"Thanks," she said shortly, all business, and turned to walk away.

"Good luck with the test," he called after her, but she ignored him and leftthe room.

The room fell silent for a few second, and then Gary popped up from behind thewood. "Looked good from here," he announced, "I think I got some good shots."He began climbing down the ladder as Neil walked over to the cupboard whereSharon was hiding. He opened the door and helped her out from behind the cameratripod.

"That was great," she chortled, "I got everything."

Neil reached into his jacket and pulled out the small radio-microphone. Hehanded it over to Sharon who clipped it back onto the video camera.

"Well guys," Gary stated, "A little bit of editing, and I think we have her."

Neil began to get hard again, just thinking about what that meant…

They waited almost two weeks before lowering the boom. By that time, theEnglish exam had come and gone, and Miss Frankel had read out the marks inclass. Stacy had received the highest mark ever given out in Miss Frankel’sEnglish class, a fact commented upon several times by the impressed teacher.Neil, on the other hand, had barely passed. When his mark was announced, Stacygave him a startled glance, but then quickly looked away. If he was so stupidthat he could barely pass with advance notice of the questions, that was hisproblem.

By that time, Gary and Sharon had suitably edited the video and audio evidence,and Gary had developed a large number of prints from his still pictures of theevent. Gary still hoped that the audio tape would be enough on its own (hedidn’t want Stacy to realise the extent of the plot against her), but if not,the additional evidence was very convincing. Everything had turned out perfect:Stacy’s actions and words were crystal clear, while Neil was unrecognizable.Between his disguised voice and positioning during the filming, there was noway to prove the identity of the person from whom Stacy bought the stolen exampaper. Gary thought that this, along with the fact that Stacy had done so welland Neil so poorly on the test, should serve to protect Neil from expulsion ifthey were forced to use the evidence. As well, Gary and Sharon were willing togive Neil an alibi. At best, it would be Stacy’s word against their’s, and, ifit came to that, Stacy’s word would not be worth much by then.

So, it seemed that everything was in order. All that remained was to determinethe method of delivery…

The small package arrived in the mail at the Richard household on the Fridayalmost two weeks after the English exam. It was addressed to Stacy. When it wasopened, a cassette tape fell out along with a small piece of note paper. Shepicked it up and read it: 'SAT. MORNING: 10:00 AM STEWART PARK FOUNTAIN. It waswritten in clumsy block letters.

Puzzled, she took the tape up to her room, slipped it into her walkman, put onthe head-phones and hit the play button. Almost at once, her head was filledwith the sound of her own voice:

"I heard you have a copy of next week’s English exam. Is that true?"

"Why do you want to know?" That was Neil! What was going on here? There was abrief hissing, then the tape continued, relentlessly. Stacy listened inpanicked disbelief.

"I want a copy of that exam. I need it for this weekend."

"Stacy, you mean you want a copy of a stolen exam paper so you can cheat onnext Monday’s English test."

"Yes. I need it to pass the exam… I’ll pay money. How about $100? Please?"

"Alright, I’ll sell you the stolen exam paper for $100. Will that be all,Stacy, or do you want any more exams? I can probably get whatever you want."

"That sounds great. I’ll buy whatever you can get for the classes I’m in. $100a paper."

"It’s a deal. Meet me tomorrow after school in the woodworking shop. It shouldbe deserted on Friday afternoon… Don’t forget the money."

The hissing stopped for a second as the tape fell silent, but before Stacy hitthe stop button, it started up again, this time with a small humming sound inthe background. The fans, Stacy realised, fighting down panic, the fans in thewoodworking shop. Trembling, she listened as the voices began once again:

"Well," her voice again, "Do you have it?"

"I’ve got it. One stolen English exam paper for Stacy Richards. And my money?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and they the sound of paper beingcrinkled.

"It’s all there; you don’t have to worry about that… now or in the future."

"Fine, It’s all yours."

"Thanks."

The voices fell silent, and she heard a door slam: the shop door slamming whenshe left the room. The hiss slowly faded as the recording came to halt.

Hands trembling, she pulled the ear-phones off her head and sat still instunned disbelief. This couldn’t be happening to her! Her eyes brimmed overwith tears as she picked up the note and re-read it. The writing blurredthrough the tears as she realised that she had no choice: she would have to goto the meeting tomorrow and see what he wanted.

Neil checked his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes: still fiveminutes to go before the 10:00 meeting with Stacy. He paced back and forth onthe path before the fountain, pausing only to push back his stringy, brown hairand survey the surrounding area for any sign of her approach. The park wasempty, however, with the exception of a few joggers and the odd person outwalking their dog. (At least, Neil thought they were odd; he hated dogs.) Thearea around the fountain was pretty much deserted, which made it perfect forthe upcoming meeting. If, of course, that meeting ever took place. DespiteGary’s repeated assurances, Neil was still not certain that Stacy would showup. He half-expected to see a police car pull into the parking lot or somethinglike that. Gary, however, had been sure of their plan. He argued that forsomeone like Stacy, social standing and reputation were all; she wouldn’t puteither at risk by taking any chances that the evidence of her cheating wouldget out. Sharon had agreed with him, but Neil was not so sure; it wasn’tSharon’s or Gary’s ass on the line out here in the park. Still, he thought, itwas worth a try, particularly considering the potential prize at the end of theday! He checked his watch again: still a few minutes to go. Neil looked up andscanned the park - if she didn’t appear soon…

There she was: large as life and twice as beautiful! Stacy was approachingslowly along the jogging path which led into the park from the beach; she musthave parked her car in the beach parking lot, where it was much less likely tobe seen. That made sense. As far as Neil could tell, she was alone, which easedhis anxiety considerably. Maybe this would work after all. He stopped pacingand watched as she walked towards him.

As she drew closer, he saw that her eyes were red and puffy, as though she hadbeen recently crying, or hadn’t slept much. Maybe both. She looked scared. Ifanything, though, Neil thought it made her even more gorgeous. This is reallygoing to work, Neil thought to himself, his heart picking up speed.

Finally, she reached the circular path before the fountain and, afterhesitating briefly, she walked up to him.

"Stacy," he greeted her…

Stacy had indeed spent an almost sleepless night, tossing and turning inanticipation of what would happen the next morning. When she finally did getup, she was almost exhausted with apprehension. All she could think about waswhat had happened to the last person who had been caught with a stolen exampaper. The expulsion from school… the criminal charges… the publicexposure! That was the worst. The thought of the humiliation made her trembleas she quickly got ready to leave for her encounter with the person who sentthe note. A brief excuse to her parents at breakfast, and she was out the doorand on her way.