Frustrating My Cheating Mind-Reading Brother by Singing

My answers were a 100% match with my younger brother, Jacob Scott's, answers for 20 consecutive major exams. No matter how fast I completed my exam papers, he would always manage to complete his one second ahead of me. My class teacher had talked about this to me three times, and I was given a warning for cheating. When my classmates saw me, they said, "Hey, copycat, did you get caught again?" How could our answers be the same when I had never touched his papers at all? This continued until our SATs, when I suddenly saw a live chat overlay floating in the air. [Jacob is the chosen one. It must feel great for him to suddenly have the power to read minds! [He's been getting all the right answers by reading Jonah's mind. It doesn't matter that Jonah is a genius when he's relegated to a stepping stone for Jacob's road to success!] When I read through the exam papers, I started humming the alphabet song, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G…" Chapter 1 I had just gotten to 'C, D, E, F, G' of the alphabet song when I saw the expression on Jacob Scott's face freeze. He had been used to copying my answers without qualms, but this time, his pen paused in mid-air. He kept glancing in my direction, all red-faced. I could not help but burst out with a muffled laugh. Jacob panicked, and he stomped hard under the table, causing a loud bang in the silent exam hall. "That student in the front row, please pay attention to examination hall etiquette," the invigilator said in a low voice while sweeping a glance at him. Jacob turned red in the face and glared at me, looking like he wanted me dead. Since the live chat overlay said I was an obstacle in his way, I would go ahead and create a path for him that led to nowhere. I hummed as I stared at my exam papers and started my plan. The answer to the second question was B, but I purposely thought, "This was the question I got wrong in the mock exam. C must be the correct answer. I can't be careless about it this time." When I completed the calculations for the fifth question, the answer was D, but I made a point to think about it dramatically, "My calculation must be wrong. A seems like the logical answer. Alright, I'll go with A." This continued for all the subsequent questions, where I skewed the wrong answers into the correct ones by repeating the incorrect formula and calculations in my head over and over, worried that he did not get any of it. When I looked at Jacob's back from the corner of my eye, I caught him looking up once in a while to glance at me before lowering his head to copy the answers in my mind quickly, without even using any of the draft papers. When the invigilator walked past him and glanced at how quickly he was answering, an approving look appeared on his face, and when he walked past my table to see my almost empty papers, he sighed softly and walked away while shaking his head. I knew why he was feeling disappointed. I had always come in first when I was a sophomore and during the first semester of my junior year. The teachers were always sure that I would end up in an Ivy League university, but since Jacob was transferred to my class, my results dropped drastically, and I was even accused of cheating on the exams. Everyone thought I was going through a rebellious stage and picked up a bad attitude. During the last parent-teacher meeting, my father brought a bouquet of sunflowers specially for Jacob, but did not even glance at me. I did not look up as I continued to feed Jacob the wrong answers steadily. It was only one hour into the exam when I heard the sound of a pen cap being closed. Jacob swung his wrist around and was the first to stand up as every student in the exam hall looked at him in surprise. He picked up his exam papers and handed them in to the invigilator sitting at the front. Jacob made it a point to pass by my desk before handing in his papers, and he looked down to glance at my empty sheet, smiling gleefully. When the invigilator took his exam papers from him, he flipped through them and praised Jacob with a smile, "You completed the papers quite fast. It just proves that you're mentally prepared for such situations. I'm sure your results will be great." Jacob thanked with a wide smile and left the exam hall with a light step. Chapter 2 I watched as he walked out the door, and I could finally breathe with relief. I picked up my pen and scribbled fast on the exam papers with superhuman speed. I cleared my mind of all the incorrect answers, and all the right answers came flooding back. All of the multiple-choice answers and blank spaces were filled in with the right answers, and I made sure every step of the calculation was detailed as clearly as possible. I did not even miss out the formula derivation process as I scribbled it down. Every student around me was scratching their ears and biting the tips of their pens, but I used only 30 minutes to complete the exam. I even triple-checked all my answers. When I was done, I tidied up the draft papers used for the calculations according to sequence and piled them under my exam papers. If someone tried to find fault with me and accuse me of cheating, the complete calculation process on those draft papers would prove my innocence. Before the bell rang, I stood up with confidence to hand in my exam papers. When I walked out of the hall, I saw Jacob leaning against the railing of the corridor, bragging