Chapter 935
The school bell rang for the commencement of class in short order.
As all the morning classes scheduled were taught by the characteristically punctual Donovan, his continued absence had the class‘ students in a state of ardent speculation.
“It‘s already a dozen minutes past, so what‘s up with Mr. Baxter? There’s no reason why he should be this late, even if he‘s a newly–wed.”
“I don‘t think he’d take it that far, surely? Could he be on medical leave?”
They had no idea that Donovan was not actually late at all. Rather, he was at the lead of a collective of lecturers who had stormed up to Marcus‘ office.
“Mr. Brown!” said Donovan the moment he pushed through the doors. “There‘s a problem with the grades for this round of exams. Hence, I would like for your help in pulling up the class‘ surveillance footage so that we may launch an investigation into it!”
Marcus got himself quite a fright and adjusted his hyperopic glasses before he stood up on his feet. “What‘s going on, Mr. Baxter? Hmm? What brought all of you here as well, Professor Sleight? What‘s wrong with the results???
“Mr. Brown.” Arthur took a step forward and regarded him quite grimly. “There‘s absolutely nothing wrong with the results, but Mr. Baxter insisted that there was
and demanded that we come to see you.”
That left Marcus even more confounded, but he responded rather cheerfully, “Let‘s not get too worked up here. Why don’t I make us some tea so that we may talk this over calmly.”
“I don‘t take tea,” Donovan replied humorlessly. “Surely you must know what‘s at stake for this round of examinations, Mr. Brown. We cannot afford to have things go awry here, especially not with acts of cheating!”
“Cheating?” The stunned Marcus then began to inquire of Arthur in earnest. “You‘re the more level–headed one here, Professor Sleight. Why don’t you explain the situation to me.”
Arthur met Donovan’s cold eyes with his own frosty gaze before he turned his attention back to Marcus.
“It‘s like this, Mr. Brown. The issue isn‘t with the results, but with this one particular student doing exceptionally well. Mr. Baxter took exception with her scoring full marks for the four main classes and insisted that she cheated. Hence, he is compelling all of us here to have you look into the surveillance footage.”
“W–What? Full marks?” Marcus‘ eyes widened. Scarcely believing what he heard, he even thought he ought to have his ears checked, being this close to the age of retirement and all.
“You’ve heard it right. Full scores for four classes,”
Arthur affirmed with a nod and seemingly with a little pride attached.
Never mind that Donovan did not feel honored at having such a brilliant student hail from his own class, Arthur could not fathom how the former would venture to think that his own student‘s accomplishment was achieved through fraud.
As these papers were authored between themselves, there were no solutions to them available online. The only set of answers available had been locked away in the safety deposit box, where no one could possibly have access.
On the other end, a visibly shaken Marcus asked, “Who? Who was it who aced the four classes?”
“It‘s Arielle Moore,” Arthur said while he regarded Marcus. “As you‘re the one who brought her in yourself,
I assume that you should remember her well? She even helped us with the translation of Maxwell University‘s lesson plan on one occasion.”
“I remember her. I most certainly do!” Marcus‘ eyes lit up while he repeatedly nodded in the affirmative.
“Mr. Brown!” Donovan twitched his lips. His inflection elevated a notch as he conveyed a solemn caution. “Do not let yourself get too carried away here. Just think about this. How could someone like her, who had gotten herself enrolled through her connections, have managed to ace the papers the way she did? I‘d be able to understand if it had been Wendy, the most consistently
excellent student in our class. But Arielle? Impossible!”
“Donovan!” Arthur retorted in displeasure, “You really seem to have it in for Arielle. I always thought she was extraordinarily gifted, so how is it not possible for her to attain such results? You‘d do well to remember that while the few of us amongst the faculty struggled to translate Maxwell University‘s lesson plan for advanced mathematics, she managed to do so quickly and with extreme ease. Isn‘t that sufficient proof of her remarkable talents?”
