Personal Recount

My heart beat hastily as I entered the examination hall. I was about to sit for my final paper, Science, a subject which I dreaded.


As the invigilator, Miss Lim, strode in, she ordered us to be seated. She promptly handed out the question paper and answer sheets. The exam began in no time. Everyone was engrossed in scribbling their answers.


I stared at the paper dumbfounded, as the questions are far more difficult than I imagined. Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead and my mind was in a whirl. I realised that I am going to fail the exam. This is the first and last time I cheated.


Once Miss Lim disappeared, I decided to steal a look at my best friend, Elaine, who was sitting right beside me. She was furiously jotting down her answers. I craned my neck to have a better view of Elaine's answers. I managed to catch a glimpse and rapidly wrote down the answers.


Meanwhile, Miss Lim was standing at the back of the examination hall, noticed that my suspicious behaviour. She immediately strode up to me seething in anger. "What do you think you are doing?"


I shifted my eyes away from meeting Miss Lim's eyes, quaking with terror, hoping against hope. My hand began to shake uncontrollably and tears streaked down my cheeks. Miss Lim commanded me to leave the examination hall and follow her to the principal's office after the exam ended. My nose and eyes were drenched and I wiped them with the back of my sleeve and I pleaded the principal for a second chance. An eerie silence now permeated the office. The stern principal reprimanded me for my deceitful behaviour. I was given the second chance by the principal but I gotten zero for all the exam papers.


I hung my head in remorse. I wished I had not cheated during the exam and study hard for it. I had learnt a lesson.