PASSING NOTES IN THE CLASS
He walked toward the classroom. A few minutes earlier, he had overheard the teacher say there would be a quiz today.
âWonderful⌠If I fail this one too, I wonât be able to explain it to my family.â
He needed to find someone to cheat from. He paused at the door and threw a casual glance at the students inside. His eyes landed on the class nerd. Definitely a no. He would never let anyone copy. Cross him off. How about the class president?
âHeâs on good terms with everyone, maybe he wonât mindâŚâ
That optimistic thought vanished as soon as he remembered where the guy satâway too far.
 He considered his best friend. He sat right behind him, in the last row. Easy access. But nope. Not smart enough. He walked to his seat with a growing sense of despair, mentally ranking everyoneâs academic usefulness.
As he passed the second row, a girl caught his eye.
âWell-dressed, always attends class, grades arenât badâŚâ
If only he could convince herâŚBut theyâd never really gotten along. Sheâd never agree to help.
Unless his best friend, Aras, was involved. And everyone knew she was into Aras. For like, two years now.
âThen again, what girl isnât into Aras?â
He was exaggerating. Sure, Aras was popular, but most girls were over him because of his indifferent attitude. But still⌠things were different when it came to Aras.
Everything was different.
Thatâs when the light bulb went off in his head. A perfect idea. He smiled and sat down. He turned to Aras.
âThereâs a quiz today.â
Aras looked at him silently.
âIâve got it covered,â he said, flashing a smug little grin.
âHow?â Aras asked, curious and a little wary.
âYou just have to back me up.â
âWhat are you planning?â
âDonât you trust me?â
Ouch. That was fast. He felt the need to explain.
âWeâre going to use Melisa.â
Aras raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. Just then, the teacher entered the room. Conversation over. But before turning to face the front, he winked at Aras. He tore a page from his notebook and scribbled something random:
âMelisa, your haircut looks amazing. Whereâd you get it done?â
He handed it to the guy in front. âPass this to Melisa. Tell her Aras sent it.â
The message made its way forward. The last student passed it to the girl with a hint of confusion.
When it finally reached Melisa, she hesitated. Then looked back at Aras. Aras looked right back.
After she turned forward, he started rubbing his head like he was annoyed, he lightly punched the guy in front of himânot hard, just enough to get his attention.
âYouâre messing around again,â he muttered, âbut if this goes to shit, Iâm making you pay for it.â
The teacher started roll call.
The response had already arrived. He pretended to pass it to Aras but sneakily read it himself first.
âThank you! My cousin's a hairstylist, I can take you there if you want! =)â
He couldnât stop grinning. What a naĂŻve girl. Aras would never say something like that. But of course, Melisa didnât know him well enough to notice. He glanced at her again. She had turned forward, rested her head on one hand, and was now twirling her hair. He nearly laughed out loud. He had to cover his mouth.
âIâd love toâif thereâs a discount. =)â
He scribbled and passed the note again. The teacher had finished roll call and was signing some papers.
âDonât be silly! My cousin wonât charge you. Youâre my friend, after all!â
âSure,â he thought. âI bet your cousin gives all your friends free haircutsâŚâ
Aras was poking him from behind. He turned and saw Aras giving him a thumbs-up, whispering:
âIf you drag me into this, I swear youâre dead.â
Stupid Aras. If it were him, heâd totally use Melisa. Life at school was just one problem after another. The teacherâs voice interrupted his thoughts.
âWeâll be doing the quiz during second period.â
âPerfect timing,â he thought. He started writing:
âTeacher's doing a test. Did you stuâŚâ
Before he could finish, another note arrived.
âDid you study for the quiz?â
He was surprised. He knew Melisa would help Aras if he asked, but this was even before that. For a second, he felt bad. Maybe he shouldnât have used her like that? Then he thought about his parents. Two seconds later, the guilt was gone.
He sent it off. Then turned to Aras.
âQuiz is handled. Start thinking about how youâll thank me.â
Aras was spinning his pen. âWeâll see.â
A moment later, another note from Melisa arrived:
âIâll write the answers on a tissue and pass it to you during the quiz!â
He grabbed the note and showed it to Aras. âBoom. Done!â
He had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. âAt least say thank you to the girlâŚâ
For a while, Aras stared at the note, then smacked the guy in front of him on the back of the head.
âGive me all the notes!â
Aras grabbed his hair and pulledânearly slammed the poor guyâs head into the desk.
âAlright, alright, donât freak out!â
Aras started reading through all the notes. When he finished, he rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh. Then he patted the guyâs shoulder.
âGood job,â he whispered.
Copyright Š [gurenomuto], edited by me.