“Hurry up!” I ordered as I moved my flashlight across the yard making sure no one was around. “I’m going as fast as I can, calm down.” Adam replied as he continued fidgeting with the lock. “Calm down? We are breaking into a house and you expect me to calm down? Anyone could come down that lane at any moment and then we are busted. You know what that means? Jail Time! I would not do well in jail.” Adam ignored my rambling as he continued his attempt at picking the lock. “Got it!” Adam exclaimed as he opened the door and gestured for me to go in first. He wore that smug smile that just screamed “told you so” I hated it so much. He followed behind me as we entered the house, I moved my flashlight over the living room as we went further in. “Remember the plan, we get what we came for and get out. No getting distracted by anything.” Adam instructed as he walked into what appeared to be the kitchen and started opening cupboards. I didn’t know where to begin but as I heard Adam shuffling through the contents of the kitchen I knew I had to figure it out fast.

I started in the living room looking through the entertainment center and coming up empty handed. “Find it?” Adam asked emerging from the dining room where he must have searched after the kitchen. “Just his dvd collection.” I answered as I shut the doors to the entertainment center. “There’s got to be a file cabinet somewhere. “Hurry up!” I ordered as I moved my flashlight across the yard making sure no one was around. “I’m going as fast as I can, calm down.” Adam replied as he continued fidgeting with the lock. “Calm down? We are breaking into a house and you expect me to calm down? Anyone could come down that lane at any moment and then we are busted. You know what that means? Jail Time! I would not do well in jail.” Adam ignored my rambling as he continued his attempt at picking the lock. “Got it!” Adam exclaimed as he opened the door and gestured for me to go in first. He wore that smug smile that just screamed “told you so” I hated it so much. He followed behind me as we entered the house, I moved my flashlight over the living room as we went further in. “Remember the plan, we get what we came for and get out. No getting distracted by anything.” Adam instructed as he walked into what appeared to be the kitchen and started opening cupboards. I didn’t know where to begin but as I heard Adam shuffling through the contents of the kitchen I knew I had to figure it out fast.

I started in the living room looking through the entertainment center and coming up empty handed. “Find it?” Adam asked emerging from the dining room where he must have searched after the kitchen. “Just his dvd collection.” I answered as I shut the doors to the entertainment center. “There’s got to be a file cabinet somewhere. If I was to hide grades I would
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keep them in a file cabinet.” Adam said more to himself than to me. He began down the hallway in search of the cabinet. As I watched him it dawned on me we were doing about this all wrong. No teacher today kept just a hard copy of the grades, they would have put it somewhere more secure, a computer. I scanned the room searching for a laptop or desktop and as my eyes found the desk on the side of the living room I found it. “Adam!” I yelled. “What? Did you find it?” he asked popping his head out of one of the back rooms. “I think so” I answered sitting down at the desk. Adam came up behind me as I turned on the laptop.
“Its password protected”
“Oh that’s easy, put in G man.”
“G man?”
“Yeah he loves that nickname, he thinks it makes him cool” I didn’t question it any further and typed it in and to my surprise Adam was right. We were in now it was time to get what we had come for and get out. That was the plan but as I scrolled down the files something caught my eye. “Do Not Read.” That just screamed “open me!” I glanced over at Adam who was still keeping watch. The cost was clear it wouldn’t hurt to just check the file out, no one would know. Before I could second guess myself I clicked open. A gasp escaped my lips as I saw what was on that file but before I could share my findings with Adam I heard his breath hitch.
“What is it?”
“Headlights, he’s home.”

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I looked out the window to see just what I had feared when we set out on this mission. We were caught and not only was I going to be stuck with an F in world history but I would be adding robbery to my permanent record.
I had played a thousand different scenarios in my head of what would happen if we were to get caught and I thought I had prepared myself for the reality of it. Unfortunately as I stared out the window at the headlights I was paralyzed. I could hear the muffled sound of Adam encouraging me to move and as much as I wanted to my legs felt as if they were filled with cement. I wasn’t going anywhere, this was the end my record was shot to hell everything I had worked for since freshman year, gone.

Suddenly I was pulled from my thoughts; literally, I looked up to see Adam pulling me towards a closet.

