Bram was watching the confrontation with open mouth, fascinated as long as he was not involved, but when the teacher addressed him, he turned red. Reluctantly, he got out of the bench and slowly walked up to the blackboard, trembling.
"Dunce." A boy nearby whispered.
He picked up the chalk and in barely readable handwriting he copied the sum. Except that he had turned the minus into a plus. Some children grasped.