THE HOMEWORK MACHINE

CHAPTER 1

September
SAM DAWKINS. GRADE 5
The police lady says me & Brenton & Judy & Kelsey have to each come in seperately & talk about what happened.
Okay, so here goes. Is this thing on? My name Sam Dawkins, but everybody calls me Snikwad on account of that's my last name spelled backward. Dawkins. Snikwad. Get it? Most kids call me "Snik." It's kinda cool. Beats having a nickname like Booger Face or Fart Boy or something stupid like that.
I was new to the school. And I didn't kicked out of my old school because I refused to get a haircut. That's a lie. I don't know how that rumor got started. I don't care if you believe me. That's the truth. Anyway, my parents moved here from Oregon. My dad was in the Air Force & that's why we moved to Arizona. He was assigned to Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix.
The bottom line is, we messed up. Stuff happens. We're not perfect. We all feel bad. We won't do it again. What are you gonna do, throw us in jail? That's my statement.
What, you need more than that? Details? Okay, okay. What do you want to know?
KELSEY DONNELLY. GRADE 5
My name is Kelsey Donnelly. I really don't see the reason why we gotta do this. The police lady told me that I have to make a "statement" in private & tell the whole story of what happened from the very beginning in September. Like I'm a creep or something! I barely remember what happened last week. Forget about way back in September.
Look, we're sorry about what happened. We were just having a little fun & it got out of hand. It's not like we robbed a bank or anything. That's my statement. I can't believe I have to spend my summer in this room with a tape recorder when I could be out having fun. Can I go now?