“Casey, pull it together come on.” I snapped out of it and finally found the power to move my legs again. I followed Adam into the closet and held my breath as I heard the key in the door knob. The door opened to a woman, not at all who I had expected and I let out a sigh of relief. She was younger which made me suspect her to be Mr. George’s daughter or maybe he had a thing for younger women.
“If that is his daughter she must take after her mother.” Adam remarked apparently thinking the same thing I was.
“Shh, focus we need to think of a way to get out of here without her noticing.” Just as I said this I noticed that the woman had disappeared. “Now, we have to go now!”











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We inched ourselves out of the closet towards the door trying our best to be silent. I looked around seeing no signs of the woman; I once again let out a sigh of relief. I may not have been able to change my grade but at least I could escape without being caught. Adam reached for the door knob and as he turned I heard footsteps getting closer, I spoke too soon.
“Who are you?! Don’t move!” I turned to see the woman; fear in her eyes; yep the F in world history was the least of my problems.

“I asked who you were. Are you going to answer or just stand there while I call the cops?” the woman picked up the phone from the stand and I could have sworn my heart was going to bust through my chest.

“No! Don’t do that, I mean we’re not a threat I promise.” I sounded ridiculous; did I really expect her to believe that we were breaking an entering for all the right reasons?

Adam looked at me and I knew he was trying to tell me to shut up but panic was all I could focus on. We had one mission, all we had to do was get in and get out, and it all seemed so easy but now standing here caught nothing seemed easy. The woman stared at us with the phone in her hand obviously waiting for an explanation, but I had lost the ability to form sentences. Adam looked between the woman and me trying to access the best way to proceed.

“Um, we were um, looking for Mr. Gordon.” Adam finally spoke it wasn’t very helpful but it was his best attempt at stalling and I was thankful for it.

“You were looking for Mr. Gordon?” the woman questioned looking less than pleased with Adams explanation.
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“Yes.” He answered in a small voice.
“In his house, that was locked? Sorry buddy, I’m not buying it but feel free to try to sell it to the police when they come.” The woman began to dial the phone and my panic level rose, I looked to Adam hoping to see a glimpse of an idea on his face but there was nothing. We were screwed.
Suddenly there was a flash of light that came through the front window; we all turned our attention towards the source of the light, headlights. This time the occupant of the car was the owner of the house, Mr. Gordon.

“Perfect, there’s dad now he can deal with you himself.” The woman said, hanging up the phone and placing it back on its console.

“You’re his daughter?” Adam asked.

“Really Adam, do you think that’s what is important right now?” I asked glaring at him. Yes he was my best friend but there were so many times when I questioned his intelligence. Right now was a perfect example of those times. He didn’t answer instead he shifted his gaze to the floor.
“You two need to have a seat and wait for my father, and then we’ll decide your punishment.” Mr. Gordon’s daughter gestured towards the couch and both Adam and I sat down without question. I let a good distance between Adam and myself this was his fault after all. I should have learned by now that nothing good ever came from listening to him and his genius ideas.


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It was a week ago in third period World History when Mr. Gordon asked me to stay after class to discuss my grade. I told Adam I would meet him after for lunch he agreed and went on his way. Unfortunately by the time the conversation was over I had lost my appetite.

“So what did he want?” Adam asked as I joined him at our lunch table.

“Oh, you know just to inform me that I am currently failing his class.”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I just made it up.” I answered sarcastically rolling my eyes. “Yes, I am serious. My parents are going to kill me.”

“Who says they have to find out?” I looked at him not understanding what he was getting at. My silence and confused expressions must have tipped him off that I needed a further explanation.
I looked at him sure that he had lost his mind, but on the other hand it did look easy in the movie. My parents were going to kill me if I failed this class. Failure was not an option in our family. The idea of changing my grade was becoming more and more appealing

“Ok, what’s the plan?”
I knew from the second I asked the question that there would be no turning back. I didn’t like that it had come to this, God knows the thought of Adam creating a plan and me agreeing to it was enough to scare me but unfortunately it was my only option.


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The plan seemed like something Adam had seen in one of his spy movies, equipped with disguises and escape routes. It was all so very Bond like, but I wouldn’t have expected anything else from Adam. He was the kind of guy who loved taking matters into his own hands and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. It was one of the qualities I admired most about him. He constantly pushed me to take risks with him so when I finally agreed to “Mission a Game.” Not the best title but I went with it. The plan he assured me was full proof we would first find Mr. Gordon’s grade book and “give you what you deserve.” He told me. It seemed easy enough all we had to do was get into the classroom, which was never an issue you just simply came back after the teachers had left tell the janitor you need something from the room and you were in.

