My Pride, My Joy (cont 1)

I went all out, using poetic enhancers and forshadowing. In the back of my mind, I knew I should hold back. My classmates were writing in their second language, a language from a continent far north of the Sahara. But the joy was so sweet...the words just spilled out. I relish writing assignments, and I'd missed them over the past months (trust me, the transition from AP Humanities to a grade B Ghanaian school is far from smooth).

So I walked away from the exam exhilerated, and of course, proud. The teacher would love my story...an action-romance set in Mexico.

After Christmas, I received my English exam. I opened it, thrilled to see my teacher's comments.

Written in red ink at the bottom of my wonderful story was: "You coppied".

Excuuuuse me! Vice-saluatorian, winner of the Anschutz Scholarship, and one of 55 YES students...you are saying I copied? Worse, you are saying I "coppied"?