Read Return of the Homework Machine for Free Online

spent about an hour down there, searching on our hands and knees. But we never found the stupid light, or the stupid chip.

Chapter 4
    December
    RONNIE TEOTWAWKI. GRADE 6
    Of course they couldn’t find the chip. I had it. As soon as I heard on the news that they catapulted their homework machine into the canyon, I hiked down there to see if I could find it. The police had cleaned up most of the mess, but there were still some pieces scattered around the rocks. When I saw that little red light blinking, I had a hunch that I hit the jackpot.
    I knew there had to be something special about that computer. You can’t take just any old PC and program it to do homework. Even Brenton isn’t that smart. The computer had to have some kind of special chip inside it, a superchip.
    Everybody thinks I’m dumb because I don’t do good in school. But I know how to build acomputer. I built one from a kit when I was nine, and I built one from scratch last year. When I found their chip, I knew I could use it to build my own homework machine. And I wasn’t gonna share it with anybody.
    BRENTON DAMAGATCHI. GRADE 6
    Ronnie and I were in a computer class together back when we were in third grade. It was one of those after-school programs. He had a knack for rewiring circuit boards. I thought that we might become friends because we had this common interest. But we didn’t get along, so I stayed away from him.
    JUDY DOUGLAS. GRADE 6
    Brenton was really miserable when we couldn’t find the little red light. We didn’t know what to do to cheer him up.
    BRENTON DAMAGATCHI. GRADE 6
    Milner’s e-mails were getting weirder. He started ranting about how technology can be used for both good and bad purposes. Like the invention of the airplane, for instance. It can be used toairlift medical supplies to victims of an earthquake. But it can also be used to drop an atomic bomb. He was right, of course, but I was starting to think Milner was crazy. He always ended his e-mails with the words, “Did you find the chip yet?”
    SAM DAWKINS. GRADE 6
    I knew what would get Brenton’s mind off that stupid blinking red light—shooting up a cool rocket! So I went online and ordered the Estes CC Express. It’s a Level 2 rocket, and we had to spend a long time putting it together. But this thing could fly —1,790 feet. That’s because it’s a two-stage rocket, with two D engines. It is a beautiful thing. Two feet high. Red with a black tip. We shot that baby up after school one day, and it looked like it was never coming down. I thought it might leave the Earth’s atmosphere. Mr. Murphy even came out to see the launch.
    MR. MURPHY. SIXTH-GRADE TEACHER
    I was impressed. The boys had done an excellent job putting together the rocket. It wasn’t one of these quickie cut-and-paste jobs, like I have seen some kids build. They were very careful tocut, sand, and attach the fins so the rocket would fly straight. They really got the maximum height out of it. I told them I was proud of them.
    BRENTON DAMAGATCHI. GRADE 6
    I did some research and discovered that by adding a few chemicals, I could double the power of the engines and double the maximum height of the rocket. Mr. Murphy helped me.
    SAM DAWKINS. GRADE 6
    Mr. Murphy told us we better watch out, because rocket people are a lot like boat people. He said that people who are into boats usually start out with a little dinghy not much bigger than a rowboat. And then, right away, they want a bigger one with a stronger engine so they can go faster and farther. Soon, they outgrow that and they start looking around for something bigger. Once they buy that boat, it starts looking small and they want a bigger one. And the next thing they know, they’re sinking their whole life savings into a yacht or whatever. I told Mr. Murphy he was nuts. We were just having some fun with rockets.
    JUDY DOUGLAS. GRADE 6
    We started doing heavy math stuff with decimals