The Math Monster © By: J Hazen Buss
“Please take your seats, class,” Ms. Hunter said.
Danielle sat down as the bell rang.
“Please get out your math homework and pass it to the front of the class.”
Danielle removed her math folder from her backpack and opened it... Oh, no! It can’t be! Where
had it gone? NO MATH HOMEWORK!
Danielle panicked. This was the third time this week that her homework was missing.
She knew that if she didn’t turn in her math homework again, she was going to be in big trouble!
“Ms. Hunter?” she said quietly as she raised her hand.
“Yes, Danielle?”
“Ma’am, it seems that I have lost my homework again. I promise that I
put it in my folder last night.”
“Danielle,” Ms. Hunter said firmly, “If you do not turn in tomorrows
math homework, I will have to give you a zero for the week. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Kristi Snotgrass, the meanest girl in the fourth grade leaned over in her chair. “Good going,
Danielle! Did your dog eat your homework? Or maybe the ‘Math Monster’ took it! Since you’re so
bad at math, maybe the Math Monster could help you do it, too!”
Danielle sat there quietly as she glared at Kristi. “I WILL find my homework,” she thought to herself.
When Danielle got home after school, she headed to her room. “Maybe the ‘Math Monster’
took it!” she said mimicking mean girl, Kristi as she sat down at her desk and began her
homework. “I wish there was a Math Monster! Maybe I could get him to do my homework and
maybe he wouldn’t lose it everyday!” she said as she scribbled her answers down. “Maybe he
could take the test for me tomorrow!” she yelled as she finished her last problem. Danielle frowned
as she laid her head on her desk. “The Math Monster…I need a Math Monster…” Danielle
mumbled as she fell fast asleep.
The next morning, Danielle lifted her head from her desk. “Oh, no! I’m late for school!” she said
as she jumped up from her chair. She quickly got dressed, and ran to her desk to grab her math
homework. IT WAS GONE!
“No!” she screamed as she began to look for her homework frantically. As she flung open
the desk drawer, she stopped cold…She couldn’t believe her eyes! Her math homework! All of her
work was piled neatly in the desk drawer with a strange pencil lying on top of the papers. She
looked at the pencil closely. It was some type of character pencil. Funny, she had never seen it
before. It was dressed like a scientist with a lab coat, wearing brown pants and a red tie with
numbers on it. His face was cute with big, black rimmed glasses and a sweet smile with braces on
YOU ARE READING
The Math Monster
General FictionDanielle has lost her math homework…again! Where could it be? She discovers a pencil named Matthew has been taking her homework and grading it. The two become fast friends, but when mean girl, Kristi steals the pencil, Danielle is forced to face he...