Cynical By: Ila Ghosh

Introduction
Fifteen-year-old Melissa Hopkins from California Bench High School cheated on five tests in a row because she didn’t study for the test. For the whole weekend, she partied and didn’t care about anything else. This is what she did….
Chapter 1: The Invitations
During 6th period on Friday, there was a French 4 lesson going on. Mr. Louis was teaching them how to be fluent- speakers. He said, “Today, we have some exciting news. We are going to become fluent French speakers!” While he was explaining, Melissa’s best friend, Stephanie Harris, gave Melissa an invitation for a party on Saturday night.
Then, she accepted the invitation and said, “Thank you; I will be there.” When the bell rang, she went to English class and she received an invitation from her boyfriend, Logan Jacobs. It was an invitation to a party tonight. She didn’t pay attention to the lesson at all.
Then, when Mom picked her teenage daughter up, she asked, “What was your day like?”
Melissa responded, “It was okay. Up until Period 5 I was paying close attention to the lessons taught, but in the last 2 periods, I was distracted by my best friend and boyfriend. They gave me invitation to all-night parties.”
Mom asked, “Are you sure you’re going?”
“Yes, I am going.”
“You have 5 tests coming up and you HAVE TO get an A or a B. If you score high, you’ll get into a good college, and have a good life later on. If you cheat on the tests, I’ll ground you for a month!”
“Mom, I want to party!”
“You have to study, or else.”
“Ok, mom.”
“Good.”
But she went to the party and she didn’t study for the test. When she came back her mother steamed up with anger.
“MELISSA JILL HOPKINS, I THOUGHT YOU WOULD STAY HOME AND STUDY, BUT YOU HAVE WENT TO YOUR BOYFRIEND’S PARTY!!!! NOW YOU’LL FAIL!!! YOUR GRADES WILL SUFFER, YOUR DAD BE DISAPPOINTED AND IF YOU CHEAT, I’LL TELL EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY; GUESS WHAT IMPRESSION THEY WILL HAVE ON YOU?!?!?! AND THIS TIME, YOU CAME HOME AT 11PM, WHICH IS AN HOUR LATER THAN YOUR CURFEW!! NEXT TIME YOU DO THIS, YOU’LL GET A 3 HOUR CURFEW REDUCTION.”
“They’ll think I am a careless and bad girl.”
“That’s right. Now go to bed.”
“Okay.”

Part 2: Her BFF’s Party
The next day, Melissa woke up and started talking to her friends. Then, at 5pm, she just got out her best dress- a sparkling black and silver dress. Then, she started curling her hair, and applying makeup. She applied snow white eye shadow, Pitch Black eyeliner, waterproof mascara, peach colored blush, and crimson red lip stain. Then, she dangled her purse on her shoulder. She also put on her best shoes- a pair of black high heel shoes. Then, when it was time, her friend picked her up. Then, Melissa and Stephanie met attractive boys, tried out exotic foods, danced to cool music and at midnight, the party ended. When she saw her mother, she could tell that her mother was steamed up. Her face was bloodshot red and she just exploded at her daughter.
“MELISSA JILL HOPKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT’S IT; I HAD IT WITH YOU! YOU JUST SLIPPED OFF AND WENT TO YOUR BEST FRIEND’S PARTY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! AND THIS TIME, YOU CAME IN 2 HOURS LATER THAN YOUR CURFEW! YOU JUST GOT YOURSELF A CURFEW REDUCTION, WHICH WILL LAST FOR 3 WEEKS! YOU WILL COME BACK HOME AT 7:00 INSTEAD OF 10:00 FROM NOW ON! IF YOU DON’T EVEN LISTEN TO THIS CURFEW REDUCTION, YOU’LL BE GROUNDED!!!!! REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU YESTERDAY!?!?!? IF YOU CHEAT, EVERYBODY WILL KNOW ABOUT THIS! ALSO, YOU LOST YOUR PHONE FOR A DAY!!! NOW GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!!”
Melissa went up to her room and went to sleep. On Sunday, she didn’t study at all, either. Then, on Monday, she woke up nervous and shaky. “Well,” mom said, “you should have studied.”

Part 3: The Tests
During Period 1 (for Period 1, she had Science) her teacher handed the tests out and when Melissa got the test, she started to copy off of Rashid, who was the guy sitting next to her and an A student. Rashid at first didn’t notice, but then he reported her to the teacher. The teacher just took the test away and gave her a zero. Thinking it’s the end of the world, Melissa had put her head down. She did the same thing for periods 2-5. Kids had reported her, and she got zeroes. When she came home, her mother asked, “Melissa Jill Hopkins, what’s wrong? You got zeroes for ALL the tests. On Friday, I told you to study, but you didn’t listen at all. This is what happens if you don’t study. I’ll have to tell all your relatives about this. Oh and by the way, you’re grounded for a month.”
Her mother starts crying out of disappointment. Melissa went to her room and thought while sulking, “Why, Oh, why didn’t I study? I failed 5 tests and disappointed my mother…” She did this for like 10 minutes.

Moral: If you don’t study for your tests, you will end up getting a 0 or even worse. You might cheat and your parents will not feel good. So, you have to study!

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