The Cheater Read Online Free PDF

recess this afternoon to let things cool down. That Henry Austin—he has no shame. During testimony this morning, he stood up and started threatening the witnesses. I had to order him out of the courtroom.”
    Now Judge Phillips beckoned to his daughter. “Enough about that. Come in and sit down,” he said. “I want to speak with you.”
    Carter went into the study and sat in the leatherarmchair on the other side of her father’s desk. She waited to hear what he had to say.
    â€œPrinceton needs your latest math score as soon as possible don’t they?” he asked. “They’ll be making final decisions this month. What if I call the testing service right now and ask for your score? Then we can be sure Princeton will have it in time.”
    Carter tried to hide her nervousness by squeezing her notebooks with her hands—hard. She swallowed before she spoke, to help steady her voice.
    â€œGood idea, Daddy. Call them. I can’t wait to find out how I did.”
    The judge put on his glasses and reached for the telephone. “I’ve got the number right here,” he muttered.
    He dialed. Carter squeezed her books and shut her eyes.
    Please, she prayed, please let everything be okay.
    She hardly dared to think of all the things that could have gone wrong. What if Adam purposely messed up on the test?
    No, he wouldn’t do that, but he might not have done as well as he thought he had.
    Carter knew her father would be satisfied with nothing less than 700. She could imagine what would happen if she scored lower than that.
    He’d tell her to close the door. Then what? He’d make it clear that he was disappointed. He’d tell her that her life was ruined—and she’d ruined his too.
    But the worst possibility of all was much more terrible than that. What if the testing service said that they suspected that Carter had cheated?
    What if, somehow, they
knew?
    â€œThis is Judge John Phillips,” she heard her father say. “My daughter, Carter, took the math achievement test for the second time last Saturday. We need to send the score to Princeton right away. Would it be possible for you to give it to us early?”
    He paused. Then he put his hand over the receiver. “They’re going to give us the score now, over the phone,” he whispered.
    Carter’s knuckles went white. In her lap, out of her father’s sight, her hands were shaking. She gave him a queasy smile.
    â€œYes, I’m here. Phillips. Two
l’
s. That’s right.”
    There was another pause. Carter could hardly stand it. If they don’t hurry up and give him the score I’ll go crazy, she thought.
    â€œYes. Yes. Uh-huh. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
    Judge Phillips put down the phone, his face grave.
    â€œDaddy?” said Carter. “What did they say?”
    Her father stood up. Carter stared at him in horror as he moved around the desk toward her.
    What had they told him?
    â€œCarter,” he began, “I have never been as proud of you as I am at this moment.”
    Proud? He was proud? Her mind was whirling. That must be good—right?
    He stood by her chair now and took both her hands in his. “Carter, you can relax. Your score was seven thirty!”
    Now he broke into a wide smile. It was a few seconds before Carter understood what he had said. 730! She got a 730! Everything was all right.
    Judge Phillips pulled her up from her seat. Her books fell from her lap to the floor, but he didn’t notice. He spun her around and around.
    â€œPrinceton, here she comes!” he cried joyfully.
    Carter started to laugh. She had rarely seen her father so happy.
    At last he stopped twirling and said, “Hurry upstairs and tell your mother the good news. I’ve just got to run an errand. I won’t be long!”
    He rushed out. Carter stood in the middle of the study, stunned.
    A moment later Carter’s mother came