Charlie's Cheater

Mr. Stamp caught me cheating
And asked to speak to me after class

He said he noticed that I was cheating on my test
By glancing over at the test of the person next to me

He said he would allow me to retake the test
The next day during homeroom

I asked him what my punishment would be
And Mr. Stamp said he didn't believe in punishment
He believed in challenges

He gave me the challenge
That I was to cheat on every test
For the rest of the year

He would then attempt to catch me cheating
On every test

If he caught me
I would be allowed to retake the test the next day
But questions would be changed
And the newer questions would be harder
And require more detailed answers

If he didn't catch me
Then I would take the grade I received
By using alternative methods

'But,' he said, 'I can assure you I will catch you every single time.  As a matter of fact, if I fail to catch you even one time, you will get an instant "A" in this class.'

The game was on

At first I just tried basic methods
Writing things on my hand
On the desk
Wearing fake glasses
Then using them as mirrors
To see the test of the person behind me

But Mr. Stamp caught me each time

Then I got more creative

I had friends give out answers to me
By tapping their pencils on their desks in code
And coughing a certain number of times

Mr. Stamp still caught me

But I wasn't discouraged

I just needed to get by him one time
And I'd have that "A"

On the day of the last exam of the year
I figured it out

I showed up
I took the exam
I walked out of the classroom to my locker

A few minutes later
Mr. Stamp walked up to me

'You did it,' he said, 'You got by me.  I had my eyes on you the entire time.  I can't figure out what you did, but I just scanned your answers and you got them all right.  Congratulations, you have your "A" for the year.'

He walked away
Before I could tell him
How I did it

I guess he already knew

I didn't cheat

I stayed up all night
Three nights in a row
Studying

That last 'A' was one I earned
Fair and square

I can't tell you much about Mr. Stamp as a person
But I can tell you this

He was a really good teacher