Chapter 8 - Logan’s ExamLogan took the same neutral exam three days later.
Rachel dropped him off.
No special advantage.
No Victor.
No Mason.
No secret meeting.
Before Logan entered, Rachel asked:
“Nervous?”
“Yes.”
“Want inspirational speech?”
“No.”
“Excellent.”
He smiled.
Then stopped.
“What if this whole thing screws up my application?”
Rachel answered honestly.
“It might complicate things.”
He looked down.
“But helping Mason cheat would have been worse.”
“Yes.”
“What if nobody knows that?”
“We know.”
That was enough.
Logan scored 97th percentile.
Top tier.
The New York schools Victor had dangled as leverage were suddenly interested without him.
One admissions officer requested an interview after seeing Logan’s academic record and integrity statement from the exam administrator.
Rachel showed him the email.
Logan laughed.
“He threatened to withhold something I didn’t need him for.”
“Power often looks larger when nobody tests it.”
Another lesson.
But Logan’s self-accountability arrived too.
He had been tempted.
Not by cheating.
By Victor’s offer.
Top schools.
Recommendation.
Access.
For one second in that office, before saying no, Logan imagined what Victor could do for him.
He admitted it to Rachel.
“So?”
“I feel gross.”
“Why?”
“Because I considered it.”
“You considered the benefit.”
“Yes.”
“Then chose.”
“Yes.”
“That’s what ethics usually looks like.”
Not purity.
Choice under pressure.
May you like
Logan stopped expecting himself to have felt no temptation.
That made his refusal more real.
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