The Cheating Pact

No!

Freeze! Police!

My name is Heather,

I'm 17 years old,

and I'm under arrest

for the murder of my best friend.

This test

is the most important test of your life.

Okay, show of hands.

How many of you are signed up

to take to college entrance test this Saturday?

Okay, that's good.

And I know you're anxious to get in your prep time

with Ms. Walters, our C.E.T. Counselor,

so please feel free to sign up

for one of her tutoring sessions

before you leave today.

You know, in the last 20 years,

of all the high schools in america,

Lexington high

has placed, consistently,

in the top five percent

on the C.E.T.

Go patriots.

I'm so dreading this test.

Don't sweat it. They're just trying to scare us

so they'll sign up for their stupid little tutoring sessions.

Are you going to do it?

Hell no. I have better things to worry about,

like the homecoming dance.

Are you going to go?

Uh, I don't know yet.

Maybe.

What about you, Meredith?

You going to the dance?

Have you ever even been on a date before?

Got any photos of your boyfriend in here?

Oh, yep, here we go.

Look at this stud muffin.

Where'd you find him, the homeless shelter?

Kylie.

He's my little brother.

That was kind of mean.

Yeah, but it was fun.

25 more minutes.

Stop writing.

This concludes the test.

Close your booklets now.

Ready?

Okay? Yeah.

One, two, three.

What did you get?

You first.

1760.

1607?

I need at least a 2200 to get into a good school.

My mother is going to freak.

I know, but I paid her health insurance since you moved out.

No, I can't sell the house.

Are you serious?

Absolutely.

Look, Richard, you forget.

I didn't ask you for child support.

I could've but you weren't working at the time.

I paid my share, okay?

She's going to college next year.

We need to start putting more money away.

I can't, Brenda.

Right. I know you can't.

So-- look, I'm sorry. It's all I can do.

Okay, bye.

How's dad?

Honey, your dad is the nicest guy in the world,

but when it comes to raising kids

and maintaining a home,

he's a lousy business partner.

So what did you get?

1760.

Oh... Well, that's not bad.

No, it's bad.

I will not be getting a scholarship with that score.

Yeah, well, it you want to go to wittendale,

you're definitely going to need a scholarship.

I know, so I'm going to take it again,

and my homeroom teacher is going to help me.

Okay, good.

Good.

What happened?

I did the best I could, mom.

1607 out of 2400?

Your best? I can't accept that.

I'm sorry, mom.

Kylie, did you even study for this?

Yes.

Well, obviously not enough.

Do you think that your sister got into Yale

by skipping class in high school,

by hanging out with the football captain every day?

No, she did it by getting her work done.

I'll take the test again.

I'll really hit the books this time. I promise.

You know, Kylie, when I was your age,

I did what I had to,

and I always found a way to make it work.

You want to cheat on the college entrance exam?

Shh, lots of people do it.

No way. No way.

I looked it up online. It's not that hard.

All you have to do is get a couple fake ids

and put a picture of whoever's taking the test for you.

No, I'm not doing it, period.

Look at it this way.

What about the kid who's really good at fine arts,

music, or theater?

Does the C.E.T. Recognize their talent?

You write the best short stories, Heather.

Does the C.E.T. Have a section for that?

So I say, why not?

Why not just bend the rules a little bit,

get into the schools we want,

and save ourselves a whole lot of trouble.

Okay, say I might be interested,

which I'm not saying I am,

yet just suppose.

Who would even take the test for us?

Do you know what her score was?

2320,

but Meredith would never cheat on a test,

and after the way you treated her,

I don't think she'd cheat for you either.

But she'd cheat for you.

You were her best friend.

So that's why.

Look, offer her a thousand bucks.

Don't worry. My dad gives me allowance.

I'll front you the money.

Once she sees how much money she can make,

she'll take my test.

I doubt it.

Well, might as well ask.

What do you have to lose?

Congratulations.

So you kicked ass on the college entrance test.

Hi, Scott. Leave me alone, Scott.

I'm going head to head with the dreaded C.E.T. November 2nd,

and guess what?

I'm going to beat your score.

Good luck.

Hi, Heather.

Heather's so hot, I can't handle it.

Hey.

What do you want?

I heard. Did you actually get a 2320?

Do you really care?

That's amazing.

I mean, I'm not surprised. You were always so smart.

What's going on?

Did Kylie break up with you or did she give you the day off?

Why the attitude?

Thought we were friends?

You've barely spoken to me in almost a year,

which coincides directly with when Kylie started going here.

I know, and I'm sorry about that.

So are you going to Harvard or Yale?

No, I'm thinking somewhere close to home.

Maybe northridge.

I don't want to be too far from my brother.

Yeah. I want to go to wittendale,

but they aren't going to take me,

not with my score.

You can retake it.

Yeah, I don't think that's going to help.

I heard that some people are hiring smart kids to take the test for them.

For real?

Yeah. They're charging, like, a thousand dollars at least.

I bet with your score you could get at least that.

Oh, yeah, if I was crazy enough to do it.

So you wouldn't be interested?

Are you serious?

No way.

I'm going to talk to the insurance company,

maybe they work something out.

You can come by once a week.

I'm sorry, Mr. Porter. I can't.

Are you sure?

Well, think about it. Okay?

Dad, what's going on?

She just told me she won't be able to come by anymore.

Why not?

Well, as the first of the month,

my medical doesn't cover his physical therapy.

I've gotta pay out of pocket,

and now I'm just not making that much right now.

About time you got here.

What's up, dude?

Wanna watch a movie?

I can't. I got homework.

Hey, can I talk to you for a second?

Yeah, sure.

What's up?