Adam chose a Friday night to go through with the plan saying that doing it on Friday would ensure that we wouldn’t get caught, what he didn’t think about was that it also ensured that Mr. Gordon would take his grade book home with him.

“Casey, it will be fine. I have a plan b and this one is sure to work.”

“Your plan b is going to get us arrested, that’s a hell of a lot worse than an F. I might as well just take the F and deal with it.”

“Really Case? I know what your parents will do to you if they see an F on your report card; honestly the cops would probably have more mercy.”
He did have a point my parents wrath was undeniably worse than anything that the cops could dose out, but even with that there was still the fact that it didn’t matter which option I took my

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parents would be furious with the F or the police charges. With that in mind I reluctantly agreed to plan b and before I knew it here I was caught.

We sat in silence waiting for what seemed an eternity for Mr. Gordon to enter the house. The door finally opened and Mr. Gordon entered confusion covering his face at the sight of Adam and I on his couch. I looked to the floor unable to meet his eyes.

“What’s going on here?” Mr. Gordon questioned looking between us and his daughter.

“I came home and I found these two in the house, they say they are looking for you I was just about to call the police when you pulled up. I thought you would want to decide how to handle this.”

“How did you get in here?” Mr. Gordon asked neglecting to answer his daughter. He looked between Adam and I waiting for one of us to answer.

I looked to Adam who seemed to have no intention of giving an answer. Any other time he would have some witty response that would charm his way out of any situation. Not now though the one time we actually need it he comes up short.

“We, um, we picked the lock.”
Adam looked at me like I had just committed murder, I knew I should have come up with a lie but I couldn’t and so the all that was left was the truth.
“Wow, Ms. Jones I would expect this from Mr. Anders here but from you. Breaking and entering that’s a crime Ms. Jones and crimes are meant to be handled by the police.”
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Mr. Gordon held out his hand for signaling his daughter to hand him the phone.

“Wait! You can’t call the cops.” I exclaimed jumping off the couch.

“And why not?” he questions.

I pause for a second not having a good reason for why he shouldn’t continue dialing those numbers. I glanced around the room doing my best to stall. Just then I caught a glimpse of the computer screen which I had forgotten about and the memory of the file I had discovered moments earlier reentered my mind.

“Because I know what you did!”

The words came out more aggressively than I intended them to but there was no taking them back. I met Mr. Gordon’s eyes and could see the anger and a hint of confusion.

“What are you talking about?” It was his daughter that asked, Mr. Gordon never breaking eye contact with me. She looked between her father and I waiting for an answer that neither of us was going to give just yet.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Mr. Gordon continued our stare down never wavering, challenging me to step down. I knew I should just apologize and plead for him to just give me the F instead of the police charges but unfortunately my mind and my mouth were having communication issues tonight.
“Really, something tells me you know exactly what I am talking about Mr. Gordon.”

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I had no clue who the person was who was talking, it wasn’t me I had never been one to challenge authority and now I was, this had to be the Twilight Zone.

“Listen Ms. Jones, I don’t know what you think you know but I advise you to be wise when deciding what your next move is going to be.” He was calm but there was an edge to his voice that was different than anything I had ever experienced with Mr. Gordon. If I didn’t have a reason to stop before that edge in his voice was an excellent reason now. But I didn’t stop, I didn’t even attempt to.

“I know exactly what I am doing. Personally I think its wisest choice I could make. And unless you want what I saw on your computer to become public knowledge I think you will find it wise to hang up that phone.”

All eyes were on me at this point but I didn’t look anywhere but Mr. Gordon’s eyes, making sure he knew that I wasn’t bluffing. There was a small voice inside of my head screaming at me to take it all back but there was a louder voice telling me that I was doing great. I could see in Mr. Gordon’s eyes that he was scared, he tried to mask it with his confidence but I could see it.

“You really expect me to be scared of a 17 year old girl’s threat? Why would anyone believe you? The only proof is on that computer and no one has seen it but you and me. I have nothing to worry about; you on the other hand should start worrying about the story you are going to give the cops when they get here.”


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“Actually, she isn’t the only one who saw it, and it isn’t just on that computer.” I looked over at Adam who had risen from the couch holding up a flash drive. I smiled to myself knowing that it was a complete lie there was nothing on the flash drive and Adam didn’t have a clue about what I had seen on the computer but instead of letting me fry alone he had my back. I looked back at Mr. Gordon all confidence had left his face and all there was left was fear.

