Camouflaging Your Homework

(I’m in second grade and my older brother is in fourth grade. Despite him being further in school than I am, I’ve always been the more studious of us and have always been better at reading, writing, and spelling than he. We have similar handwriting and both of us have the habit of waiting to write our names for last. I’m watching cartoons after my homework when my mother calls me.)

Mom: “[My Name], get in here. Your homework’s not done!”

Me: “Yeah, it is!”

(I get up and go to the dining room table. Sitting on the table is a piece of notebook paper with words written on it. I pick it up and look it over and put it back down.)

Me: “That’s not mine!”

Mom: “Well it’s not [Brother]’s. That’s not his handwriting.”

Me: “Mom, it’s [Brother]’s. One, that’s not how I do my ‘G’s. Two, camouflage isn’t even a second grade word. Three, it’s spelled five different ways. Four, none of these are even how you spell it.”

Mom: *looks at the paper for a minute* “[Brother]! Your homework’s not done. Get over here and finish!”

Brother: *stomping into the room* “How do you know it’s not [My Name]’s?”

Mom: “Because, your sister knows how to spell camouflage. You, apparently, don’t.”