Unlike how the Tin Man wished for a heart, right now I wish I didn't have a conscience. Ugh.
Backstory:
One of my pretty good friends (who I will name... Penny because some of you may know her) has been having a hard time keeping up with AP Euro and the long, grueling hours that Robotics gives to you wrapped up in a lovely bow. So, unfortunately, she hasn't been doing all of her homework and her grades are suffering. A lot. Enough so that my teacher, Mr. Dorgan, had to pull her aside and tell her that if she couldn't get her grade up, they would have to keep her from Robotics for a while. So yeah. Extremely non-cool beans.
Frontstory:
Today we had a reading quiz in the aforementioned AP Euro (he gives them to us periodically just to make sure we are actually doing the homework we are supposed to do on time) and Penny didn't do the reading, because of Robotics. She came up to a group of us hovering over a tub of ice cream and a pan of brownies to turn in her test and waited in line like a good student (yes, we have food days in AP Euro. It's pretty much awesome). She turned to me and complained, "I have no idea what these answers are. I'm pretty sure its wrong." To which I replied, "Oh, yeah, I had some troubles with that too. I think I put down Austria and Hungary for that one. Oooh, and I think I got that question wrong. (I had already turned in my test by this point.)" She makes no move, so obviously, she isn't getting to urge to cheat on the test. Good girl. Another girl comes over, (call her Jeannette) and she didn't do her homework either. I don't really care about Jeannette's issues, because more than once she's piggybacked off of my work instead of actually doing it herself. Not the best record. So we start talking about the test, and this guy, "Freddy," joins in on the conversation too. Freddy's like, "Austria-Hungary's the right answer, and oh, hey, I have a pen in my pocket. What a coincidence!" Penny said, "But I don't write in pen... Oh shoot. I "forgot to put my name on my paper.' I guess I'll go back to my desk and do that." Deed #1 is done. Jeannette, not to be outdone, says, "Wow! I forgot my name too! Can I borrow your pencil?" End of Deed #2. So here I am, and little red flags are going off everywhere (more like flags the size of Alaska). And I have no idea what to do. And I feel horrible, because, in actuality, I do know what to do, but I also happen to like to have people enjoy being around me and not think of me as a bratty little snitch. My ice cream and brownies did not sit well for the rest of the day.
Random Tangent: (but it'll make sense in a second, just wait) Yesterday during 20th Century History with the glorious Mr. Heckman, we discussed an assignment about WWI. One of the questions stated "Is it better to do what is right or keep the peace?" I answered to do what is right. So am I a hypocrite?
Anyways, to cut this sitcom-like episode short, I snitched. I stayed after school to talk to Mr. Dorgan (he thought something was seriously wrong when I asked him if I could talk to him after school, 'cuz I was pretty bummed out about the whole shebang and looked, and I quote, "strangely cryptic"). He was pretty disappointed (especially with Penny, since he knows the whole backstory too), and I was about to burst into tears. Literally. I was sniffling down the hallway after hoping I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. And I still feel horrible. Not really about Jeannette, because she deserves it, but Penny is really a good person.The other reason I feel bad is because I guess cheating isn't really that wrong at public school. I mean, the teachers don't condone it, but a lot of students do it. Even my friends. So I don't know why I'm telling this to anyone because everyone who reads it is going to be like, "You're so high-and-mighty, Kira! She had a good excuse to cheat! She's staying up until 2-3 in the morning every night! It's not her fault!" Oh, yeah, and the other thing is Penny, when she's upset, likes to rail on people to relieve her stress. So once she figures out that I'm the one who snitched (because I'm the only logical person who would... and Mr. D might have to "call on me to witness") there's a good possibility the whole class might hate my guts. Oh happy days. But I guess it all comes back to... is it better to do what is right or keep the peace? If I only had no conscience.