“Oh My God!” I was brought out of another stare down with Mr. Gordon as I heard the voice of his daughter. We all switched our focus to her, she was now sitting in front of the computer eyes wide and hand over her mouth.

“Christine, get away from there.” Mr. Gordon rushed over to his daughter turning off the computer.

“Is it true dad?” Christine asked not looking away from the black screen.
Mr. Gordon was silent which enough of an answer for her. After a few minutes of silence Christine looked to Adam and I.

“You guys can go we aren’t going to call the cops.”

“Christine what are you doing?” Mr. Gordon asked.
Christine finally looked up at her father, “if we call the cops on them t we might as well tell them to bring three sets of handcuffs, two for the burglars and one for the man who hit a little girl with his car and kept driving. You should really think about what you put on your computer dad.”












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Christine stormed out of the room leaving us all in silence not sure where to go from there. Five minutes had passed when Mr. Gordon finally spoke. “Go, I won’t call the cops just leave.”

I stood there still in shock not being able to move, unsure how I had gone from trying to change my grade in world history to watching my teacher having to face the disappointment in his daughter’s eyes. I wanted to apologize it had all just went terribly wrong but before I could say anything I was being pulled towards the door and Adam was telling me to get into the car.

I dreaded Monday morning and the suspense of what was to come. Adam assured me we were in the clear; Mr. Gordon’s daughter wouldn’t let him go to the police about us. If he did I felt assured she would gladly hand over the information on her father. He wouldn’t risk that. I just needed to relax Adam kept telling me, it didn’t help me and from Friday to Sunday night I maybe slept 4 hours. My mind raced knowing that even though he couldn’t give me up to the authorities he could still ruin my GPA. If there had been any chance of me changing that grade the old fashion way it was surely gone now.

“Will you chill out? He’s going to see how nervous you are when you walk into class and that’s just going to put a target on your back.”

“There’s already a target on my back Adam.”
Monday morning flew by and before I knew it, it was time for World History. I took my time as I walked toward the classroom; it wasn’t every day you had to face the teacher you blackmailed three days earlier. I knew I couldn’t be late that would only draw more attention to myself; I had
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to get it over with. I had to do it quick like ripping off a band aid, a really big band aid. The classroom was filled with chatter as my classmates discussed the events of their weekends; no one seemed to take notice as I walked through the door heart pounding and sweat forming on my forehead.

Mr. Gordon sat at his desk, he looked distracted not seeming to care that it was a minute until the bell and everyone was still chatting, but what could you expect? I’m sure after the information that was brought to his daughter’s attention on Friday their house was probably more than just a little tense. And it was my fault, all because I felt I deserved a better grade, yep I’m going to hell.
The bell rang and Mr. Gordon was pulled back to the present. “All right class settle down it’s time to begin.”
He didn’t look at me as I expected, he didn’t call on me once as he usually does just to put me on the spot. All the scenarios I had played over in my head for how class would go were nothing like the reality of it. I didn’t know if I should be grateful or fearful. There was only fifteen minutes of class left when the door opened and the principle and a cop walked into the room. My heart leapt into my throat. This was why class had gone so smoothly, Mr. Gordon didn’t have to torture me he had already handed me over to the authorities.

“Are you Mr. Arthur Gordon?” the officer asked as he approached the front of the room.

“Yes, is there something I can help you with officer?”

“I am going to need you step outside with me, sir.”











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“May I ask what for officer?”

“It would be better if you came out into the hallway and discussed this.” The principle chimed in

“If it’s all the same to you gentleman I would prefer just getting it over with right now.”
The room was silent everyone looked at Mr. Gordon wondering why he would want the officer to say what he had to say in front of all of us. The officer looked between the principle and Mr. Gordon; this had to be a dream or a bad television show. There was no way this was reality, there was not a cop standing at the front of my third period classroom, I did not break into my teachers house over the weekend, and I definitely did not black mail him so that he wouldn’t call the cops. Nope, this was a bad dream. I would wake up and this would be all over.
“Arthur Gordon you are under arrest for the following felony: hit and run. You have the right to remain silent...”
I lost focus as the officer read Mr. Gordon his rights, all I could focus on his arms being hand cuffed. This had to be a dream, a really bad dream. I looked up pulling my gaze from Mr. Gordon’s handcuffed hands to meet his gaze. He stared at me, emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t name but I knew there was anger in there and it was directed at me. I watched as the officer escorted Mr. Gordon out of the classroom. This was reality, my teacher had given me an F and I was now giving him a possible jail sentence. It wasn’t a fair trade not by a long shot.

That night all the local news channels were talking about the local teacher who hit a young girl and continued driving. The screens flashed photos of Mr. Gordon, our school and the
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young who had lost her life that night. She was young, ten they said. Some channels showed her parents crying talking about how thankful they were that justice had finally been served, and then there was the interview with Christine, Mr. Gordon’s daughter.

“Tell us Ms. Gordon, is it true that you are the one who took the evidence against your father to the police?”

My eyes were glued to the television waiting for Christine’s response. Could she have really turned Mr. Gordon in? Her own father?

“Yes it is.”

“That couldn’t have been easy for you. Why would you do that?”
Christine froze; sadness crossed her face but quickly was replaced by anger.
“It was the right thing to do.” That was all she said before walking away.

Christine was right she had done the right thing but she had lost her father by doing so. She had given up her family to give peace to another’s. And it all happened because of a grade, a single letter on a report card.


‘

If I was to hide grades I would
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keep them in a file cabinet.” Adam said more to himself than to me. He began down the hallway in search of the cabinet. As I watched him it dawned on me we were doing about this all wrong. No teacher today kept just a hard copy of the grades, they would have put it somewhere more secure, a computer. I scanned the room searching for a laptop or desktop and as my eyes found the desk on the side of the living room I found it. “Adam!” I yelled. “What? Did you find it?” he asked popping his head out of one of the back rooms. “I think so” I answered sitting down at the desk. Adam came up behind me as I turned on the laptop.
“Its password protected”
“Oh that’s easy, put in G man.”
“G man?”
“Yeah he loves that nickname, he thinks it makes him cool” I didn’t question it any further and typed it in and to my surprise Adam was right. We were in now it was time to get what we had come for and get out. That was the plan but as I scrolled down the files something caught my eye. “Do Not Read.” That just screamed “open me!” I glanced over at Adam who was still keeping watch. The cost was clear it wouldn’t hurt to just check the file out, no one would know. Before I could second guess myself I clicked open. A gasp escaped my lips as I saw what was on that file but before I could share my findings with Adam I heard his breath hitch.
“What is it?”
“Headlights, he’s home.”

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I looked out the window to see just what I had feared when we set out on this mission. We were caught and not only was I going to be stuck with an F in world history but I would be adding robbery to my permanent record.
I had played a thousand different scenarios in my head of what would happen if we were to get caught and I thought I had prepared myself for the reality of it. Unfortunately as I stared out the window at the headlights I was paralyzed. I could hear the muffled sound of Adam encouraging me to move and as much as I wanted to my legs felt as if they were filled with cement. I wasn’t going anywhere, this was the end my record was shot to hell everything I had worked for since freshman year, gone.

Suddenly I was pulled from my thoughts; literally, I looked up to see Adam pulling me towards a closet.

“Casey, pull it together come on.” I snapped out of it and finally found the power to move my legs again. I followed Adam into the closet and held my breath as I heard the key in the door knob. The door opened to a woman, not at all who I had expected and I let out a sigh of relief. She was younger which made me suspect her to be Mr. George’s daughter or maybe he had a thing for younger women.
“If that is his daughter she must take after her mother.” Adam remarked apparently thinking the same thing I was.
“Shh, focus we need to think of a way to get out of here without her noticing.” Just as I said this I noticed that the woman had disappeared. “Now, we have to go now!”











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We inched ourselves out of the closet towards the door trying our best to be silent. I looked around seeing no signs of the woman; I once again let out a sigh of relief. I may not have been able to change my grade but at least I could escape without being caught. Adam reached for the door knob and as he turned I heard footsteps getting closer, I spoke too soon.
“Who are you?! Don’t move!” I turned to see the woman; fear in her eyes; yep the F in world history was the least of my problems.

“I asked who you were. Are you going to answer or just stand there while I call the cops?” the woman picked up the phone from the stand and I could have sworn my heart was going to bust through my chest.

“No! Don’t do that, I mean we’re not a threat I promise.” I sounded ridiculous; did I really expect her to believe that we were breaking an entering for all the right reasons?

