CHAPTER 2: HONESTLY!
When my sister Tess’s letter appeared on our computer
screen, I knew something was wrong.
For an eleven-year-old tomboy, she’s fine, and we get along
pretty well. Her stuff is her stuff, and mine is mine. She does use the phone a
lot, but so do all her friends. We share a computer, too. It’s in the family
room. Our parents want it in the open.
Even our youngest brother, Timmy, uses it… for whatever a fourth-grader needs a
computer for.
Last Wednesday, I clicked the mouse to get started on our
computer, and a letter flashed on the screen:
Dear Mrs. Wilson:
Thank you for writing to us about Timmy’s cheating on the
math test. He knows now that we strongly disapprove of what he did, and we have
given him a suitable punishment.
We think this will not happen again, but please let us know
if it does.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Jean Williams
What is this all about? Timmy cheating? I hadn’t heard a
word. A letter from his teacher?
Wait a minute, I thought. Mom could not have written this
letter. She had been away all week visiting Grandma Adams during spring recess
at Mom’s middle school. Dad would not
have written it, either. Timmy could not write in such a grown-up fashion. That
left…Tess.
“Tess! Tess! Come in here.”
“I’m busy.”
“You’d better get here right away. I have something
important to ask you.”
My tall, slender sister in jeans and a sweatshirt walked in
casually.
“OK. What’s up?”
“Did you write this letter?” I pointed to the computer
screen.
“Well…yes. Why?”
“Did you print already it out and mail it?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Don’t!”
“Why not?”
“Because you are deceiving Timmy’s teacher and Mom and Dad,
and you would be forging Mom’s signature, too. THAT’s why!”
“So what?”
“You’re gonna be discovered. Mom, Dad, and Tim’s teacher
will be very angry about your dishonesty. Even if they don‘t find out, being
dishonest is a bad way to handle your problems. No one trusts a cheat.”
“I was just trying to help Timmy….”
“And Timmy was just trying to pass his math test. These are
merely just excuses. They don’t make it right.”
I explained to Tess that we were fortunate she had not yet
signed and sent the fake letter to Timmy’s teacher. That would have created a
big mess. I realized she might have changed her mind and not sent it, so I
didn't come down too hard on her. I think she understood, even though she did
not like being criticized. I was going to explain further when I heard the
front door slam. Timmy had come home.
“Tim, come in here!” I yelled.
Timmy tossed his baseball glove on the couch and came over
to the computer. His expression showed that he could tell from my tone of voice
that I was annoyed.
“What’s the matter, Rick?”
“Did you get in trouble in school for peeking at another
kid’s answers during your math test?”
“Er, yes.”
“Was your teacher angry?”
“Yes. I said I was sorry.”
“Did she give you a letter to bring home to your parents?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“In my room.”
“Bring it here, but before you do: Did you ask Tess to
write your teacher a letter pretending to be Mom?”
“No.”
“OK. Go get the teacher’s letter. Quickly.”
Tim returned with the letter. Sure enough, the teacher had
caught him peeking at another kid’s answers while they were taking their exam.
She wanted Mom and Dad to know.
“Do you realize you were cheating?”
“Yes, but nobody got hurt.”
“Actually, you got hurt.”
“How?”
“Well, when you play a game or a sport, and somebody
cheats, what do you think about that person?”
“No good.”
“Right. Is that how you want other people to think of you?”
“No.”
“If the cheater wins the game, how do you feel?”
“Bad.”
“Right. As you get older, you will have more tests, and
sometimes they will count for a lot. If you beat out someone else by cheating,
that person will be hurt unfairly.”
“OK.”
“If you think you can cheat rather than study, you won’t
study as hard, and you will learn less, too.”
“OK.”
“Tess tried to help you by writing a letter that would seem
to come from Mom. If she had sent it and if Mom and Dad or the school had found
out it was a fake, Tess would have been in big trouble. That’s forgery.
Grown-ups have gone to jail for doing it.”
“Oh.”
“OK. Let’s have dinner. I have stuff on the stove. Dad will
be home later, and I will have to tell him about all this. Be thankful the
phony letter was not sent. Next time, make sure Mom and Dad get the messages
from school.”
“OK.”
Tess helped set the table, and Tim helped clear it. As
usual, I ended up doing the dishes, but I don’t mind.
When Dad came home, I told him what had gone on. He said I
was right to tell him about it. He would need to discuss it with Mom. They
might have to keep a closer eye on Tim and on what was on the home computer.
Mom came home a few days later. She was quite annoyed. She
and Dad made Tess and Tim clean our backyard and the street in front of our
house.
Mom wrote her own letter to the teacher, not much different
from what Tess had dreamed up, but it was authentic.
MORAL: Honesty is the best policy.
NEXT: "Loose Lips Sink Ships"
