"I'm so sorry, Bella," Kendra whispered, leaning against a stone pillar.
Bella went first. The crack of the cane against the fabric of her uniform was a sharp, stinging shock that radiated through her entire body. She gasped, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge of the bench, but she didn't cry out. By the third stroke, her eyes were swimming, the physical bite of the rattan serving as a visceral reminder of her lapsed judgment.
"Please, Ma'am," Kendra whispered. "It was my fault. I begged her." Bella And Kendra Caned For Cheating.mp4
"Indeed," Thorne replied, finally looking up with eyes that held no room for negotiation. "And she complied. You will both learn that loyalty to a friend does not supersede loyalty to the truth."
The two girls limped out into the hallway, the sting of the cane still pulsing with every step. They didn't speak until they reached the courtyard. "I'm so sorry, Bella," Kendra whispered, leaning against
"Academic integrity is the cornerstone of this institution," Thorne said, her voice like grinding stones. She didn’t look up. "Bella, you provided the answers. Kendra, you took them. In this school, the penalty for such a breach is not merely a failing grade."
Bella swallowed hard. She was the "golden girl," a straight-A student who had folded under the pressure of Kendra’s desperate pleas. Kendra, usually the life of every party, now looked pale, her bravado stripped away by the sight of the long, flexible rattan cane resting on the corner of the credenza. She gasped, her knuckles whitening as she gripped
Bella looked at her friend, the shared pain creating a new, albeit painful, bond. "Next time," Bella said, her voice shaky but firm, "we just study."