OUT of numerous students, only one person secures the top position. Such a person in every class is looked up to with admiration and respect, and considered a role model. However, brilliant as they may be, we all are bound to have our own flaws. Each of us is unique in our way and even the ‘top-notchers’ have some areas that need improvement. Hence, nobody is perfect.

Zoya was one such person. She was a genius in her own way with many a skill to her credit. She was Newton of her science class, in art she was the Picasso, as brilliant as Einstein in maths and a fine sportsperson in the field. It will not be wrong to say that she was the finest student anyone had ever seen. Her being in the class meant nobody should even dream of securing the top position in anything. Adding to all this was her well-mannered and soft-spoken nature, she never got involved in any mischief, she was the definition of a perfect student.

Yet, everyone has an Achilles heel! Zoya soon discovered hers. She was not good at ‘history’ as she was in other subjects. This subject stuck her as being the most absurd. She couldn’t understand the need of studying old happenings and of people long gone. Her brain refused to memorise all those events and failed to register the never-ending dates that were considered so important in history. Studying this ‘one subject’ was a continuous struggle for her.

However, Zoya was a hard worker and she managed to score decently until she realised the syllabus they had this time! The annual examinations suddenly became a nightmare for her. They had to study both World Wars in extensive detail and remember the chronological order of the events that took place in that period of history. Zoya could feel the world coming down upon her. She could only wish for a miracle to happen. But after all, these were annual examinations and there was no chance of leniency anywhere in sight. This one exam was to prove a nerve breaking thing for Zoya.

She did not lose hope, and crammed her books till her eyes wore out. This time she had many a strong rivals and her marks in this one subject was to decide her fate.

On the day of the exam, Zoya’s face, however, showed the calm it had on any other day! This was surprising, but the competition to remain on top was intense and Zoya couldn’t afford to score less than the highest marks. She was sure of her victory if only she would ace in history. To do this, she had written out neat little chits which could tell you anything and everything about the World Wars. Using unfair means was Zoya’s plan to ace in this one subject that she dreaded. It all went according to her plan, she was more than satisfied with her examination.

The result day held a big surprise for Zoya, she did not secure the first position! This was not the only bad news — she had the seventh position in her class! Confused and perplexed Zoya could not figure out what had happened. She walked up to her class teacher to see if there had been any mistake.

Upon her inquiry, her class teacher remarked, “Let this be a lesson for you, Zoya. Don’t let ‘history’ repeat itself.”

As Zoya went through her report card, she found that her history paper had been cancelled. “Unfair means had been used to attempt this exam” was written against these marks.

Apparently, one of her chits which she used for cheating in her history exam had fallen and was later found by the invigilator. Upon matching her handwriting and answers, it was easy to see how Zoya had written all the answers corrects.

Zoya was filled with remorse and regret. Her teachers had kept the incident secret and nobody knew of it, yet stories of how Zoya slid to the seventh slot made the rounds! This time Zoya had more lessons to learn than the history dates. She realised her mistake and how grave it was.

One must remember that lessons learnt from textbooks are essential for scoring good grades, but the lessons of values and morals are far more important in aiming to become a better person.