The Calculator

Div Bharti

High School Student

January/February 2026

Chapter 1

Zach Bennet, a calculus student with a slightly niche quirk just got home. What quirk you might ask? Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves yet… Anyways, he put his bag on the floor against the wall and went downstairs to grab some food. “It really is a bummer that I couldn't be at school longer…” said Zach, but little did he know what was going to happen. You see his quirk was that he really liked his calculator, maybe he liked it a tad bit too much. 

He went to his table with his cheese crackers, reached down his backpack, grabbed his notebook and got his stuff out, but he then realized his bag was empty. His special spot for his calculator with the red soft leather was empty.. This had only happened one time before in 6th grade, his very clumsy self had left it in the care of the classroom that time did not end well to say the least.

Anyways, he still had the issue of not knowing where the calculator was, and in his fit of rage he grabbed the nearest thing he could see and threw it out of the window. He was so upset in fact that he didn't even realize what he was throwing out the window, which was tragically his very own calculator. The calculator was covered with a piece of paper and he didn't realize it was under it. He would eventually realize when he calmed down two days later. He took the days off of school and was so mad that he didn’t even eat for those two days. He didn't even leave his room for those two days. In fact he did all his math by hand! But after those two days he had realized nothing else could have felt that way. The glossy screen, the matte back and the smooth paper, he could practically feel it again! He ran outside, something he has never done, and he grabbed it off the ground, the wet, dirty, disgusting, nasty, and ungrateful ground. He saw the calculator in its poor state with water dripping down from it and the dirt on its corners. It had rained the day before he found it after he had hurled it out and now it wasn't working. “How could I have done this? How could I have done such a horrible and selfish act! I promise, I swear I will never commit such a horrible sin again!” He swore on his life that he would never again disrespect his calculator again. He would always keep it safe and protected. Later as he fell asleep with his calculator tucked in on his table and he slowly fell asleep thinking about how he would keep it safe.