Chapter 30 Beauty is sometimes the best alibi.
Nísia blinked innocently and pushed the notebook against Katherine's arm. “We're cousins, we're friends! How can you call that betrayal? It's mutual help. I'm happy to help you with what you can't understand on your own.”
“There's no need.”
With a fluid movement, Katherine pushed the notebook away, took off her glasses, and placed them on the table. “Excuse me. I'm going to the bathroom.”
She got up and left, leaving Nísia standing there with the rejected notebook and a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
The ten-minute break flew by.
When Katherine returned, the bell had rung just ten seconds earlier. However, the atmosphere in the classroom was strangely heavy. The students in the elite class, usually noisy, were sitting in absolute silence, two minutes before the bell. All eyes converged on a single point.
Professor Wilson was not at the podium. He was standing next to Katherine's desk, holding a familiar green notebook in his hand, looking at her as if he had just caught a criminal in the act.
Katherine slowed her pace, walking with her usual calm until she stopped in front of him. “Professor Wilson? Is there a problem?”
“Is there a problem?” Wilson let out a short, incredulous laugh.
BAM!
He slammed the green notebook hard against her desk. “I hoped you were just lazy, Katherine. But I see that now you're learning to be a thief too? To plagiarize?”
The room held its breath.
“I hear you made a bold bet with the head teacher, promising not to hurt the class average,” Wilson continued, his voice dripping with disdain. “I can tell you now, with absolute certainty: you've already lost!”
Katherine lowered her eyes to the table. Next to Nísia's notebook was a sheet of paper with two questions solved. The handwriting was obviously identical to that in the notebook.
The trap was set.
At that very moment, an arm rose dramatically in the front row.
“Professor!” Gabriel Park shouted, trying to save the day. "I don't think Katherine cheated! I was sitting in front of her the whole time and didn't see anything suspicious. She even refused to copy my answers when I offered!“
Professor Wilson turned to Gabriel, sarcasm dripping from his lips. ”What makes you think she would copy you, Gabriel? Take a look at your notebook. The questions circled in red are all wrong. Why would she copy a gross mistake?"
Gabriel opened his mouth but closed it, unable to argue.
“Professor, please don't judge me wrongly,” said Katherine, her firm voice cutting through the silence. “I didn't steal that notebook, nor did I copy anything.”
Wilson laughed again, shaking his head.
“Very well, defense attorney. Then explain to me: why was Nísia's notebook, with the correct answers, ‘hidden’ on your desk while you weren't here?”
All the students craned their necks to watch the show.
Katherine slowly turned her head toward Nísia. “She must have forgotten to take it back. Why don't you ask her?”
Wilson frowned and looked at his favorite student. “Nísia, is this the notebook you said you lost?”
Nísia stood up slowly, the perfect image of a reluctant victim. She walked to the desk, looked at the notebook, and bit her lower lip. “Yes... it's my notebook, professor.” She looked at Katherine with eyes brimming with pity. “But... I'm sure Cousin Katherine didn't mean any harm. Maybe she was just nervous about the assignment and borrowed it without asking...”
Ah, the masterstroke. “Borrowed without asking” was just a nice way of saying “stole.”
The room began to murmur, condemning the newcomer.
But then, a hand went up at the back of the room.
“That's not true, professor!” A student's voice rang out loud and clear.
Everyone turned around. It was one of the boys who sat diagonally across from her. “I saw everything. Nísia came over to Katherine's desk and deliberately left the notebook there.” Katherine wasn't even in the room when it happened. I can guarantee she didn't even touch it.“
As soon as he finished speaking, another boy agreed, nodding vigorously: ”It's true, professor. I saw it too. Nísia insisted that she keep the notebook before the break."
Nísia's face paled. She hadn't counted on witnesses.
The reason for the defense was simple and primitive: with a stunning beauty like Katherine sitting right there in front of them, it was impossible for the boys in the class to take their eyes off her. They watched her every move, fascinated, and ended up seeing exactly what happened.
Beauty is sometimes the best alibi.
The stares weighed heavily on Nísia. The perfect plan had fallen apart.
Her face lost color, turning visibly pale. She realized she needed to clean up the mess before her image as the “perfect girl” was tarnished.
“Ah... Now I remember!” she exclaimed, acting nervously.
“I offered my notebook because my cousin Katherine couldn't finish. My intention was only for her to use it as a reference, but... I never allowed her to copy directly from it.”
She bit her lower lip, lowering her eyes with an expression of misunderstood martyrdom.
Professor Wilson let out a heavy sigh, massaging his temples. He looked at Katherine reluctantly. “Very well. It seems there has been a misunderstanding about the theft. I apologize for that specific accusation. However...” His gaze hardened again. “The accusation of plagiarism remains. The evidence is on the table. Come to my office after class.”
“Professor, wait!”
An arm rose timidly in the air. Gabriel Park spoke up, his voice weak but determined. “She didn't copy it. I did.”
Silence fell over the room. Nisia turned her head so fast her neck cracked, panic shining in her eyes. Professor Wilson looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
Gabriel took his own notebook and placed it side by side with the sheet on Katherine's desk. “Look, professor. The handwriting is the same. It's my ugly handwriting. I saw that her sheet was blank and wanted to do a good deed... I just wanted to help her turn something in.”
Under Professor Wilson's laser gaze, Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, looking like a turtle trying to hide its head in its shell.
“A good deed?” Wilson exploded, his face turning purple.
"You call academic fraud a good deed? That's encouraging incompetence! Unbelievable! Since you all love wasting my class time, the three of you come with me to the principal's office as soon as the bell rings.
He turned his back, snorting, and resumed his explanation on the board with unnecessary aggression.