Sarah was nervous about meeting with her T.A. She hadnât been doing well in English all semesterânot because she wasnât good at it, but because various personal problems had been distracting her and causing her work to suffer. Her idiot of a boyfriend had slept around with, of all things, a high school girl (though Sarah was only a college freshman herself, she already looked down on the âkidsâ at her old school), her alcoholic mother just had another violent bout and was in rehab, and her creepy step-dad was already giving her lewd looks every time she came home. Now she was afraid that she might be failing. She had never failed a class before, much less in English, her favorite subject. The shame would almost kill her, but her parents, especially her real father, surely would. They were already unhappy that she was âwastingâ her $30,000 a year education to major in English and Dance rather than, as theyâd hoped, in pre-law or business. If she came home with an âFâ in English theyâd surely make her switch majors, or worse, leave school altogether and go to work for her dadâs business.
So, whatever happened, she had to pass. Thatâs what was in her mind the whole time she was writing that damned term paperâŚand ultimately, thatâs what led her to do what she had done. She heard from another girl in her sorority house that the older sisters kept a stash of âAâ papers from various classes that they could âlook atâ if they were having trouble. Of course, Sarah ended up doing more than looking. She found a great paper on lesbian imagery in âThe Awakeningâ, written by a junior several years ago, and figured that her young male teaching assistant would really get off on it, especially coming from a cute, sassy freshman like herself. Heâd probably splooge all over himself just reading it and thinking of her! And, of course, heâd give her a good grade. Since it was from a different class with a different professor, she figured sheâd be safe turning it in.
Now she was beginning to have doubts. What if someone else had turned in the same paper? What if the original author had just gotten it on-line to begin with, and the T.A. or the professor had run it through some of that new software that searches for plagiarism? âGod, how am I going to answer him if he asks me about itâI donât even remember the argument very well!â she thought fearfully. When Jeff, her T. A., had asked her to come see him in office hours today, she thought she sensed something a little serious and stern in his voice. Jeff was usually so playful and friendly in classâalways joking and teasing his students, while still getting them to think about the books that she (usually) read with great interest. She actually kind of liked him, and thought he wasnât bad looking, though he seemed old enough to be her step-dad (who was admittedly pretty young at 35), or at least an older brother. But if heâd caught her cheating, she doubted that heâd be acting very brotherly.
Sarah arrived at Jeffâs office on time, but thankfully, the door was closed and it sounded like there was another student inside. Maybe if she just waited a couple of minutes and left, she could say that she thought he wasnât there. That would at least give her some time to go look at the paper again and come up with a story. As she waited, she heard some muffled noises inside that sounded either like someone laughing or sobbing, she couldnât tell which. Jesus, she hoped they were laughing, and that it wasnât âcatch-the-cheatersâ day! In any case, she didnât want to stick around to find out. Just as she was turning to leave, the office door swung open. âDamn!â she though, ânot fast enough!â
Stepping out of the office was her friend and sorority sister, Allison. Her face was red, and it wasnât clear whether she looked happy or sad, only momentarily startled to see Sarah standing there with her eyes wide and worried. âOh, Sarah!âŚI didnât know you were out hereâŚâ Allison gave her a sheepish and anxious look, but before Sarah could ask what was up, she blurted, âI think youâre nextâŚI gotta go, butâŚumâŚIâll talk to you later, okay?â With that and another anxious glance, Allison scurried off down the hall and around a corner. âOh shit.â thought Sarah. âWhat was that about?â Was Allison trying to tell her something, or trying to not tell her something? Allison was the only other person that knew Sarah had cheated on her paper, and that look didnât bode well. âIf that bitch squealed on me, Iâll fucking kill her!, â Sarah thought. That is, if she didnât get killed firstâŚ
âSarah?â It was Jeffâs voice coming from inside the office door. âCome on in, Sarah. And shut the door. I want to speak to you in private for a minute.â
Fuck! That was it. She was in for it now. Sarah went in slowly, and closed the door regretfully behind her. It sounded like a prison gate slamming shut.
âOkay, Sarah, sit down and lets have a talk.â Jeff began. âDo you know why youâre here?â
âUmâŚIâm not sureâŚI guess itâs about my paper?â
âYeahâŚI kind of need to ask you a few questionsâŚis that okay?â
âErâŚokayâŚyeah sureâŚI guessâŚlike what?â
âWell, to begin withâŚwhereâd you get it?
Nailed! She knew it! That fucking cunt told on her! And now she was going to fail, and have to quit school, and work for her god-damned father andâŚ.Tears started to well up in Sarahâs eyes as she said, âWhâŚwhat do you mean?â
âCâmon SarahâŚdonât lie to meâŚI already know that you stole this paper.â