Student Question
Why does Greg call Maura in Andrew Clements's Lunch Money?
Quick answer:
Greg calls Maura names in Andrew Clements's Lunch Money, accusing her of stealing his idea for a comic book. This conflict escalates into a physical altercation, resulting in Greg getting a bloody nose. Although Greg does not call Maura, Maura later calls him to discuss a missed math assignment and to seek his advice on her comic book. Despite initial suspicion, they eventually decide to collaborate on their comic books.
The only phone call made in Andrew Clements's The Lunch Money
is actually made by Maura to Greg soon after they start fighting about Maura
copying Greg by making her own comic book. Certainly, however, Greg does call
Maura some names in the story.
In chapter 7, Greg storms into Mr. Z's math class, slams Maura's unicorn book
down on her desk and calls her a thief, saying, "You stole my idea,
and you know it" (56). He even calls her "cheap, stupid garbage" when he says
her book is "cheap, stupid garbage—just like you" (57). It's during their fight
that Maura accidentally hits Greg in the face, giving him a bloody nose and
black eye. While waiting in the nurse's office, Greg has a chance to look over
Maura's book and see that her artwork, which is original, is also really good.
Later, Maura tells Greg she read one of his books, which she pays for with a
quarter, and tells him she thinks his is good, too. During a conference with
Mr. Z, which calms the children down somewhat but doesn't help resolve the
issue, Greg gets another bloody nose and must miss math class. Later that same
evening, Maura calls his house and offers to give Greg the details of the math
assignment he missed. She next starts talking about his book once more, saying
she looked it over again, and that his book "makes her unicorn story look just
awful" (86). She then says she doesn't understand exactly why her book
can't be considered a comic book, hoping Greg will give her some advice. Greg
grows suspicious of her motives, however, thinking she is only calling because
she hopes she can learn more about his ideas so she can steal from them, so
Greg ends their phone conversation. It's not until much later in the story that
Greg and Maura decide they'll be able to sell more comic books if they work on
the book together.
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