The Mysterious Metal Fiber Shirt

On the day of the National Merit Finals, I arrived early at the testing center. I stood in line, waiting for the security scan.

When it was my turn, the detector suddenly let out a deafening wail.

The security guard frowned at me. Do you have any metal on you? Take it out, now.

I turned all my pockets inside out, showing him they were empty.

But the moment I stepped through the gate again, the alarm screamed once more.

The guard's expression turned cold. "Listen, kid. I'll give you one more chance. Hand it over, and I won't report you. Academic fraud will get your scores canceled for life. Think carefully."

Tears welled up in my eyes from the sheer panic. "Sir, I swear I have nothing! My clothes are pure cotton. I'm not carrying any metal!"

He called over a female proctor to conduct a pat-down.

She searched me from head to toe, even making me take down my hair. They found nothing.

I tried three different gates after that.

Every single one of them triggered the alarm.

The guard's face was now dark with suspicion. "You've clearly hidden some new type of cheating device. If you don't hand it over, I can't let you in."

I was so desperate that I dropped to my knees. "I really didn't! Please, just let me take the exam!"

He waved his hand dismissively at the guards. "Get her out of here! Don't let her hold up the rest of the students."

I was forcibly dragged away from the entrance.

Staring at the closed gates of the testing center, my heart felt like it was being crushed. The stress was too much, and I collapsed, coughing up blood as my vision faded to black.

My only thought before I died was: Why did that detector keep ringing?

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the line, waiting for the security scan.

The line was slowly moving forward.

It would be my turn any second now.

I still hadn't figured out why the detector went off in my last life.

My palms were drenched in sweat, and I was gripping the hem of my shirt so hard it was wrinkled.

Was I really going to end up the same way again?

Just then, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind.

"Is that shirt from that high-tech brand?" a girl's voice asked.

I froze for a second before turning around to look at her.

She was staring at my jacket with a look of envy. "I heard those are crazy expensive. They claim they can weave metal fibers into the cotton so it feels like a normal shirt."

She paused and lowered her voice. "But it still contains metal, doesn't it? How are you going to pass the scan wearing that?"

My brain felt like it had been hit by a bolt of lightning.

Metal woven into the cotton?

I pinched the fabric of my T-shirt.

It was indeed a bit stiffer than regular cotton.

I had never noticed that detail before.

So that was it!

In my previous life, the alarm kept ringing because of this very outfit!

I had actually believed it was 100% pure cotton.

I didn't have time to wonder why I owned this specific shirt right now.

Checking my watch, I saw I still had over an hour before the gates closed.

I still had a chance.

I sprinted out of the line and headed for the street.

Across from the school entrance, there was a row of shops.

I burst into the nearest clothing store.

"I need a 100% cotton outfit! T-shirt and pants! It has to be pure cotton with absolutely no metal!"

The shopkeeper quickly pulled a white T-shirt and black joggers from a rack. "Pure cotton, 100%. Not a trace of metal. Fifty bucks."

I didn't care about the price and shoved the money into her hand.

I grabbed the clothes and flew into the fitting room, changing as fast as I could.

I didn't even have time to cut the tags; I just stuffed them into my pocket.

"Are you sure there's no metal in this?" I asked again, breathless.

She patted her chest confidently. "I've run this shop for eight years. I wouldn't lie to you. Look at the tag yourself."

I checked the label: 100% Cotton.

I finally let out a breath of relief.

By the time I ran back to the center, the line had shortened significantly.

I saw the girl who had been behind me earlier had already gone inside.

I took my place at the very end of the line.

This time, I wasn't nervous.

I knew exactly what the problem was.

I had changed my clothes.

Everything was going to be fine.

The line moved forward.

It was my turn.

I took a deep breath and stepped toward the metal detector.

One step.

Two steps.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The piercing alarm shattered my hope once again.

I froze, paralyzed by the sound.

How was this possible?

I had changed into pure cotton. Why was it still ringing?

The security guard's face instantly darkened. "Empty your pockets. Watch, necklace, keysDput everything in the bin."

I turned every pocket inside out.

There was nothing.

"Sir, I'm not carrying anything," I said, my voice trembling.

"If you're not carrying anything, why is it ringing?" The guard didn't believe me. "Think harder."

"I swear, I have nothing on me!"

The guard gestured for the people behind me to go through first.

A boy walked through. Silence.

A girl followed him. Silence.

Then another. Not a single sound.

He pointed at me to try again.

I stepped forward.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

It rang again.

Everyone in the area was staring at me now.

I heard people whispering. "It only rings when she goes through. She's definitely hiding something."

"Trying to cheat on the Finals? She's got some nerve."

