| The Cheat Jack Albert Albert Goussin, seated at the cafe Ondine, dipped the croissant into the black coffee and took a bite. The place was quiet except for the barman jingling empty glasses. Today there were no classes to teach, he could take his time. He opened the newspaper at the travel section and skimmed it for special rates for a trip he planned to take. He wished he could leave immediately. He had to admit ... he was mentally and physically exhausted, but he still had the final exam to face. Outside, the sun caressed the chestnut trees. It reminded him of the day they had buried Yvonne. Her memories still lived deep within him, becoming especially painful when he was alone in the house. His doctor had strongly encouraged a change of scene. Someone opened the door, and he heard bits of an ongoing conversation between two young men. The voices sounded familiar. He even thought he heard one of them mention his name. Being seated in a remote corner, he pushed his wrought iron seat farther behind the column where he could observe without being noticed. One boy, about seventeen, stared over the top of his metallic sunglasses, and surveyed the empty row of tables. "Very easy to do," he said to the second boy who was still outside. The first boy looked at his reflection in the glass and carefully combed his styled black hair. Goussin smiled. He had almost not recognized Antonin, who was one of his students, all decked out in a western shirt covered with sequins and wearing L.A. Gear sneakers. The second boy came in. It was Jules Lenoir, another of his students. "I'm not sure this is where we should be discussing it," Jules said, looking around. "I've seen Goussin in here once or twice." Goussin hunched down in his chair, wondering in passing if Jules' father, policeman Lenoir, knew that his son spent time loitering around coffee shops. Jules seated himself at a table, across from Antonin. Goussin could only see his back. The barman came over and took their orders. The boys waited a while before resuming their conversation. "Are you still trying to get me to trick Goussin into giving you a make up exam?" Jules finally said, nervously passing his fingers over his close cropped blond hair as his friend opened a comics magazine and started to skim through it. "It'll be an adventure," Antonin said. "You had your fun, playing around instead of studying for the final," Jules said. "Am I now supposed to get your derriere out of the fire?" "Yes, but what a thrill," Antonin said, as he continued to leaf through the magazine. "To tell you the truth, I don't see much thrill in your plan." Antonin closed the magazine, thought for a while then looked his friend in the eye. "No, I guess it wouldn't thrill you," he said. "But imagine yourself as a modern Prince Valiant, dashing out to help a companion in need." "Blah-blah-blah." "It'll be good," Antonin said. "Afterwards, we'll both remember it and laugh." "Hah, I'm laughing already," Jules said. "This old song is getting pretty tiresome." The barman brought over cafes au lait and vanilla eclairs for two. "Delicious," Antonin said, biting into a pastry. "How do you like it?" Jules nodded. "It's all on me, friend," Antonin said and put his hand on Jules' shoulder. "Now will you do it?" Jules thought about the question. "And there's little risk involved?" Jules said. "I'll take care of everything." There was another silence from Jules. Antonin looked at him with insistence, expecting an answer. "Well, okay I guess," Jules said. Antonin smiled and shook his hand several times. Goussin waited a while for the boys to leave, and stood up to pay. Something he'd just read in the paper came back to him. "The fish are biting in Ibiza," he said to himself. Goussin looked around the classroom. It was filled with students busily writing down answers on notebooks of ruled paper. In another hour and a half, the fastest among them would start handing in their completed papers, while the exam itself would end half an hour after that. Then, all the way from the other side of the room, someone called for "M'sieur Goussin!". He looked in that direction and recognized the sequined shirt and L.A. Gear sneakers. Antonin's face exuded pain as he held on to his stomach and whispered to him. Goussin nodded, and called for the school secretary to accompany the boy to the restroom. The hands on the wall clock continued their round for a few minutes. Antonin returned to his seat and began to work on the exam. The clock hands raced some more, then the boy called Goussin once more, again to complain about a colic. The teacher looked at the boy's face. His pupils were dilated and his skin sweaty. Goussin called the school nurse. Upon her arrival, the beads of sweat on Antonin's forehead seemed to grow larger. "This may be due to a virus or even some stress, who knows?" Goussin said in a comforting tone. "At any rate, I hope it's nothing serious." The statement of grief on Antonin's face increased as the hefty nurse pushed him in the direction of the infirmary. "Lucky for you that docteur Taille is in today," she said. "He is very thorough and will find out what's wrong." Antonin made a very sick sound. It was nine o'clock of the following morning. Goussin was in his office