Chapter Two:

A New Math Technique

A short time later, Calvin and his mom were driving home from school. As Calvin sat in the backseat, in his winter gear and with his backpack, while his mom drove. She said, "I can't believe you Calvin, getting suspended from school for fighting and throwing snowballs at people in the building."

"Gee Mom, there is a bright side," Calvin smiled. "I get a day off from school where I can watch TV, read comics, go outside with Hobbes…"

"Calvin, this is not a joke!" Mom said, not amused. "Do you realize if you keep behaving like this in school that they will expel you?"

"But then I won't have to go to school anymore," Calvin pointed out.

"Calvin, I can't believe you!" Mom practically shouted, even more annoyed. "Do you hate school so much that you need to misbehave like this?!"

"I don't know."

"Well, that needs to change! And just so you know," Mom added, "there will be no TV or comics during your suspension."

"WHAT?!" Calvin shouted in disbelief. "What about going outside with Hobbes?"

"No going outside until you finish your homework," Mom firmly said.

Calvin now looked a bit disappointed…

…

A little later at home, Calvin walked into his bedroom. Hobbes, relaxing on Calvin's bed and reading a comic, was surprised to see him. "Wow, you're home early," he said. "It's not even lunchtime yet."

"I got into really big trouble at school today," Calvin said glumly.

Hobbes had a feeling why. "Was it because of the snowballs?"

"Yeah," Calvin admitted. "First I threw a snowball in Moe's face and then punched him in the stomach and kicked his leg. Then I threw the other snowball at Susie while she was taking her homework out of her desk, and the top of the desk slammed on her head. Now I'm suspended from school for one day, which means I can't go to school tomorrow."

"How did your mom take it?" Hobbes asked.

"I'm not allowed out of my room until dinner," Calvin told him. "My mom will be bringing my lunch while I do all my homework and class work today, and then do tomorrow's class work and homework the next day."

Hobbes got an idea. "Hey, if you're stuck in this room until dinner, why don't I help you out with the work, that way it gets done quicker?"

"All right, fine," Calvin agreed. "Let's start with my math."

…

A while later, Calvin's mom entered the room holding a plate with a sandwich and a cup of milk. "Here's lunch. How's the homework?" she asked.

"Good," Calvin said. "Hobbes is helping me so we can get the homework done quicker."

"Wait a minute," Mom said, checking the math worksheet. "Did Hobbes tell you that six plus five equals eight? That's not even close to right."

Calvin was confused. "I thought tigers were smart."

"Sadly, Calvin, that's not true," Mom said. She held up six fingers. "Now look at my fingers. How many am I holding up? Write down the amount."

"Six," Calvin answered, writing it down.

"Now, how many fingers am I holding up?" Mom asked, holding up five fingers.

"Five," Calvin replied.

"All right," Mom instructed, "Count them together in your head."

Calvin started counting. "One, two, three, four, five, one, two…"

"No Calvin," Mom interrupted. "First you're going to count from one to five with the five fingers I'm holding up."

Calvin did so. "Five fingers."

"Now I'm going to hold up the six fingers," Mom said, doing so. "Start at six and count your way up."

Calvin counted. "Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Hey, six plus five is eleven!"

"That's right," Mom said. "Why don't you and Hobbes eat lunch and then use my finger strategy to fix the rest of these math problems?"

"I never learn like this at school!" Calvin noticed. "No wonder my grades are so bad and I got suspended!"

"Well, Calvin, you need to apply yourself more and behave in class," Mom explained. "Now because of the suspension, your conduct grade is going to be an F unless you earn it back by good behavior. Now I'm going to go downstairs, so if you need anything, give me a shout." She walked out of the room.

"OK, Mom," Calvin replied. After she left, Calvin turned to Hobbes. "Come on, Hobbes, what do you say we try the finger trick to fix these problems?"

"OK," Hobbes said. "But first, pull my finger," he said, holding out a finger.

Calvin did, but nothing happened. "Wow, there was nothing. I pictured a boom. Oh well, let's go back to work."