Adam looked at me and I knew he was trying to tell me to shut up but panic was all I could focus on. We had one mission, all we had to do was get in and get out, and it all seemed so easy but now standing here caught nothing seemed easy. The woman stared at us with the phone in her hand obviously waiting for an explanation, but I had lost the ability to form sentences. Adam looked between the woman and me trying to access the best way to proceed.

“Um, we were um, looking for Mr. Gordon.” Adam finally spoke it wasn’t very helpful but it was his best attempt at stalling and I was thankful for it.

“You were looking for Mr. Gordon?” the woman questioned looking less than pleased with Adams explanation.
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“Yes.” He answered in a small voice.
“In his house, that was locked? Sorry buddy, I’m not buying it but feel free to try to sell it to the police when they come.” The woman began to dial the phone and my panic level rose, I looked to Adam hoping to see a glimpse of an idea on his face but there was nothing. We were screwed.
Suddenly there was a flash of light that came through the front window; we all turned our attention towards the source of the light, headlights. This time the occupant of the car was the owner of the house, Mr. Gordon.

“Perfect, there’s dad now he can deal with you himself.” The woman said, hanging up the phone and placing it back on its console.

“You’re his daughter?” Adam asked.

“Really Adam, do you think that’s what is important right now?” I asked glaring at him. Yes he was my best friend but there were so many times when I questioned his intelligence. Right now was a perfect example of those times. He didn’t answer instead he shifted his gaze to the floor.
“You two need to have a seat and wait for my father, and then we’ll decide your punishment.” Mr. Gordon’s daughter gestured towards the couch and both Adam and I sat down without question. I let a good distance between Adam and myself this was his fault after all. I should have learned by now that nothing good ever came from listening to him and his genius ideas.


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It was a week ago in third period World History when Mr. Gordon asked me to stay after class to discuss my grade. I told Adam I would meet him after for lunch he agreed and went on his way. Unfortunately by the time the conversation was over I had lost my appetite.

“So what did he want?” Adam asked as I joined him at our lunch table.

“Oh, you know just to inform me that I am currently failing his class.”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I just made it up.” I answered sarcastically rolling my eyes. “Yes, I am serious. My parents are going to kill me.”

“Who says they have to find out?” I looked at him not understanding what he was getting at. My silence and confused expressions must have tipped him off that I needed a further explanation.
I looked at him sure that he had lost his mind, but on the other hand it did look easy in the movie. My parents were going to kill me if I failed this class. Failure was not an option in our family. The idea of changing my grade was becoming more and more appealing

“Ok, what’s the plan?”
I knew from the second I asked the question that there would be no turning back. I didn’t like that it had come to this, God knows the thought of Adam creating a plan and me agreeing to it was enough to scare me but unfortunately it was my only option.


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The plan seemed like something Adam had seen in one of his spy movies, equipped with disguises and escape routes. It was all so very Bond like, but I wouldn’t have expected anything else from Adam. He was the kind of guy who loved taking matters into his own hands and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. It was one of the qualities I admired most about him. He constantly pushed me to take risks with him so when I finally agreed to “Mission a Game.” Not the best title but I went with it. The plan he assured me was full proof we would first find Mr. Gordon’s grade book and “give you what you deserve.” He told me. It seemed easy enough all we had to do was get into the classroom, which was never an issue you just simply came back after the teachers had left tell the janitor you need something from the room and you were in.

Adam chose a Friday night to go through with the plan saying that doing it on Friday would ensure that we wouldn’t get caught, what he didn’t think about was that it also ensured that Mr. Gordon would take his grade book home with him.

“Casey, it will be fine. I have a plan b and this one is sure to work.”

“Your plan b is going to get us arrested, that’s a hell of a lot worse than an F. I might as well just take the F and deal with it.”

“Really Case? I know what your parents will do to you if they see an F on your report card; honestly the cops would probably have more mercy.”
He did have a point my parents wrath was undeniably worse than anything that the cops could dose out, but even with that there was still the fact that it didn’t matter which option I took my

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parents would be furious with the F or the police charges. With that in mind I reluctantly agreed to plan b and before I knew it here I was caught.

We sat in silence waiting for what seemed an eternity for Mr. Gordon to enter the house. The door finally opened and Mr. Gordon entered confusion covering his face at the sight of Adam and I on his couch. I looked to the floor unable to meet his eyes.

“What’s going on here?” Mr. Gordon questioned looking between us and his daughter.