and watched as a shadow fluttered across the frosted glass door. "Jules?" he said. The boy came in. For someone his generation, his clothes looked ordinary. He wore a pair of khaki slacks, a white shirt and regular three hole brown shoes. The teacher glanced at the opposite side of the room, where two windows let the pale light come in: it was going to be another cloudy day in this suburb of Paris. Jules sat in one of the two old chairs facing his wooden desk. A moment later, Antonin walked in. "Morning," Goussin said. He tried to hide a smile. Two days had passed, but Antonin still carried a pained statement on his face. Goussin deliberately pulled a crumpled handkerchief from his back pocket and cleaned his eyeglasses. He put them back on his nose and looked at the boys seated in front of him. "My friends," he said, "I am a very unhappy man. I was hoping that the colic that Antonin experienced during the final was just a passing thing, a quirk of nature." He looked at Jules. "But now it seems that you had something to do with it?" "Me, monsieur? What have I done?" The teacher cleared his throat. "Would you mind answering a few questions?" he said. "Of course." "The morning of the exam, what time did you come to school?" Jules said that it was an important final, scheduled to start at eight, and that he wanted to make sure he was on time. He was in the school yard around seven-thirty. A number of students were already there, waiting. "Did you talk to anyone?" "Antonin." "About what?" "He complained about some hoarseness in his throat." Antonin's face turned crimson, as he started to stir in his chair. With repeated gestures of his right hand, Goussin ordered him to be quiet. He strolled across the room, and stopped near a window. There was a clear spot on the glass created by the rain of the night before. Through it, he saw that the fog was getting denser. He imagined that at this moment, off the coast of Spain, fishing boats were leaving with the tide. He could smell new paint on the old hull, hear the wood creaking, and feel the force of the wind whipping the sail. Soon, he would be standing on that deck, carefully choosing a live sardine and piercing its wriggling body with a steel hook. Meanwhile, unaffected by the heaving waves, the captain stood erect, reading the current. He looked solemnly around him, then raised his hand. Not yet, his gesture meant, this was not a good spot. The fish schools were a bit further away. Just a few more minutes and they'd be there. The captain then came to him, smiled, and handed him a wine flask made of rough leather. "Salud." "Too early in the morning," Goussin said. There was an amused giggle. "...too early, monsieur?" Jules said. The teacher saw his face mirrored in the pane, and was startled to recognize the round features, thinning black hair and the glasses with large circular rims. The man that looked back at him with half shut eyelids had been lost in a faraway dream. He turned around to face Jules. "...I meant to say, that the day of the final, early in the morning, everybody was somewhat nervous. That is perfectly normal. You say that Antonin's voice was hoarse. Did you offer him anything, maybe some food or refreshment, to help him out?" "I gave him a mint candy." "Poisoned candy is what he gave me," Antonin said, as if preparing to pounce on Jules. Still seated, Jules moved his body away a little. The teacher grabbed Antonin by the shoulders, and forced him back in the chair. "Gentlemen, gentlemen, please!" he shouted, forcefully pounding his desk and tipping a glass ball he used as a paperweight. The ball slowly started to roll toward the edge. He caught it, put it back with care, and watched the animated scene inside, as the snow fell over the quiet village. "Now, about that candy, Jules?" he said after a while. "Do you recall specifically what type it was?" "It was an Altoid. My favorite mint." "Where did it come from?" "From the 'Cowboy' stand. Across the street." Goussin scratched the bald spot in back of his head with the middle finger of his right hand. He looked at Jules. "Antonin says that he had been in good health the days before the exam, and that he had eaten breakfast together with his family that morning. No one had complained about any illness. It looks very likely that his colic was caused by the bonbon you gave him." Jules looked at his feet, then at Antonin who was staring out the window. "Jules Lenoir," the teacher said, "do you have anything to say?" The boy continued to look out the window. "Look, you two ... I don't have much time for charades, but I was at the Cafe Ondine and heard you discuss your little plot. Then afterwards, I figured out how you did it." The two boys looked at each other in amazement. "Yes, I was there the whole time," he said, "seated behind a column. I don't think it's very funny. I want you to convince me why I should not ask the principal to send each of you a letter of eviction from the lycee." Antonin was the first to recover. "Eviction? You must be joking," he said. "Just remember who my dad is, president of the Banque Paysanne. All he has to do is make one phone call, and the principal will forget about sending any such letter." Antonin got up, said "Good day, monsieur," and