to his buddies about how easy the exam was, and he was confident of scoring more than 1,500 on his SATs to get into an Ivy League school. When Jacob saw me walking out, his eyes lit up, and he put his hand up in a peace sign, which was directed at me. His lips moved, and I could clearly see him mouth the words, "I'll be taking that spot at Kale University." [Ahhhh! My beloved male lead is so cool when he's being cocky. I love it!] [The second male lead looks so dumb right now. He will never beat our Jacob!] [Go, Jacob, Go! Kale University will be sending you the acceptance letter soon!] I smiled. Jacob probably has no idea that the answers I fed him were all wrong. When I walked out of the exam hall, I heard a trembling voice speaking pitifully, "Dad, Jonah's out." I looked up to see Jacob standing next to my father while my mother kept patting him on the back. Some parents and students standing around them turned to look in our direction, curious about what was about to happen. Jacob's eyes were brimming with tears when I came over, and he spoke louder than usual. "I know that you're often caught copying my answers by the teachers, Jonah, and you're upset about it, but you didn't need to knock over the cereal Mom put out for me this morning. "I had to take the exam on an empty stomach for two hours, and my hands were trembling when I was completing the last question. I almost passed out right there in the exam hall. Even if you're jealous of my results, you shouldn't mess with my future this way." His words created a minor commotion around us, and I saw a few students raising their phones to take pictures of me while mumbling, "So, that's him. The one who got a permanent record in his school files for copying Jacob Scott's answers. I knew it was true. That guy is just horrible." [Gosh, how malicious is Jonah to knock over Jacob's breakfast?] [Someone like that doesn't deserve to go to university. He should work in the factory as a blue-collar worker!] [It hurts to see Jacob this way. His results are still great despite starving while taking his exams. How motivational!] My father's face fell as he pointed at my nose to yell at me, "How did I ever have a lousy son like you? How can you hurt your brother just because you're a hopeless case?" Even my mother chimed in, "Your father's right. If this affects Jacob's result, you can forget about going to university. You should leave school and find a job right away to pay for Jacob to retake his exams next year." I watched three of them standing together like a complete family, while I seemed to be an unnecessary outsider. Jacob knocked over that bowl of cereal in the morning on purpose, but he accused me of doing it instead. I was in a hurry to get to the exam hall and did not think about recording any evidence. Who would believe me now if I tried to explain myself? Chapter 3 I was about to say something when my father waved me off impatiently, like I was something dirty. "Get lost. I don't want you here in our way. I'm taking Jacob out for his favorite food so that he can regain some strength for the afternoon exam." Jacob winked at me with a small smile, looking nothing like the victim he played just seconds ago. All three of them turned to leave without even looking back at me. The crowd around us dispersed, but they continued staring and pointing at me even before they left. I was not angry, and I smiled instead. When it was time for the afternoon exam, Jacob sat beside me on purpose, and he leaned into my ear to whisper, "You're just garbage that's only good enough to work at a factory. That spot in Kale University is mine." [Hahaha! Good job, Jacob! That's a nice line. A supporting character like Jonah is only good for making the male lead look good!] I ignored him. The moment I had the math papers in my hand, I started to repeat the wrong way to answer the questions in my mind. When the answer for the multiple-choice question was A, I would repeat silently in my mind to pick C. "This was the same question as the last time. The answer must be C." When the answer to one of the open-ended questions was 5, I would exclaim in my mind, "How did I get 5 from the calculations? The answer is obviously 7. Yikes, I almost lost points there." Even the correct answer to the bonus question that was worth 14 points was mutilated by me from the formula to the derivation process. I repeated it three times in my mind to make sure Jacob managed to copy the incorrect answer. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and saw his pen scribbling speedily on the paper without even using any of the draft papers. He wrote with ease without pausing, and this situation repeated for the next few exams. Jacob would pass in his papers early and leave the hall, and that was when I quickly filled in my papers with the correct answers. Every time we were done with an exam, Jacob would come up with different stories to complain to my parents about me. I would either be affecting his process by glaring at him during the exam, or I would be coughing on purpose just to make him jump outside the exam hall. My parents would always berate me, and I would listen quietly without explaining myself. They had no idea that every exam paper Jacob completed was a trap I had set for him. When I returned home, the laughter in the living room stopped the moment I pushed the door open. My mother walked out of the kitchen wearing an apron, and her face fell when she