What's the Matter with Newton? by Mark Young

Author:Mark Young
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Spotlight

When the bell rang, Newton waited for Theremin to float out of the room. Then he turned to Shelly.

“Theremin didn’t look happy about his good grade,” Newton said. “Is he still mad at me?”

“It’s not that,” Shelly replied. “It’s his programming.”

She explained how Theremin’s dad had made sure that Theremin could never be smarter than him.

“So every time Theremin does really well, it means he’s going to do really badly at the next thing he tries,” Shelly explained. “But you’ll see for yourself in our next class.”

The next class was Dark Matter Matters, taught by Professor Anatoly Phlegm. The bottom of his black lab coat touched the floor, he wore black gloves up to his elbows and a black patch over his right eye, and his head was completely bald and shiny under the fluorescent lights.

Professor Phlegm nodded curtly to Newton after Shelly introduced him, and Newton found an empty desk next to Shelly again.

“You will have fifteen minutes to look over yesterday’s notes,” Professor Phlegm announced. “And then we will quiz you.”

Shelly raised her hand. “Professor Phlegm, it’s Newton’s first day. Can he be excused from the quiz?”

“No, he may not,” Professor Phlegm replied. “He’s a member of our class, just like everyone else.”

Then he looked directly at Newton. “He just needs to use his . . . ahem . . . noodle noggin.”

Noodle noggin. The words jolted Newton. But why did they sound so familiar?

“I’ll send you the notes,” Shelly said. She tapped her tablet and notes popped up on Newton’s screen.

“Thanks,” Newton said.

He started to read, but he heard Theremin whispering to Shelly.

“Shelly, you know I’m going to fail this,” he hissed.

“Well, let’s try a few basic questions to see how you do,” Shelly said hopefully. “What’s ten plus five?”

“Albuquerque?” Theremin guessed.

Shelly sighed. “Yeah, looks like you’re going to fail. But don’t let it get to you. There’s always next time!”

Theremin grunted.

Newton began to read the notes that Shelly had given him. He was surprised at himself. He understood everything perfectly!

When it came time for the quiz, Newton’s fingers were a blur as he confidently tapped his answers into the tablet.

Because it was a multiple-choice test, Professor Phlegm graded it with the touch of a button on his laptop. Grades popped up on everyone’s screens.

Theremin: 0

Shelly: 89

Newton: 100

“Excellent work, Mr. Warp,” Professor Phlegm said. “You seem to have absorbed the material very quickly.” He sounded very pleased by this.

“Thanks,” Newton said. “But I don’t understand. How did I—”

Shelly interrupted him. “You must be a quick learner!” she said. “Way to go, Newton!”

There was a crash as Theremin threw his tablet across the room and floated out the door, his eyes flashing green with jealousy.

“We’re not amused, Mr. Rozika!” Professor Phlegm yelled after him.

Shelly explained that it was the last class of the day, so they had some time to work on homework or relax before dinner. She hoped Theremin would cool off.

“You know, maybe I should give Theremin some space,” Newton said. “I’ll find someone else to eat dinner with tonight.

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