My eyes began to sting with tears.

The guard called over a female proctor and whispered something to her.

The proctor walked over. "Follow me."

She led me to a temporary tent nearby and searched me from head to toe.

She took down my hair, made me take off my shoes, and even checked my undergarments.

She found absolutely nothing.

"She's clean," the proctor said, shaking her head at the guard.

The guard frowned. "Try a different gate."

I moved to the second gate.

I walked in, and it stayed silent. I almost relaxed, but as I reached the middleD

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

It rang again.

Third gate. Ringing.

Fourth gate. Ringing.

Every single one of them screamed the moment I reached the center.

The guard's face was now a mask of pure fury. "You're hiding something. If you hand it over now, I might be lenient."

"But if we find it inside the hall, you know the consequences."

"Sir, I am not cheating!"

Tears started streaming down my face. "I don't know why it's ringing! I even bought new clothes just now. Look at the tag, it's 100% cotton!"

"Then why are you the only one triggering it?" The guard pointed behind me. "Stop wasting everyone's time and confess!"

"You're holding up the entire line!"

I looked back.

The line had stopped, and everyone was glaring at me.

Their eyes were filled with suspicion, impatience, and even a bit of cruel joy.

"Just deal with her already. We need to get in."

"Yeah, stop stalling. She's clearly guilty and scared."

"People like her shouldn't even be allowed to take the test. No integrity at all."

I turned back to the guard. "Sir, please. Let me try one more time. Just one last time."

He didn't say a word.

I walked toward the gate again.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The alarm felt like a knife stabbing into my ears.

The guard lost his patience and signaled two security officers. "Take her out. Don't let her delay the others anymore."

The officers grabbed my arms and began dragging me away.

"Sir, please believe me! I'm not carrying anything!"

Nobody listened to my pleas.

I was dumped outside the main gates.

The parents waiting outside stared at me, pointing and whispering.

I collapsed on the pavement, my body shaking uncontrollably.

It was happening exactly like my last life.

Kicked out, missing the exam, dying in despair.

Was I really doomed to repeat this nightmare?

I closed my eyes in defeat.

Just then, a voice came from beside me.

"Hey, kid. Having trouble with the scanner?"

I looked up.

A man was crouching by the curb with a small folding table.

There were several small black boxes on it labeled "Signal Bypasser."

He beckoned me over. "Come here. I've got something that can help you."

I didn't move.

"I heard you've got something on you and they won't let you in."

"You didn't plan your cheating very well, did you? Didn't you know they had high-end scanners?"

"I'm not cheating!" I snapped back.

The man didn't believe me and just shrugged. "I don't care if you are or aren't. I'm just askingDdo you want to pass that gate or not?"

He lowered his voice. "Use this jammer. I guarantee it'll keep that machine quiet."

I hesitated.

This felt wrong. It wasn't the right way to do things.

But then I thought about all my years of hard work.

If I couldn't take this test, it was all for nothing.

I stood up and walked to his table. "Are you sure it works?"

"Guaranteed!"

He shoved a black box into my hand. "Keep this on you when you walk through. It won't make a sound."

I handed him the cash.

Clutching the device, I walked back toward the entrance.

The guard's brow furrowed when he saw me. "You again? I'm warning you, if you cause any more trouble, I'm calling the police."

"Sir, please let me try one last time. Just once."

"I know I caused a scene earlier, and I'm sorry. But it won't ring this time. Please, give me a chance."

He stared at me for a few seconds. "Fine. One more go. If it rings, don't expect me to be nice."

I gripped the jammer in my pocket and took a deep breath.

One step.

Two steps.

As I stepped into the gate, I closed my eyes and held my breath.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Silence.

No alarm.

I opened my eyes and looked back at the guard.

He stared at the indicator light, his expression shifting from suspicion to surprise. "It didn't ring?"

"It didn't ring." My voice was shaking, but this time it was from relief.

"Fine. Get in there," he said, waving me through. He added, "See? If you'd just ditched the device earlier, we wouldn't have wasted all this time."

I didn't bother explaining.

I hurried toward the testing hall.

Only one thought consumed my mind: I can take the test.

I finally get to take the test!

I stopped outside the classroom door to catch my breath.

The room number matched my permit. I checked it three times to be sure.

I pushed the door open.

The room was already half-full, with students hunched over their desks.

The proctor stood at the frontDa stern-looking woman in her forties with sharp glasses.

"Testing permit."

I handed it over.

She checked it against her list and nodded. "Seat twenty-three."

I started walking toward my desk.

"Wait."

I froze.

The proctor stepped out from behind her desk, holding a handheld metal detector. "Over here. I need to scan you."