left. Jules, who had been silent throughout the exchange, looked at Goussin. "Antonin's father is rich," he said, "and my dad only works for the City Police, so he has no influence." Goussin listened as the boy went on ... "Antonin convinced me to go along with his scheme, and act as if I had given him a mint laced with Ex-Lax. According to the plan, you would put the blame on me and give Antonin a make up exam. Thus, he would be allowed enough time to prepare." "Anything else?" "Yes, I am sorry to have taken part in this deception. Truly sorry, monsieur. Please do not throw me out of school." "What you have done is very bad. But you have confessed, and I will, for the time being, forget about the expulsion. But at the least sign of further malfeasance, you're out for good." "Thank you, monsieur. You will never have any reason to be unhappy with me." After Jules' departure, Goussin decided to go home. It was getting late and he had to finish packing. The only missing item he needed to take along was his fishing rod, which he had forgotten at the office. The next morning, he made a quick trip there to pick it up. To his surprise, he saw that Antonin was waiting for him. The boy asked if he had heard the news. He said he had not. "It was certainly unexpected. Bad scene altogether," Antonin said. "I guess what it means is that from now on, I'm going to have to change my ways." "Speaking in general," Goussin said, "I agree it's a good idea. But would you mind explaining what you're talking about?" "My dad's company, Banque Paysanne, declared bankruptcy last night. Rather bad timing, I'd say." "I am sorry," Goussin said, trying to put a serious statement on his face. "Please forgive me for what I said yesterday. I hope that Jules will forgive me too. It was too easy, he is just the type who will do anything I say." "Not any more," Goussin said. "There is one point that still puzzles me." "Yes, monsieur?" "I have been officially informed by docteur Taille that you had a colic caused by ingestion of a laxative. But according to my information, didn't your plan only call for you to fake a colic?" Antonin looked embarrassed. "I did not expect the nurse to take me to see docteur Taille," he said looking at his L.A. Gears. "On my way to the infirmary, I frantically searched through my pockets. Lucky for me, I found a real Ex-Lax tablet and took it." The teacher shook his head. "And by the time you reached the doctor, your colic was for real." Antonin nodded. The teacher was forced to smile. "I know that from now on, my situation is changed, and so is my attitude," Antonin said. "Please do not expel me from school. I want to take the exam over." "Had you come to me with such words yesterday," Goussin said, "I would have tried to fix things. But I am about to go on a vacation, one that I need badly." "Has the principal already decided to dismiss me?" "He hasn't told me," the teacher said. "Is this what you want? Expel me permanently from school?" Goussin scratched his chin. "Yesterday, my main concern was whether I was going to condone cheating during exams," he said. "Was I going to allow you to cheat, because you have influential parents? After you told me that the possibility of a dismissal was of little concern to you, I sent in such a request, just to see what would happen." "People make mistakes," Antonin said, "especially at my young age. I have recognized my wrongdoing and apologized to everybody. ... What good could possibly come from expelling me?" The boy sounded very serious. Goussin went to the window, mulling the question. "... I think of you as a gifted young man who has up till now wasted his talent," he said, making sure the pane was secure. "I agree that your expulsion is not going to produce much good." "Then will you let me take the exam over?" Goussin stared at him in silence. He lowered the venetian blinds and wondered whether Antonin deserved more help than another, more average student. Goussin could either benefit himself and go on the trip, or help Antonin and stay over. Trying to make up his mind, he took the fishing rod and walked onto the schoolyard, Antonin trotting behind him. Looking across the large empty space, he noticed the cracks and multicolored blemishes on the gray concrete walls of the school building. The large windows looked back at him through dusty glasses, and reminded him of all the classrooms he had lectured in. There was one pane near the far end of the building that had a hole that was not yet repaired. He must have told the janitor about it a thousand times. He also noticed that other room, where in answer to a boy's stupid question, he threw the chalk eraser against the window, the milky outlines of the little rectangle were still visible on the glass. Goussin looked over his shoulder, and saw that Antonin was still following. "Will you, monsieur Goussin, will you," Antonin asked. "The fish are biting in Ibiza," Goussin said and continued walking. The End
'The Cheat' was published in issue #33 of "Lucid Moon" (May 1999) Copyright 2000 by Jack Albert. No part of this short story may be reproduced except for the purposes of a quote. All rights revert back to the author. HOME PAGE & ARCHIVES
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