“I came home and I found these two in the house, they say they are looking for you I was just about to call the police when you pulled up. I thought you would want to decide how to handle this.”

“How did you get in here?” Mr. Gordon asked neglecting to answer his daughter. He looked between Adam and I waiting for one of us to answer.

I looked to Adam who seemed to have no intention of giving an answer. Any other time he would have some witty response that would charm his way out of any situation. Not now though the one time we actually need it he comes up short.

“We, um, we picked the lock.”
Adam looked at me like I had just committed murder, I knew I should have come up with a lie but I couldn’t and so the all that was left was the truth.
“Wow, Ms. Jones I would expect this from Mr. Anders here but from you. Breaking and entering that’s a crime Ms. Jones and crimes are meant to be handled by the police.”
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Mr. Gordon held out his hand for signaling his daughter to hand him the phone.

“Wait! You can’t call the cops.” I exclaimed jumping off the couch.

“And why not?” he questions.

I pause for a second not having a good reason for why he shouldn’t continue dialing those numbers. I glanced around the room doing my best to stall. Just then I caught a glimpse of the computer screen which I had forgotten about and the memory of the file I had discovered moments earlier reentered my mind.

“Because I know what you did!”

The words came out more aggressively than I intended them to but there was no taking them back. I met Mr. Gordon’s eyes and could see the anger and a hint of confusion.

“What are you talking about?” It was his daughter that asked, Mr. Gordon never breaking eye contact with me. She looked between her father and I waiting for an answer that neither of us was going to give just yet.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Mr. Gordon continued our stare down never wavering, challenging me to step down. I knew I should just apologize and plead for him to just give me the F instead of the police charges but unfortunately my mind and my mouth were having communication issues tonight.
“Really, something tells me you know exactly what I am talking about Mr. Gordon.”

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I had no clue who the person was who was talking, it wasn’t me I had never been one to challenge authority and now I was, this had to be the Twilight Zone.

“Listen Ms. Jones, I don’t know what you think you know but I advise you to be wise when deciding what your next move is going to be.” He was calm but there was an edge to his voice that was different than anything I had ever experienced with Mr. Gordon. If I didn’t have a reason to stop before that edge in his voice was an excellent reason now. But I didn’t stop, I didn’t even attempt to.

“I know exactly what I am doing. Personally I think its wisest choice I could make. And unless you want what I saw on your computer to become public knowledge I think you will find it wise to hang up that phone.”

All eyes were on me at this point but I didn’t look anywhere but Mr. Gordon’s eyes, making sure he knew that I wasn’t bluffing. There was a small voice inside of my head screaming at me to take it all back but there was a louder voice telling me that I was doing great. I could see in Mr. Gordon’s eyes that he was scared, he tried to mask it with his confidence but I could see it.

“You really expect me to be scared of a 17 year old girl’s threat? Why would anyone believe you? The only proof is on that computer and no one has seen it but you and me. I have nothing to worry about; you on the other hand should start worrying about the story you are going to give the cops when they get here.”


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“Actually, she isn’t the only one who saw it, and it isn’t just on that computer.” I looked over at Adam who had risen from the couch holding up a flash drive. I smiled to myself knowing that it was a complete lie there was nothing on the flash drive and Adam didn’t have a clue about what I had seen on the computer but instead of letting me fry alone he had my back. I looked back at Mr. Gordon all confidence had left his face and all there was left was fear.

“Oh My God!” I was brought out of another stare down with Mr. Gordon as I heard the voice of his daughter. We all switched our focus to her, she was now sitting in front of the computer eyes wide and hand over her mouth.

“Christine, get away from there.” Mr. Gordon rushed over to his daughter turning off the computer.

“Is it true dad?” Christine asked not looking away from the black screen.
Mr. Gordon was silent which enough of an answer for her. After a few minutes of silence Christine looked to Adam and I.

“You guys can go we aren’t going to call the cops.”

“Christine what are you doing?” Mr. Gordon asked.
Christine finally looked up at her father, “if we call the cops on them t we might as well tell them to bring three sets of handcuffs, two for the burglars and one for the man who hit a little girl with his car and kept driving. You should really think about what you put on your computer dad.”












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Christine stormed out of the room leaving us all in silence not sure where to go from there. Five minutes had passed when Mr. Gordon finally spoke. “Go, I won’t call the cops just leave.”