saw me. "What are you standing there for? We're having a celebration for Jacob today. His estimated score is at 1,550, which means he is sure to get into Kale University. You shouldn't upset him the moment you're home." Jacob was curled up on the couch when he heard my mother's words. He looked up and waved his phone at me. "Did you get your points estimate, Jonah? Our classmates are asking how you did. After all, you're used to copying my answers." I did not say anything, but went straight to my room and closed the door to block the noise outside. When I started scrolling through my friends' social media posts, the first post I saw was from Jacob, who posted ten minutes ago. [My score is estimated at 1,550. All the hard work paid off.] There were dozens of comments from our classmates below his post, heaping praises on him. [That's incredible! You're a genius!] [You're all set for Kale University, unlike someone who only cheats on their exam. This time, he'll probably end up in community college since he can't copy your answers on the exam.] I continued scrolling until I saw a post of mine from three months ago, when I received a certificate for being the champion in a competition. The latest comments below that post were from today, and they sounded horrible. [How dare a cheater post a picture of his face with that certificate! Did he copy that from Jacob as well?] [His score is probably estimated at 400 or 500 since he doesn't have the chance to copy any answers during the SATs.] Chapter 4 My fingers quivered, and I decided to stop scrolling, and I flung the phone to the side. It was not long before I heard Jacob speaking on the phone in the living room. His speaker was turned on, and I could hear the voice of our class teacher. "Jacob, I heard about your score estimate. It's incredible! Once the results are announced, I'll help you apply for the school's special scholarship and write you a letter of recommendation to Kale University. You're the pride of our school!" Jacob replied with great relish, and even after he hung up, his voice went an octave higher as he shouted toward my room, "Mom! Dad! Our class teacher says he'll be writing me a letter of recommendation to Kale University!" My father laughed so loudly that it hurt my ears. I sat in front of my desk, staring at the computer to search for the exam answers shared online, and I started to compare them one by one to get an estimate of my score. I had most of the answers right, as there were subjective answers in essays that might not hit the right note with examiners, but after using the strictest standard to take off possible points, my score was estimated at 1,560, 60 points higher than the minimum requirement for Kale University. I took out a folder from the innermost section of my drawer that I had locked up for six months, containing all the exam papers and drafts I used in twenty major school exams in the past year. My answers matched Jacob's 100% for all of them, but I had drafts that were filled with my draft calculations, and I took pictures of each of them and saved them in folders. They were evidence that I filed according to the dates, and I saved them in double-encrypted folders. Once our results were announced, these would become hard evidence against Jacob. After an entire afternoon of work, I started to get thirsty, so I headed downstairs to buy myself a cold drink. When I returned to my room, I found all my revision papers on the table, and the certificates I won in competitions that were on the wall had all been torn to shreds. I trembled with anger at the sight. "Oh, you're back, Jonah." I looked up to see Jacob chewing gum while leaning against my door. He shrugged and smiled innocently. "I was in your room looking for something and thought these useless pieces of paper were taking up too much space. You won't be able to attend Kale University anyway, and all these papers and certificates would just be rubbish. So, I threw them away for you. No need to thank me." [Good job tearing them up to shreds. Those lousy certificates were supposed to belong to Jacob anyway.] [Why would Jonah hide those papers?] [Hiding them was pointless. It's a fact that he can't get into Kale University.] … On the day the results were announced, I was still picking up the torn-up certificates in my room, but my father kept pushing me to check my score. When I walked out of the room, a laptop was sitting open with the College Board Student Score Reports page staring back at me. Jacob was leaning against the couch while sending a voice note to his friends. "The results will be announced soon. I have no problem scoring 1,550. Once it's official, I'll buy all of you a big meal." When Jacob saw me out of the room, he raised an eyebrow and said louder, "By the way, shouldn't you apologize to me for copying my answers so many times once the results are out, Jonah?" My father frowned and glared at me. "What are you standing there for? You should be learning from your younger brother. You can still get a job after finishing community college. Stop being a slacker at home." Jacob smiled as he went to the laptop to enter his username and password into the website gleefully. When he clicked on the submit button, he turned to glance at me with a taunting look in his eye. Everyone held their breath during the three seconds the page was loading, and when the results appeared, Jacob's scream almost blew the roof off. "No! That's impossible!"