Ethical Dilemma

EthiWhen it comes to choosing between two options which are paradoxical, it's always convoluted and ambivalent. In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean was once in two minds whether to hide his true identity or to save the guiltless prisoner who was mistaken for him. If he spoke the truth, he would be condemned, which meant an end to his freedom. I have been in this situation before, on the horns of a dilemma, not knowing to do what was good for me or to help a friend.
It happened in a one-period test. Since I and a girl sitting next to me had not studied it over, we decided to cheat by putting the book in her desk case. The test went on well until I ran up against a question that I didn't know .I ask her for help, she opened the book on the page containing my stuck question and passed it to me. Unfortunately, the teacher caught us in the act. When she asked whose book was that, my friend said it was hers. Then, she was accused of cheating, which threatened her conduct.
After the test, I felt so awful. The book was clearly my friend's but if it hadn't been for me, the teacher wouldn't have known she cheated, let alone put the book in the desk case. However, I still sat on the fence being torn by torment. On one hand, I didn't want to have bad conduct, which would badly affect my results. On the other hand, it was inevitable that I reaped what I sowed. There seemed to be no way that I could get away with what I had done by putting all the blame on my friend.
In the end, I tried to pluck up courage and tell the teacher the truth. However, my cowardice won eventually. I told the teacher that I had asked my friend for help , but hadn't known that she had had the book or whether she had done something with it or not.
The story was sort of long ago but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Once bitten twice shy, I dare not to cheat again. The consequence of cheating is unpredictable. You may get off with it for some time but there are situation when it's worth a