On the way to Montmartre, I fell completely silent; I couldn't get a word out. This revelation really shook me. As I walked alone, Ronald having gotten a bit ahead, I pondered the possible causes and possible consequences this false rumor could have on my life.
I already had my theories about this. In my opinion, it must surely be due to something that happened a few months ago.
It was in February, or March; I'm not quite sure anymore. However, I'm certain it happened right after the holidays. During the holidays, I had studied a lot for the mock exams, which, admittedly, at first glance, didn't seem to count toward the brevet, but in fact, they did. Any grades you got would count as a coefficient of 5 toward your overall grade point average for the year, which counts toward the continuous assessment.
To tell you the truth, I even developed a technique to better remember lessons, but when I think back on it, I tell myself I was a little crazy. I would read my worksheets and record myself on my phone. Afterward, I would listen to it on repeat all night, and it's safe to say it had an effect when the graded papers were handed out.
To get back to the story, several students cheated, if not almost all of them, in front of a teacher who openly admitted in class that he let the students talk among themselves and give each other answers. Before he said that, I already had doubts about this pseudo-freedom granted to students, but this time, I felt anger.
How, as a teacher, can you let your students cheat? Maybe he thought he was doing good by allowing them to get good grades, but this attitude can only benefit them in the short term. I don't know if you see where I'm going with this, but to put it more simply, imagine you know that on an assessment, you'll be allowed to cheat.
I think a good number of you won't even take a minute to study, because you'll think, "What's the point of studying if I know I can cheat and get all the answers right?" However, maybe you'll get a very good grade on that assessment, but on the other hand, you won't take any time to study, and the time you can't cheat, you'll think, "Gee, if only I hadn't thought about cheating those times! I could have studied and I wouldn't be in this situation feeling sorry for myself."
It's not the addiction to cheating and the fact that a teacher lets it slide that bothers me the most. It's mainly the fact that I spent several hours studying, and that I'll get a lower grade than some who didn't even open their notebooks during the holidays. What bothers me most is the injustice and their dishonesty.
Afterwards, I felt severe stomach and headaches, but when I was asked what had caused them, I couldn't answer. After all, how could I say that my pain was caused by others cheating? How could I possibly ruin the teacher's career and the students' education? Who am I to denounce my classmates? All these questions tormented me, and I couldn't do anything about it.
Once home, I wrote a message on the class's general WhatsApp group:
::::"Good evening,
I know you probably won't believe this, but after the first day of the mock exam, I left school with a stomach ache and a very painful headache.
All this is because I saw you cheating.
Hard to believe? I admit that even I, if I were you, wouldn't believe it, but unfortunately, it's true.
I haven't told you this yet, but as soon as I see someone cheating, it hurts me because I think of the bad consequences it will cause you in the future.
Furthermore, what you are doing is unfair and unequal, because I, who studied several hours more than you, may get lower grades than you in some subjects, and in the future, you could be at an advantage because of this.
So please... Don't cheat, unless you want my suffering to continue."::::
After rereading this message, I realize that I'm not particularly convincing; my arguments are, above all, very poorly presented. As I should have expected, this message didn't have the desired effect at all. On the contrary, I received insults and criticisms to "put me in my place."
The next day, as I had feared, nothing had changed.
Arriving in Montmartre, I bought a sandwich at the bakery, then went to join Ron.
"I've been trying to think about the origins of the rumor currently spreading about me, and I think I have an idea. Could it be linked to what happened at the mock exam in February?"
"Yes, but that's not all. We all have irrefutable proof that you reported him."
"What proof are you talking about? It seems strange to me that there would be any, given that I didn't do anything."
"That one."
He then takes out his phone and plays me what sounds like a recording... in my voice!
::"Hello, Principal, please, before I begin, don't tell the students I told you. So, since the beginning of the year, there's a student, Arthur Bosquet, who's been cheating on every assessment, and even helping others do it. But what am I saying? Not since the beginning of the year, since the beginning of middle school.
You want proof? I have it! I recorded messages from him on my phone unequivocally stating that he was preparing cheat sheets and also that he was sending us the assessments already completed in the other class so we could have the answers in advance."::
"Do you have enough proof like that?"
How can that be possible? I've never said such words. There's only one possibility: the imposter used artificial intelligence.
"And obviously you believed it?"
"How can I not believe it? An audio recording is the most effective form of proof after a video."
"Didn't you think at some point that this could be a fake recording made by AI?"
"Oh, because it's possible?"
"Yes! And I can prove it to you!"
I then take out my phone, have Ronald read a text to record it, then open an app that allows you to modify a voice using artificial intelligence. I upload the AI-made recording with my voice, then activate a command to modify the voice of the audio file with Ron's.
I then play the modified audio to Ronald, who is stunned because he has just heard: the software really works, and it is extremely easy to modify a voice. "So, that would mean that..."
"Indeed, I'm innocent, and someone wanted to frame me."
"I'm sorry, Max, I was stupid to have believed that nonsense, I shouldn't have. Sorry, sorry!"
"Now, all I have to do is find the person who wanted to make me a scapegoat."
End of chapter