My Letter To The Stars

You Cheated

Corinth's Pov

"Okay guys don't be nervous, we have practiced the presentation so much, you guys know it like the back of your hand." Mrs.Jones attempted to keep our nerves in line. She kept smiling and It made me feel warm inside; knowing that what we were going to do today could change something for her. That feeling no one could ever truly toss into words.

"I think I can do it," I said in almost a whisper. Causing her to send me a grateful smile, while simultaneously mouthing 'thank you.'

"Sure you can, I know that you can," Lexa spoke up.

"Caleb, the cardiac muscle here isn't quite the way we wanted it, do you want to make some quick adjustments?" I tried to ask as I flipped the heart to face the back,but his eyes fell on mines, the straw felt suffocating but he didn't respond.

"Mrs.Jones, I'm gonna get some fresh air," Caleb asked before taking off.

"Yeah sure," she chuckled "he didn't even wait for me to say yes," Mrs.Jones explained as the three of us gazed over at him as he left the door marked exit.

The auditorium was overwhelmingly stacked. The talent was raw. before we initially set up. Mrs. Jones suggested that we walk around and observe how the other teams interacted. She insinuated that team-building skills and how well the team worked together gave off a positive reflection on not only our work ethics;  but our ability to work well, with varying personalities.

"Miss, so when you participated were you nervous?" I asked.

"Very, it was all so surreal, it was a make it or break it deal for my college application, so it meant a lot."

"Oh, I see."

"Good morning ladies." An old lady with light blonde hair and a pretty distinct mole that sat adjacent to her lips took our attention.

" That's one of the judges," Mrs.Jones whispered. While tapping my shoulder lightly.

"Good morning miss." Lex and I chorused.

"So what do we have here?" Her eyes grimaced around our presentation. I couldn't quite read her expression.

"Well." Caleb came back to our table and started explaining. He moved the heart in a way almost dissecting it. The way we built it was that it would be almost like a transformer. I was proud of how far we had came, despite the conflict that had arisen between us.

" Stop." The lady said her voice sharp and distinct causing a few tabled to the left of us to look over.

"May I ask why?" Lexa asked her voice trembling a bit. The lady just lightly tapped her chin.

"This presentation seems a bit too familiar." She explained causing all of us to look at each other. I felt my heart's palpitations speed up. I looked over at my colleagues but each of us were equally as dumbfounded.

"What do you mean by that?, my students have worked endlessly without breaks to make this in a unique way." Mrs.Jones came to our defense.

"You seem oddly familiar." The lady said as she continued tapping her chin." have you ever been apart of this competition before?"

"Uh Uhm. " Mrs.Jones stuttered. I noticed her eyes became glossy and her lips trembled a bit.

"Are you Tishauna Jones, from that team that imitated someone else's concept and came to compete as though it was uniquely yours?" The lady asked causing Mrs.Jones to swallow loudly.

"Yes I am, but my stud. . ."

"I don't want to hear another word, the students on table one, from one of the top high schools in the U.S. has the same exact research sketch as this team. I don't even want an explanation. It's just disappointing that after all these years your still a cheater." The lady added sharply causing all the air from my lungs to dry up.