The tiny pane of glass rattled in its frame as I pounded on the door to room 104. The door finally opened a crack and a flustered Mister Harris peeked out. "What in the -- Melissa, is that you? Aren't you in fourth grade now? What are you doing here?"1
I ignored his questions and shoved my way past him. I glanced at the chalkboard and ground my teeth at what I saw. Turning on the classroom full of third graders, I just barely managed to keep my temper under control as I asked, "So he's teaching you about division, huh?"2
A couple of heads nodded. "Well," I said as I grabbed an eraser and started clearing a space for myself on the board, "I've got something to tell you that he's trying to keep from you."3
A heavy hand fell on my shoulder. "Miss Anders, what do you think you're doing?"4
I yanked my shoulder away and glared at my former teacher. "I'm just telling them the truth."5
Mister Harris folded his arms and frowned. "What truth might that be?"6
My hands were shaking, but I managed to control my voice as I asked, "What do you get when you divide by zero?"7
"You can't."8
"LIAR!" 9
I think I was almost as shocked as he was when I threw the eraser at his face. After carefully brushing chalk dust from the shoulders of his jacket, he reached for the phone on his desk and began dialing. I knew he would be calling the principal, which meant I only had a few minutes to make my point.10
"Listen up," I said as I turned back to the class. "You CAN divide by zero! Now, I know you ain't been taught algebra here yet. They don't teach it in my grade neither, which is why I had to figure it out on my own. Trust me, it ain't as hard as they try to make you think. Just hang in there with me, okay?"11
I felt the tiniest bit of hope when a number of the blank, confused stares turned curious. I just had to believe that curiosity would get at least a few of them to think about what I had to say. Turning back to the board, I began writing what I hoped would be a simple equation. "N, which stands for any number, divided by zero, equals infinity. Now, I know that may sound like just a lot of words, but I can prove it's true."12
I began scribbling a graph and added a long, curving line. "This is called a hyperbolic curve. As you move along this graph here, dividing by smaller and smaller numbers, the line goes higher. By the time you get to zero, the line has reached infinity."13
Before I could explain anything more, the classroom door swung open. The principal and the teacher of the class I was supposed to be in strode up to me. Without a word, they both grabbed me by an arm. As I was being dragged out of the classroom, I shouted, "Remember, you CAN divided by zero! It's all part of their plan to conquer free thought. Think before you believe!"
A contest entry
- Geek by Nesa Lyrel.
1000 points, ended January 25, 10 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - Off to school! by Tigerlilly91.
175 points, ended February 24, 7 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 9 of 9
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Hahaha, I liked this. I really liked how serious she was about the whole thing, and the teacher's reactions. Great job.xoxoKelsey
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Wonderful
One thing that makes this story so great is how well Melissa's passion is expressed. The humor would not work as well if her passion about dividing by zero did not seem so genuine.
I think the lines at the beginning of paragraph 12 are especially important. Without them, this would just be about a weird girl, but those line make the whole story more optimistic. Because of them, when she says, "Think before you believe", at the end, it feels like she really did get at least a few students to start thinking.
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This. Is. Awesome.
I have absolutely no critical comments, because I was too distracted by the hilarity of the situation to watch for grammar and syntax. THAT is a good piece of writing. Congrats on a wonderful piece!
annye
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Melissa is going to grow up to be the next conspiracy theorist who thinks that aliens are controlling the world goat cheese market. Except she'll be right, and no one will listen, thus condemning us all. Quite an amusing little yarn!
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Melissa is the kind of girl I wish I had the nerve to be. To be able to just say what's on your mind, to be able to stare down an authority figure, it seems like it would be so liberating! I guess I am starting to speak my mind, even if it's just limited to stories I've written.
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You actually understand algebra? Traitor! Us writers are supposed to only believe in WORDS!
Heather you're letting the side down!
Apart from all that, it's very, very good and I really liked it!
All kudos to you, just don't do it again!
Lis.
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*blushing*
Sorry about that. I've sorta just got this obsession about knowing stuff, and I got a bit carried away.
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That was hilarious! As a math geek myself, that was immensely entertaining. And to think she's only in 4th grade...I wish I'd been that motivated in 4th grade...
I LOVE how you made it seem as if the character was insane - getting dragged away and all - rather than tragically misunderstood. And you accomplished all this in a short piece.
I really liked the length of this, though a bit more detail would enrich it. How did the third graders react when she was trying to teach them about hyperbolic curves? How did SHE learn it to begin with? Don't overload it, but make it work for you.
Overall, very nice!
Good luck in the contest! -
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Thank you so much for your comment! When I was told you couldn't divide by zero because that's just the way it was ... well ... I was probably close to being the first nine-year-old to die of an aneurism. I don't think I'd ever have the courage to go back and face my teacher with the truth, but it was somewhat therapeutic to do it through a story.
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