Episode 3.5- Jeremy's Story

“ The final papers will be due this Friday. They should be at least six to eight pages long. All of the formatting rules still apply. Please note, I will NOT accept late papers,” Professor Green instructed her students. She looked out into her class of twenty-two freshmen, many busy texting rather than taking notes. A few others were staring out the window or dozing off to sleep. Suddenly, a hand in the back of the room flew up in the air.

“Wait. Our papers are due this Friday?” The blond-haired guy asked. Dressed in khaki shorts and a white shirt, he sat lackadaisically tapping his Rainbow flip flops against the tile floor. His cell phone sat in his lap.

“Yes, Jeremy. This Friday. As in the day after tomorrow. Are there any other questions about the paper?” Professor Green looked around the class. No one budged.
“Well, I will see you all this Friday. Please remember—“ the rest of her words were muffled by the sounds book bags zipping and feet shuffling out the door.

Outside the classroom, Jeremy’s roommate, Marshall, stood waiting. “Dude! What took you so long? Mike and Will are waiting. Let’s go!”

The four guys had been engaged in a serious battle of Call of Duty: Black Ops since the game premiered a few weeks ago. Their days and nights were consumed with it, and the four found little time for anything else. Their dorm room resembled the typical guy dorm room, strewn with snack wrappers and piles of clothes (their cleanliness questionable), and their larger than necessary television in the middle of the room, game system hooked up and ready to go. Once inside, the guys resumed their game which lasted into the wee hours of the morning. After a quick meal break, they settled back into their respected areas, game controllers in hand, and were back in action.

“Dammit! I almost had him!”
“Watch behind you, Will!”
“What the--? I shot him! He should be dead!”
“YEA!!!! That’s how it’s done. What?! What?!” Jeremy stood up and basked in his victory, taunting his roommates.
“Man..I’m done. I have a Chem test in the morning.” Mike stood up, brushing Doritos crumbs from his leg.
“I know you’re not punking out now?! We were moving up in ranks. C’mon!” Jeremy tossed a pillow in Mike’s direction. “You can study later.”
“Don’t you have a paper to write?” Will asked.
“I don’t have class til noon tomorrow. I got plenty of time to get it done,” Jeremy scoffed.
“My girlfriend has the same professor. She’s been working on that paper for like two weeks.”
“Well..maybe because your girlfriend is a nerd. She has nothing better else to do with her time. I mean, she is dating you!” Jeremy laughed and the other guys joined in.
“Whatever. I’ll catch you guys later.” Mike grabbed his things and left, with Will following shortly after.
“Marsh, you still playing?” Jeremy asked his roommate.
“Nah, not now. Tomorrow. I got some stuff I need to get done.”
“Fine. Bunch of sore losers.” Jeremy restarted the game and continued playing.

A few hours later, he glanced over at the clock and noticed it was after midnight. Probably should get started on that paper, he thought. Knock out a few pages, sleep, wake up early and finish the rest—no problem, he assured himself. He sat down at his desk, turned on his laptop, and logged on to Facebook. 1am and I’m just startin’ my English paper dats due 2morrow..smh..No worries, he wrote as his status. He took another twenty minutes or so reading his friends’ updates and commenting on new pictures that had been posted. Finally, he opened a blank Word document and begin to type....

The loud slam of a door down the hall startled Jeremy awake. He yawned and wiped his eyes. Looking at his computer screen, he blinked several times in disbelief. 11:00am?! He jumped from his chair and looked around the room distressingly. An hour before class. There was no way he could get his paper done in time! He knew there was no way Professor Green would accept it late either. He tried to think of a good excuse. Car accident? Death in the family? Sick? Computer crash? Unfortunately, he’d used all of those excuses already this semester. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he did what he felt he had no other choice but to do. Sitting back down at his computer, he pulled up the Google website and typed “free essays” in the search box.

Jeremy made it to class about five minutes after twelve, with "his" paper in hand, just as Professor Green called for the class to pass the essays to the front. He said a silent prayer as he gave his paper to the girl seated in front of him. After all essays had been collected, Professor Green quickly looked through them and dismissed the class.

Relieved, Jeremy made his way back to his room and started a new game of Call of Duty. It took only a few hours for him to completely forget (once again) about his paper and his impending grade. His roommate, Will and Mike came after they were finished with their classes, and the guys spent their weekend as they had so many others. During one of their meal breaks, Jeremy took a few minutes to get on Facebook. Scrolling through his news feed he noticed a friend's status: Final grades gettin posted already..B in Biology..B in English..alrite! His friend was in Professor's Green class an hour before him. Had she already graded their essays? Jeremy felt his pulse quicken as he rushed over to the school's website to check his grades. There, next to "English Composition," was a big, bold F. Surely, that couldn't be right. Next, he checked his email. There was one new message in his inbox. From Professor Green. Nervously, he clicked on the small envelope to open it.

Jeremy,
It has come to my attention that the paper you turned in on Friday was not your work. As stated in the class syllabus, University policy for plagiarism warrants a grade of an F for the course and a report to be filed to the Dean. At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that it was my hopes that in addition to (or in the place of) learning how to become better writers, that you all would learn/take something from the class that would be of beneficial to you. One of those things is the consequences of all decisions that you make, big or small. Because you made the conscious decision to plagiarize, then you will be receiving a F for the course. If you have any questions or would like to appeal your grade, you are free to come by my office any time during my office hours next week to discuss the next course of action.

Jeremy sighed and sunk down in his chair.

"Hey Jer, you still playing?? Come on!"