Shoelaces

     Jess’s uniform was flawless because, if she got caught, she didn’t want to be in more trouble. Her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, her shoes was shining (for the first time since the start of school that year), and her top button was done up. She was even wearing her blazer, though she didn’t have to, for an extra touch. Jess wanted to look perfect as she was attempting to break into a teacher’s office. She shook at the thought. What had happened to her? She used to bee the biggest goody-goody in the school, but now she was looking for answers. Literally and metaphorically. Why? It was the question that was always on her lips these days.

     But there was no time to ask why now. She was looking for the answers. The answers to the maths test. She used to get straight B’s, and A’s when she worked really hard or was really lucky. Now, her grade had slipt to a D. Jess had also fallen three classes. There was a test coming and on all the practice tests, she was failing. Her Mum had threatened her with a tutor. Her Mum didn’t care anymore, not now she had Peter. But that didn’t matter. Jess was going to get a B on this test.

     She tried to tell herself it only mattered a little bit if she cheated. Sometimes, when the little voice in the back of her head went to sleep, she even believed it.

     Focus, Jess told herself. Slowly, she walked forward, sticking to the side of the corridor, trying and failing to look confident. Her hands were shaking, and a single nervous tear escaped her eye. Jess made it to Mr. Wilson’s office without incident. She held her breath as she turned the handle of his door, afraid that it might be locked or squeaky, but it was neither. She crept forward after silently closing the door.

     Jess proceeded to ransack his desk. They weren’t in the first draw, or the second one. She looked over the desk itself, and then went towards the filing cabinet, feeling terrible the whole while. Finally, she found them. She sank to the floor, hidden by the cabinet, and started copying the answers down into the book she had brought. When she had finished, Jess stored the original copy of the answers back in the cabinet, and held tightly onto the one she had hurriedly made. Sneakily, she walked back to the door, but froze when she heard footsteps in the corridor out side. When the steady thump had died away, she started forward again, only to trip over the shoelace that had come undone.

     The crash was definitely heard in the next office, in the corridor, and, Jess thought, maybe in B block. She hurt all over from the impact, and something sharp was cutting up her neck. Jess groped around the spot and pulled out a shard of glass. There was blood all over her blazer. She turned her head and her neck hurt- there was some glass she hadn’t got out. She saw a shattered photo frame on the floor next to her with Mr Wilson’s daughter in it.

     But her biggest problem, or so she thought, was the opening office door. Mrs. Anderson came in.

     “Jessica!” she exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing in here?”

     She started forward towards Jess and bent down.

     “We’ll have to get you to the sick bay- this is going to need stiches. But what were you doing in here in the first place?” she asked suspiciously. “Mr. Wilson is on bus duty.”

     In response to this, Jess just gulped.

     “What’s that you’ve got there?” asked Mrs. Anderson, staring at the book which had the answers in it. She bent down, picked it up and flipped through it. Then she looked up at Jess with impassive eyes. “You’ve been cheating.”

     Jess burst into tears. “Yes.”

     “Why, Jess? You used to be so good!” But she bent down and pulled the glass out of Jess’s neck, and helped her to her feet, and steadied her when she wobbled a bit.

     “Come with me,” she ordered, “we really need to get you to the sick bay.” Jess came, meekly following, until a second crash announced a second fall.

     “Oh, Jess, do up your shoelaces!”

     Jess contented herself with glowering at the floor and totally removing the cause of all today’s misfortune. They could go in the bin later, because all of this just wasn’t worth it.