I stood perfectly still.

"What are you waiting for? Come here." She raised the wand and walked toward me.

I instinctively took a step back.

"Why are you nervous?" Her gaze turned razor-sharp. "It's just a standard scan."

I couldn't refuse.

I had to force myself to walk back to her.

I watched as she brought the wand closer.

I gripped the jammer in my pocket, my heart hammering against my ribs.

I prayed that the jammer would work on the handheld device too.

"Stand still."

She began scanning from my head down.

I stopped breathing.

She finished the scan and looked at me. "Alright. Go to your seat."

She tucked the wand away and waved me off.

I stood there stunned for a second.

It didn't ring?

It actually worked?

The jammer was doing its job.

I almost burst into tears of joy.

"What are you standing there for? Get to your seat. There are others waiting."

The proctor urged me along.

I grabbed my bag of pencils and headed down the aisle.

My seat was in the middle row toward the back. I squeezed past the first few desks.

The proctor turned to walk back to her station.

As we crossed paths, her shoulder accidentally bumped my arm.

I stumbled, losing my balance.

My bag flew out of my hand, scattering my pens and permit all over the floor.

"Watch outD"

The proctor reached out to steady me.

I managed to catch myself and was about to thank her.

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The shrill alarm exploded from the detector in her hand.

I looked down and saw the jammer lying on the floor. It had fallen out of my pocket.

My heart literally felt like it stopped beating.

The proctor bent down and picked up the small black box. Her face was like ice.

"What is this?"

My mind went completely blank.

"I asked you, what is this!" she barked, her voice rising an octave.

"It's... it's a jammer..."

"A jammer?" The proctor's face turned a sickly shade of gray. "You brought a jammer into the Finals?"

"What were you trying to hide? Are you trying to block the school's signals? Are you cheating?"

"No, ma'am! I wasn't trying to cheatD"

"Then why would you have this!"

She slammed the jammer onto her desk. The sound echoed through the entire hallway.

Tears began to fall. "The main gate kept ringing, and I couldn't get in. I was desperate... I didn't know what else to do..."

"If the gate was ringing, it means you have metal on you! You don't buy a jammer to cover it up!"

The proctor pointed a finger at me. "This is a confession of guilt! This went from a metal issue to a major criminal offense!"

The other students began to whisper and mumble.

"A jammer? She was definitely cheating."

"No wonder there was such a ruckus outside. It was her."

"Cheating on the National Merit Finals? That's prison time, isn't it? She's insane."

My face burned with shame. "I promise I wasn't cheating. I don't know why the detector was ringing. I don't know what's happening..."

The proctor ignored me and picked up the phone on her desk. "Yes, this is Room 402. I have a student with a signal-jamming device. Send security immediately."

"Please, ma'am! I didn't cheat!"

I tried to step forward to explain, but the second proctor blocked my path.

"Stay exactly where you are," he commanded.

The murmurs in the room grew louder and more hostile.

"She should be banned from all future exams."

"I can't believe she'd try something so stupid."

"Serves her right. She clearly didn't study and wanted an easy way out."

A boy near the front spoke up loudly. "Just get her out of here, she's ruining our focus. People like her make the whole system unfair for the rest of us."

My heart broke.

I wanted to tell them that I studied every single day. I woke up at 5 AM and went to bed at 11 PM for three straight years.

I wanted to tell them I was ranked third in the entire state on the practice exams. I didn't need to cheat.

But I couldn't find the words.

Nobody would believe me anyway.

Security arrived within minutes. Two men, one tall and one short.

"What's the situation?"

The proctor handed them the jammer. "She brought this in. I caught it during a manual scan."

"I wasn'tD" I tried to speak.

The guard cut me off. "Save it. Possession of a jamming device in a state exam is an automatic failure of all subjects. You'll be blacklisted from the academic registry."

The room started spinning.

"Please, I just wanted to take the test..." my voice was hoarse. "I've waited three years for this..."

"Everyone here has waited three years," a girl mocked from the back.

The guards grabbed my arms.

"I'm not leaving!" I struggled.

"Let me just take this one section. Please! You can do whatever you want after the test, just let me finish!"

The guards didn't hesitate. They began dragging me toward the exit.

I gripped the doorframe so hard my fingernails began to bleed.

"Please... I can't leave... I worked so hard..."

They didn't let go.

They pried my fingers off the frame one by one.

As they dragged me out the door, my vision was blurred by tears.

It was over.

Even with a second chance, I had failed.

But just as they reached the end of the hall, my eyes caught something on a nearby reflection.

My entire expression changed.

I suddenly wrenched my arm free from the guard and screamed:

"Wait! I know why the detector keeps ringing!"