Chapter 201
No, she couldn’t just fess up to the plagiarism! That’d be the end of her piano career for the rest of her life. The glory of coming second would be gone in a blink. The jeers and jabs would push her into the abyss. The scandal would stick to her like glue for life, and she’d become a laughing stock.
If she owned up to the theft, her parents and Zachary would be majorly disappointed. Her aunt and uncle would loathe her even more, barring her from the Murphy family. Those who had supported and liked her would drop her like a hot potato.
Gritting her teeth, she shot back, “That’s just your side of the story. Included in textbooks? Who saw that?”
Jasmine, seeing Yolanda still playing dumb, was fuming, “Alright, I’ll make you eat your words!”
She had someone snap a picture of the latest textbook and projected the score onto the big screen.
“This is Melody’s piece, ‘Wish‘!” Jasmine said, looking around, “Those who can read music will see the similarities. It’s not just a line or two that’s the same, the entire climax is copied!”
“Oh yeah, it really is.”
“The climax is exactly the same!”
“President Jasmine isn’t slandering her, she did plagiarize.”
“Maestro Melody’s intro and outro are way better than Yolanda’s!”
*For those of you who can’t read music, don’t worry. I’ll have someone play Melody’s climax, so you can hear for yourself if they are the same!” Eventually, Jasmine turned to Frida, “You go.”
Frida was a bit taken aback by President Jasmine’s sudden call, but quickly sat down at the piano and played the climax of Maestro Melody’s piece as displayed on the screen.
The identical melody rang out in everyone’s ears, and even Attlee and Olga, who had initially defended their daughter, were stunned. They couldn’t read sheet music, but it was hard to deny the plagiarism when the music was exactly the same.
Each note Frida played felt like a slap in the face for Yolanda, who by the end was as white as a sheet.
Among the front row spectators were this year’s competition judges, who had initially thought highly of Yolanda, especially Professor Lydia, who was particularly fond of her.
Yolanda’s second place was largely due to her support. But now, with the damning evidence, she was disappointed and furious.
After Frida finished playing the climax, the host, knowing Yolanda’s plagiarism was clear as day, picked up the mic and said solemnly, “It’s not right to reap the fruits of someone else’s hard work without their permission, infringing on their rights.”
