student would be responsible for that. I still remember the notice board boldly stated: CHEAT! AND THEN BEAR THE BACKLASH!!!!!

"She's Cheating! Teacher Ammara's cheating", a voice from behind called out loudly. It was Zara.

Ammara froze in her seat, Zara’s words echoing in her ears like a terrible sound she couldn’t escape. Her hands shook, and her pen slipped to the floor. The exam paper in front of her blurred as tears filled her eyes. Slowly, she turned around, hoping to see some sign that Zara hadn’t meant it, that it was all a mistake. But Zara’s face showed nothing—no regret, no guilt—just the harsh truth of what she had said. Ammara’s chest tightened, her heart aching as if it were breaking into pieces. "Why...?" she whispered softly, unable to say more.

I too immediately turned my head to Zara and with disbelief in my eyes questioned her for her betrayal...

Zara had no answers in her eyes at that moment. Probably, she was confused about what she just did. The teacher ran towards Ammara; snatched her paper, marked a big red cross on it, and said her her those bold words, "Go to the principal's office right now!"

Ammara was shaking, she almost couldn't walk. I was about to scream because so much was going on inside me. I couldn't bear watching all that injustice happening. Zara was laughing now. She was showing a gesture of Victory. At that moment I felt helpless.

Not only was she suspended from school, but her parents were called to collect her medals of appreciation. She was publicly humiliated as a warning to others, making it clear that anyone caught cheating would face the same consequences.

Soon after the exam ended, I rushed to Zara and these were my words:

What the heck just happened? What did you do to her? Wasn't she your friend?

To which she replied; She was cheating! She deserved it.

I had never talked to anyone in that tone before. But I said that in a very loud tone:

What are you? A pure soul? You never cheat? I saw you cheat during the exam too... Did I tell the teacher? You know what ... You're not a gangster of our class but you are just a pitiable person whom no one wants to be friends with. You ruined her. She would never forgive you!

She was shocked to hear my words. She couldn't believe her eyes that I, a weakling and a polite girl would say anything like that to her.

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It was our next year now... No sign of Ammara. We didn't know where she went. What happened to her... But one thing was sure; She wouldn't forgive Zara ever. (As much as I could think of)

.

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May 16, 2024, (this year) I saw a girl near my college's cafeteria... It was Ammara, Ammara for sure. I could see her height; the same. The glasses but changed this time. My hands started to shake... Just to realize that the incident wasted her year of education.

I vanished as soon as she saw me— Days passed...

I heard from her class fellows that she somehow missed one year of education and that is why she was a junior.

Still, I haven't met her despite being in the same college.

That was the most heartbreaking moment of my past year.

The incident from 9th grade resurfaced—the betrayal, the heartbreak, and the helplessness. That experience taught me a profound lesson: friendships can be fragile when tested by loyalty and honesty, and our actions carry a weight that can deeply impact others. It was a moment that shaped my perspective on standing up for what’s right, even when it feels uncomfortable.

As 2024 comes to an end, I realize how much that memory still resonates with me. This year reminded me to reflect on the past, not with regret, but with understanding. It’s about growth—becoming stronger, kinder, and more mindful of the choices I make and the lives I touch. The lessons I’ve learned continue to guide me as I move forward, carrying hope and a commitment to be better.

Author's note;

That is my real story. Ammara has taught and so did Zara.

Share your thoughts on this one, please :)