Longest one yet: 885 words! I guess this just proves that I love Nina and Benny too much for my own good...
Nina was as opposed to cheating as it could get. She yelled at Lincoln all the time when he let Benny and Usnavi copy his homework, telling him that they would never succeed if they didn't learn the material for themselves. She rolled her eyes at Lincoln when he realized, at midnight no less, that he had not done the math homework and flipped to the back of the book and copied out the answers. She especially did not like it when she overheard Usnavi and Benny talking about a new strategy to cheat on the upcoming test.
It surprised her very much when Benny knocked on their door one day, a day he knew Lincoln was out. The two were friends, no doubt denying it, but they hardly ever did things together when Lincoln wasn't around.
"Hi, Benny," her voice rose at the end, making it sound like a question. "Um, Lincoln's not home. You knew that, right?"
"Yeah," Benny stepped into the Rosarios' apartment as Nina stood aside to let him in, flashing her a smile that made her rather suspicious. "My question was for you, anyway."
"Oh," Nina gestured for him to sit down, which he did. Benny smiled at her again, then pulled a flier out of his jacket pocket.
"The high school is having a vocabulary challenge," he explained, passing the flier to her as she sat down as well. "We get five extra credit points if we do it, and ten if we score above a fifty percent."
"And why are you telling me this?" Nina was confused. She was only in sixth grade, nowhere near being in high school just yet.
"Well," Benny let out a huge breath. "I got my grade sheet yesterday, and I have a C. I did the math, and if I get at least eight points on this vocabulary thing, my grade bumps up to a B." Nina could tell that Benny really wanted to get those eight points by the way his eyes were practically pleading with her.
"What can I do to help?" she asked, feeling that this was the whole point of the conversation.
"Can you take it for me?" Benny asked her, looking her straight in her eyes. Nina blinked and looked away, thinking that she had heard wrong. Benny knew that she hated cheating of any sort, and he was asking her to take a test for him?
"Okay, first of all, I wouldn't do it even if I could," Nina said bossily, crossing her arms. "That's cheating, and you know I can't stand cheating. Besides, won't it look a little suspicious if a little sixth grader turned in a test with your name on it?"
"But see, that's what's great about it!" Benny bounced in his seat slightly. "Lincoln was talking with Carla – you know, the senior he met at youth group? – and she said that they don't take attendance. The tests are already put at the desks, you go in and take it, then turn it in. You even put it in a folder, which they seal when the last person finishes. They don't even look at the tests!"
"But I think they'd remember if you weren't there," Nina pointed out.
"That's why I will be there," Benny told her. "Lincoln wasn't going to take the test anyway – he has, like, a hundred percent in English – but Usnavi and I signed him up anyway. So there will be an extra test in there. You come instead, put my name on the test, and nobody has to know any better!"
Nina raised an eyebrow, looking critically at Benny's excited face. He had obviously been planning this for more than a few days, which made Nina wonder when exactly this test was.
"Couldn't I just help you study?" she asked, just realizing how odd this situation was. Benny was in high school, and she was barely in middle school. It should be the other way around, her asking him for help with schoolwork.
"Well…" Benny shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"The test is tomorrow, isn't it?" Nina asked, sighing.
"Maybe?" Benny took one of her hands and, squeezing it, said, "Please, Nina? I need to get a B in English. Do you have any idea what those eight stinking points will do to my GPA?"
Nina looked at Benny's hand, seeing it but not really understanding that it was there. She felt her cheeks turn pink. She blinked a couple times, reminding herself that Benny was her friend, that he was Lincoln's friend.
Nobody's ever held my hand before, she realized, smiling slightly. She knew that it didn't mean anything, but it still made her happy.
"Okay, but don't tell Lincoln," she agreed, smiling up at Benny. He pulled her into a brief hug, which made her giggle, then stood up, saying, "I've gotta go. I promised I'd meet Usnavi at the bodega. Want to come?"
"Sure," Nina shrugged, feeling rather pleased when Benny put an arm around her shoulders and they walked together out of the apartment. She felt a twinge of guilt for agreeing to help him cheat, but hey, it was only eight points, right?
Eight soon turned into twenty when she wound up taking both Usnavi's and Benny's tests for them the next day.
((Vocabulary))