Homework

Illustrated by Tim Heitz

"**Homework**" is the fourth chapter of *Wayside School Is Falling Down*.

## Synopsis

Mac tells his classmates about a time he lost his sock as well as other stories.

## Plot

This chapter opens with Mrs. Jewls teaching the kids in her class arithmetic, specifically decimals. She explains that .5 equals 1/2 when Mac quickly raises his hand, but Mrs. Jewls doesn't want to call on him, so she calls on Jenny instead. Jenny tells Mrs. Jewls that Mac has his hand raised. Mrs. Jewls reluctantly calls on Mac, who begins talking about how he couldn't find his socks anywhere that morning. Mrs. Jewls claims that's interesting, but questions what it has to do with decimals, Mac claims it's because he could only find *half* his socks. Despite agreeing, Mrs. Jewls decides to call on someone else, and calls on John, who asks if Mac looked under his bed. Mac said that was one of the first places he looked, but it wasn't there. Ron then asks if Mac checked the dirty clothes, but Mac claims it wasn't there either. Bebe asks if his dog took it, but Mac mentions his dog doesn't wear socks.

Allison asks if Mac could wear a different sock, even if it didn't match, but Mac notes that then he'd be wearing mismatching socks for the rest of his life, and he couldn't deal with that. Mrs. Jewls tries to get the class back on the topic of decimals and calls on Stephen. Stephen talks about a time when his mom waxed the floor and he could slide around on his socks, until he accidentally knocked over a plate, causing it to crash on the floor. Mac asks what this has to do with his socks, Stephen just shrugs. Leslie asks if Mac ever found his other sock, and he claims he found it in the refrigerator, questioning how it got there. Nobody knows. Mac proceeds to climb up on his desk and show off his socks. He proceeds to mention how he made up a song while looking for his socks and proceeds to sing it. As the bell rings for recess, Mrs. Jewls notes that she'll have to hand out the day's arithmetic assignment as homework because they couldn't finish it.

Later that day in science, Mrs. Jewls is teaching about dinosaurs and what they eat, which is different then what people eat today, when Mac raises his hand again. Mrs. Jewls calls on Myron instead who tells Mrs. Jewls that Mac has his hand raised. Mac proceeds to talk about how his uncle once grew a huge watermelon. Mrs. Jewls questions what it has to do with dinosaurs, and Mac mentions that it's likely the kind of watermelon that dinosaurs would eat. D.J. questions if Mac could eat it, and Mac notes he couldn't eat all of it, because it was too big even though it was delicious. He also warns the class about eating the seeds, or else they might grow a watermelon in their stomach. He mentions a time a lady swallowed a seed, and everyone thought she was pregnant, but she actually had a watermelon! Joy asks if it was a boy or a girl, and the class laughs. Mrs. Jewls never finished the science lesson, so she had to assign it for homework, she eventually did the same with reading, language, and spelling.

Later that day, Mac meets up with his girlfriend Nancy. She offers to carry Mac's books from all the work that he couldn't finish in class that became homework instead. Mac claims it's unfair that Mrs. Jewls assigns more homework than anyone else in the whole school.

## Characters

* Mrs. Jewls
* Mac
* Jenny
* John
* Ron
* Bebe Gunn
* Allison
* Stephen
* Stephen's mother (mentioned, debut)
* Leslie
* Maurecia
* Rondi
* Myron
* Mac's uncle (mentioned, debut)
* D.J.
* Joy
* Nancy

## Trivia

* This chapter reveals that Nancy is Mac's girlfriend.
* It is unknown if the stories Mac told in this chapter were actually true, as later chapters had him telling false stories.
	+ On that topic of false stories, seeds of watermelons and other fruit won't grow in your stomach, they will simply pass through your digestive system.
* Dogs may not (usually) wear socks, but they have been known to occasionally chew on them, just like shoes.
* Mrs. Jewls is correct in saying that broccoli did not exist at the time of the dinosaurs. Broccoli first appeared in the sixth century BC as a result of breeding Brassica crops and by that time, the dinosaurs already been extinct for millions of years. Dinosaurs didn't have watermelons either, they first appeared in Egypt five thousand years ago. Since dinosaurs are extinct, it is unknown if they would truly enjoy today's fruits and vegetables.
* Mac's socks are not how he described in the illustration by Tim Heitz, but they are in the ones by Adam McCauley and Peter Allen.
* Despite the fact that in "Nancy", Mac and Nancy were said to have still called each other "Hey, you," or just plain "You", Nancy refers to Mac as "Mac" at the end of this chapter.
* This marks the last time Nancy was seen or mentioned in the series.

## Gallery

Joel Schick illustrationAdam McCauley illustration
### Foreign editions

Peter Allen illustration (UK)Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan)