ARTHUR'S 4TH GRADE ADVENTURES: Buster's study buddy

"awww man..." Buster whined as he walked out of Mr. Ratburns class with Arthur and Brain " this is my second F on a test" he crumbled up the failing paper and tossed it in a near by trash can

"why didn't you just study?" Arthur asked

"s-study?" Buster choked "the only thing i study is the back of a Choco chunk candy bar"

"well maybe thats why you always fail" Brain scolded "if you would just take time from playing video games and eating, you would get good grades like me" he showed Buster his A+ "all it takes is a little brain power"

Buster fell glum "easy for you to say, you have enough brain power to go all the way to collage, while im gonna be working as a garbage man.."

Arthur patted Buster on the back "don't worry Buster, garbage men are important people too, its still a good job"

"really?"

"sure! my grampa says there pride in all work"

"even if thats so" Brain stated "you would still need a high school diploma"

Buster sighed "i really need to get my grades up if i want to pass the 4th grade..."

they stopped by their lockers to put away their books. zipping up his jacket, Buster was hit with an idea "hey guys, i think i know how i can bring up my grades and ace Ratburns next test!"

Brain's face lit up "your going to study more?"

"yeeeah...but with help"

Arthur shut his locker door "you mean like a tutor?"

"yes!! a person who can teach me things without me doing it on my own" Buster tapped his chin "but it has to be somebody smart...hmm...who do i know smart...?" he looked at Brain with a sly smile

"um, I'd love to tutor you Buster but im afraid that i am caught up in another perdickerment at the moment"

Buster stared at him with an confused look "whaaat?"

"im so busy at the sugar bowl these days that i just wouldn't have the time" he glanced at his watch "that reminds me i have to go, see you guys later"

When Brain left, Buster turned to Arthur "what about you Arthur, your smart"

"well if you call a C+ smart then im Mr. above average"

"its better than an F"

"i guess your right, I'll try my best"

"thanks man" Buster and Arthur slapped high fives and moved out of the building

"soooo when do you want to start studying?" Arthur asked when they crossed the street

"i don't know...it was such short notice"

Arthur gave Buster a playful shove "it was your idea!"

"yeah but you agreed!" Buster then put on his competitive face "race you to my house?"

"only if your prepared to lose"

"your on!!"

the two friends began to race each other down Main street "come on slow poke!!" Arthur laughed as he caught an early lead

"I'll catch you yet!!" Buster huffed rushing to catch up to Arthur, who was half way up the street and around the corner

"come on Buster!!" Arthur's shouts were distant and Buster could no longer see him

"A-Arthur slow down!!" Buster stopped to catch his breath "when did he get so fast?"

a couple of minutes passed by then Buster began to walk the rest of the way

When he started to turn the corner, he heard foot steps coming tword him

"coming back for me huh, well I'll get you" Buster hide behind a near by fence as he waited for the footsteps to get closer

as soon as Arthur turned the corner, Buster jumped out of his hiding spot and tackled him to the ground "ha! i got you, what do you have to say for your self?"

"get off of me!!" a high pitched voice yelled

Buster then realized his mistake, the person he grabbed wasn't Arthur, it was Sue Ellen

"S-S-Sue Ellen?!"
he stammered, quickly getting off her and offering to help her up

she took his hand and pulled herself to her feet

Buster turned a shade of red "i-i-im sorry, i thought you were Arthur"

Sue Ellen dusted herself off "do i look like him or something?"

"no, we were just having a race, he got ahead and i thought he was coming back to get me"

she gave him a strange look "you guys shouldn't be racing down main street, its dangerous"

"hehe" Laughed Buster nervously "y-yeah I'll try to remember that next time...um..bye!"

he started to take off when Sue Ellen stopped him "Buster wait!" she took off her back pack and began to dig through it "when you see Arthur, can you give this to him?" she handed Buster a red notebook with the words Math printed on it "its really important that he gets it, I'd give it to him myself but i have a karate lesson in 5 minutes"

Buster took the notebook and began to skim through it "are these math notes?"

"yeah, Arthur asked me if he could borrow it" she put her backpack back on "look, i got to go, just make sure he gets it ok?"

"i will"

when she was out of sight, Buster began to walk again
with the notebook under his arm. he got all the way to the end of the block when he spotted Arthur standing on the corner

"there you are!" he said walking over to him "what took you so long?"

"you ran so fast, i couldn't keep up"

Arthur chuckled "you can thank D.W for that, she's always taking my things so i have to chase her down" he kicked out his heels "i guess it built up my speed cause i kicked your butt!"

"I'll get you next time" Buster held up the red notebook to Arthur "oh yeah, Sue Ellen wanted me to give you this"

Arthur took the notebook and searched through it "Sue Ellen gave you these? when? i was looking all over for her in school"

"she was absent today but i sort of...ran into her just a couple of minutes ago" Buster scrached his ears "why do you need her notes anyway?"

"because i was out sick last week with the flu and i missed the math notes we took in class that day" he put the notes in his backpack "Sue Ellen was nice enough to help me out"

"oh, well why didn't you just ask for my notes?"

"you don't take notes, remember?"

Buster smiled faintly "oh...hehe..yeah"

Arthur touched Buster's shoulder "come on, lets go"