Corinne glanced at Josephine, who looked as smug as her mother down the stage.
“Yes, you both got perfect scores. You were fast asleep when the result was announced,” said the host.
Corinne yawned and uttered lightly, “That’s impossible.”
The reporters and camera people all looked at her with disbelief.
“What does she mean? That she got a perfect score, or that Josephine got a perfect score?”
“It’s the latter, duh! Miss Corinne must’ve expected Miss Josephine to have forgotten all the things she learned in
high school. Miss Josephine getting a perfect score so effortlessly was out of her expectation.”
“That makes sense. Miss Corinne is just too cocky for her good.”
The discussion kept going on off the stage.
“Miss Corinne, let me explain,” said the host. “After you both handed in the test paper, the teacher came up to the
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtstage to mark them. Once he was done marking, the result was shown to everyone here and the people watching
the live broadcast. There was no objection raised.
“Which brings us to now. Miss Josephine thinks she should be crowned the winner since she was the first to hand in
her test paper. We’d like to hear if you have anything to say about that.”
Corinne covered her mouth and yawned lazily. “Just because she handed in the paper first doesn’t mean she’s
smarter than me. I mean, I’ve never heard of bonus marks being given for the person handing in their test paper
first.”
“Even without the extra marks given for handing in her test paper first, we still think Miss Josephine is smarter than
you!” shouted a reporter.
Corinne turned to him. “Why?”
“Because not only did you study in the best university in the country but also had plenty of time to get yourself up
to speed on all the high school subjects you failed to learn in the past. Miss Josephine spent all her time working on
her family’s farm for the past few years, yet she still managed to get a perfect score. Is that not enough to prove
she’s smarter than you?” the reporter replied.
Corinne chuckled softly. “Sir, your conclusion is clearly based on the assumption that I stole Miss Josephine’s
university spot. So it doesn’t really hold much weight.”
The reporter was made speechless by her meticulous logic, but he insisted on defending Josephine. “Then do you
have any other evidence to prove you didn’t steal Miss Josephine’s university spot?”
Corinne shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
The reporter scoffed. “Well, doesn’t that just make you even more suspicious?”
Corinne looked down condescendingly on the biased reporter. “First of all, a basic quality of being a good reporter is
to be able to always maintain a neutral and objective view on the subject you’re reporting. You do not have this
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmquality, it seems.
“Also, in any event, no matter the circumstances, the burden of proof lies on the accuser. But it seems like you
can’t even grasp this simple logic. I wonder which media company are you working under ’cause it seems like your
employer has no intention of surviving in this field.”
The reporter’s expression hardened. “Why you…”
The other reporters were basically on Josephine’s side too. They already had the mentality of helping the weak, but
Corinne’s nonchalant attitude just pushed them to side with Josephine even more.
Another reporter stood up to defend his colleague, “So what you’re saying is you don’t have the evidence to prove
you didn’t steal Miss Josephine’s university spot but that still doesn’t give us the right to suspect you? Why do you
insist on forcing your logic down our throats?”
Corinne smiled calmly. “I must admit, I didn’t expect her to get a perfect test score since she was only an average
student in high school. This is certainly a real doozy, but to prove I didn’t steal her university spot, I’m willing to do a
retest. What do you say, Miss Josephine?”