I stood there still in shock not being able to move, unsure how I had gone from trying to change my grade in world history to watching my teacher having to face the disappointment in his daughter’s eyes. I wanted to apologize it had all just went terribly wrong but before I could say anything I was being pulled towards the door and Adam was telling me to get into the car.

I dreaded Monday morning and the suspense of what was to come. Adam assured me we were in the clear; Mr. Gordon’s daughter wouldn’t let him go to the police about us. If he did I felt assured she would gladly hand over the information on her father. He wouldn’t risk that. I just needed to relax Adam kept telling me, it didn’t help me and from Friday to Sunday night I maybe slept 4 hours. My mind raced knowing that even though he couldn’t give me up to the authorities he could still ruin my GPA. If there had been any chance of me changing that grade the old fashion way it was surely gone now.

“Will you chill out? He’s going to see how nervous you are when you walk into class and that’s just going to put a target on your back.”

“There’s already a target on my back Adam.”
Monday morning flew by and before I knew it, it was time for World History. I took my time as I walked toward the classroom; it wasn’t every day you had to face the teacher you blackmailed three days earlier. I knew I couldn’t be late that would only draw more attention to myself; I had
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to get it over with. I had to do it quick like ripping off a band aid, a really big band aid. The classroom was filled with chatter as my classmates discussed the events of their weekends; no one seemed to take notice as I walked through the door heart pounding and sweat forming on my forehead.

Mr. Gordon sat at his desk, he looked distracted not seeming to care that it was a minute until the bell and everyone was still chatting, but what could you expect? I’m sure after the information that was brought to his daughter’s attention on Friday their house was probably more than just a little tense. And it was my fault, all because I felt I deserved a better grade, yep I’m going to hell.
The bell rang and Mr. Gordon was pulled back to the present. “All right class settle down it’s time to begin.”
He didn’t look at me as I expected, he didn’t call on me once as he usually does just to put me on the spot. All the scenarios I had played over in my head for how class would go were nothing like the reality of it. I didn’t know if I should be grateful or fearful. There was only fifteen minutes of class left when the door opened and the principle and a cop walked into the room. My heart leapt into my throat. This was why class had gone so smoothly, Mr. Gordon didn’t have to torture me he had already handed me over to the authorities.

“Are you Mr. Arthur Gordon?” the officer asked as he approached the front of the room.

“Yes, is there something I can help you with officer?”

“I am going to need you step outside with me, sir.”












“May I ask what for officer?”

“It would be better if you came out into the hallway and discussed this.” The principle chimed in

“If it’s all the same to you gentleman I would prefer just getting it over with right now.”
The room was silent everyone looked at Mr. Gordon wondering why he would want the officer to say what he had to say in front of all of us. The officer looked between the principle and Mr. Gordon; this had to be a dream or a bad television show. There was no way this was reality, there was not a cop standing at the front of my third period classroom, I did not break into my teachers house over the weekend, and I definitely did not black mail him so that he wouldn’t call the cops. Nope, this was a bad dream. I would wake up and this would be all over.
“Arthur Gordon you are under arrest for the following felony: hit and run. You have the right to remain silent...”
I lost focus as the officer read Mr. Gordon his rights, all I could focus on his arms being hand cuffed. This had to be a dream, a really bad dream. I looked up pulling my gaze from Mr. Gordon’s handcuffed hands to meet his gaze. He stared at me, emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t name but I knew there was anger in there and it was directed at me. I watched as the officer escorted Mr. Gordon out of the classroom. This was reality, my teacher had given me an F and I was now giving him a possible jail sentence. It wasn’t a fair trade not by a long shot.

That night all the local news channels were talking about the local teacher who hit a young girl and continued driving. The screens flashed photos of Mr. Gordon, our school and the
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young who had lost her life that night. She was young, ten they said. Some channels showed her parents crying talking about how thankful they were that justice had finally been served, and then there was the interview with Christine, Mr. Gordon’s daughter.

“Tell us Ms. Gordon, is it true that you are the one who took the evidence against your father to the police?”

My eyes were glued to the television waiting for Christine’s response. Could she have really turned Mr. Gordon in? Her own father?

“Yes it is.”

“That couldn’t have been easy for you. Why would you do that?”
Christine froze; sadness crossed her face but quickly was replaced by anger.
“It was the right thing to do.” That was all she said before walking away.

Christine was right she had done the right thing but she had lost her father by doing so. She had given up her family to give peace to another’s. And it all happened because of a grade, a single letter on a report card.


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