“Matt and Mandy,” Friend, Nov. 2011, 42
Matt and Mandy
Illustrations by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki
Boy, math is hard!
Math’s easy. Science is hard.
Science is pretty easy for me.
Hey, I could help you study math and you could help me study science.
You’re a genius! Let’s start tonight!
Great! Then you can look at my paper during math tests and I’ll look at yours on science tests!
No, Taylor. That’s not going to happen. It’s cheating.
No, it’s not. It’s friends helping each other.
Actually, it’s friends hurting each other. Helping me learn math makes me a better person. Helping me pretend I’ve learned math when I really haven’t is helping me be dishonest.
OK, then. Before tests we work together. During tests we’re on our own.
Deal! That’s the best way we can help each other.