Puan Aminah stood by the classroom window, watching sheets of rain sweeping across the school field. The field was littered with leaves and twigs, bouncing aimlessly along with the gusty wind. She turned her gaze from the window and looked at the bent heads of her students as they struggled with their Maths test. Some faces frowned while a few appeared clueless. One student though, was writing quickly, looking very pleased with himself.
She watched Hadi curiously. Maths was usually a torture for him, but today he seemed to answer the questions effortlessly. But suddenly, she caught Hadi craning his neck to take a peek at Lukman’s book. It was done in a flash and she almost missed it. Puan Aminah walked briskly to Hadi’s table and rapped it with her fingers.
“Hadi,” Puan Aminah’s voice was quiet but frosty as she looked sharply at Hadi. He jumped, dropping his pencil on the floor. “Hadi…follow me,” she spoke again as she signalled to Hadi with her finger, pointing to the bench that sat at the back of the class.
Several students noticed this and became rather nervous. They exchanged uneasy glances between themselves.
“The rest of you please continue. You have only 20 minutes left,” Puan Aminah announced, and the students forced their attention back to the test. Meanwhile, Hadi dragged himself to the back of the class. As he stood in front of his teacher, his head hung low and sweat began to sprout on his forehead. Puan Aminah motioned Hadi to sit next to her on the bench.
“Hadi, tell me why you were looking at Lukman’s book. You know this is a test, don’t you?” Puan Aminah asked.
Hadi remained silent and stared at his shoes. He lifted his face for a second but immediately turned to look away, unable to meet his teacher’s cold eyes.
“I am waiting, Hadi,” Puan Aminah said again, her voice firmer.
“I was looking at Lukman’s book to see his answers, Teacher. Lukman always get his answers right,” Hadi replied, still staring unblinkingly at his shoes.
“You know that you are cheating, aren’t you? And that cheating is wrong?”
After several moments, Hadi finally looked up at his teacher’s face. “I didn’t think it was wrong, Teacher, because Lukman will not be any less clever if I copied his answers….” Hadi replied before fixing his gaze on his shoes again. “Lukman is my friend, Teacher, and he won’t have minded,” he added.
“Hadi….,” Puan Aminah’s voice suddenly dropped in dismay. ‘Let me ask you something. When you were looking at Lukman’s answers, did it feel wrong? You didn’t want anyone to see, did you?”
Hadi began fidgeting with his fingers, obviously agitated. “No teacher, I didn’t want anyone to see,” he replied, his ears turning red.
“That is why it is wrong, Hadi. You knew it was wrong, and you were unjust not only to Lukman but to all your classmates,”
“Why am I unjust, Teacher?” Hadi responded defensively.
“Because you took the answers that someone else worked hard to get, and made them your own. You didn’t want anyone to see, because each person knows instinctively what is right and what is wrong. What you did was wrong, that is why you were afraid to be seen,” Puan Aminah spoke in her steady voice, watching her student’s face closely.
Hadi reflected on the words for a few moments. All of a sudden, copying his friend’s Maths answers, and not wanting to be found out, did seem wrong. Injustice, he suddenly realised, was doing something and afraid that others would know.
Written by: Hafidz Amarullah