Four fifth graders with last names starting with D are assigned to sit together at the same classroom table.

Snik accuses Brenton of spending all his time on homework, and Brenton angrily lets slip he invented a machine.

Brenton invites Snik, Judy, and Kelsey to his house, where the machine scans and prints their completed science homework.

Brenton reprograms the homework machine to mimic each person's handwriting, and the group begins using it every afternoon.

Brenton secretly runs a social media software experiment that causes kids across America to wear red socks to school.

The D Squad designs a second viral trend together, sending kids nationwide to school wearing their clothes inside out.

Snik's father is deployed to the Middle East, and Snik begins playing an ongoing chess game with him online.

Miss Rasmussen rearranges the classroom seating to test whether the D Squad's suspicious homework quality changes.

The school newspaper prints a rumor that certain fifth graders have invented a machine that does their homework.

Miss Rasmussen gives the class a surprise test; Kelsey and Snik fail completely while Judy earns only a C.

Snik's father is killed in action, and Miss Rasmussen sets aside her investigation into the D Squad's cheating.

The D Squad discovers that Belch cannot be turned off, its files deleted, or its power source identified.

Using Brenton's homemade catapult, the group launches Belch over the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Backpackers discover computer pieces at the canyon's bottom, prompting Police Chief Rebecca Fish to investigate local schools.

The D Squad is called to the sheriff's office and confesses everything, each member insisting the fault is theirs.

Four mismatched fifth graders are forced to sit together at the same classroom table, united only by a shared last initial. When Brenton reveals he has invented a machine that does their homework, the group begins meeting at his house every afternoon and quickly becomes dependent on the device they name Belch. Their cheating initially goes unnoticed, but suspicions grow as the group's in-class performance fails to match their perfect homework. When Miss Rasmussen springs a surprise test that exposes their deception, only the tragic death of Snik's father delays the inevitable reckoning. After discovering Belch has taken on a life of its own and can no longer be shut down, the group destroys it by catapulting it into the Grand Canyon. The case is closed after the D Squad confesses, but the unlikely friendships formed over the school year endure.

The rise and fall of Belch, the homework machine.

Miss Rasmussen hands out a homework commandments worksheet, and Snik writes sassy, rebellious responses that earn him a B.

Brenton first demonstrates his machine by scanning a paper with 2+2= written on it and printing the correct answer.

The group names the homework machine Belch after Snik lets out a loud burp, then shakes on a pact of secrecy.

Snik's father visits the class to discuss the Air Force, sparking a heated debate between Snik and Judy about war.

Kelsey arrives at school with newly dyed pink hair, drawing sharp judgmental reactions from both Snik and Judy.

Judy begins ballet lessons using the extra free time that no longer spending her evenings on homework provides.

Kelsey's dramatically improved report card convinces her mother to reward her with a belly button piercing.

A stranger named Milner sends Kelsey an instant message asking who was responsible for starting the red socks trend.

Kelsey's friend Heather demands she stop spending time with Judy; Kelsey refuses and ends the friendship on the spot.

Ronnie Teotwawki follows the D Squad to Brenton's house after school and spies on them through the window.

Ronnie breaks into Brenton's house through a basement window, searching for proof of the homework machine.

Brenton reprograms Belch to insert random errors into Snik's and Kelsey's homework to deflect Miss Rasmussen's suspicions.

The D Squad moves all of Brenton's computer equipment from his house to Snik's house to hide it from the stranger.

Brenton admits to the D Squad that he was the one who leaked information about Belch to the school newspaper.

Police Chief Fish punishes the D Squad by making them hike into the canyon on a hot day to collect Belch's pieces.

While the D Squad coasts through fifth grade using Belch, the consequences of their secret ripple outward in ways they did not expect. Their social lives shift as old friendships fracture — Kelsey cuts off Heather and Judy begins to drift from Jessica — both because of their addiction to Belch and their growing bond with each other. Brenton's viral social media experiments demonstrate just how powerful his technology is, attracting a mysterious stranger who begins stalking the group online and in person. Cracks in their scheme appear when graffiti accuses the D Squad of cheating and Brenton deliberately programs errors into Snik's and Kelsey's work to throw Miss Rasmussen off the scent. Despite moving Belch to a new location and scrambling to contain the fallout, the group cannot escape the consequences, and Police Chief Fish ensures their punishment fits the crime.

Life behind the scenes while Belch changes everything.

Judy overhears Brenton mention the homework machine but decides not to report it to Miss Rasmussen.

Snik persuades Judy to join the homework scheme by reminding her she is only the second-smartest student in class.

After making a pact to keep Belch secret, the group spontaneously goes outside and plays kickball together for the first time.

Judy begins to judge Kelsey's pink hair but stops herself, remembering she dislikes being judged by the color of her own skin.

Brenton reveals to the D Squad that he secretly designed and launched the viral red socks campaign as a psychology experiment.

Milner sends Kelsey an instant message that shocks her by revealing he knows her father is dead.

When Snik's father is deployed overseas, Kelsey breaks down and tells her classmates for the first time that her own father died.

Judy tells her friend Jessica she could never be friends with Kelsey, then watches Jessica stop including her in plans.

A stranger arrives at Brenton's house and questions his mother about their computer equipment before she orders him to leave.

Ronnie threatens to expose the D Squad unless Brenton includes him in the secret; Brenton calmly calls his bluff.

Kelsey notices that Belch's red indicator light stays on even after the machine is unplugged from the wall.

After Snik's father's funeral, a stranger stops Judy on the street and begins questioning her about computers; she rides away in a panic.

Kelsey calls a meeting, and after Brenton admits leaking information about Belch, she puts her arm around him and forgives him.

Brenton secretly calls the police hotline to report Belch, convinced the machine is damaging Snik's and Kelsey's education.

Judy asks Brenton out as they leave the sheriff's office, and he accepts after carefully asking what that would entail.

The story of the homework machine is as much about personal growth as it is about cheating, and the turning points along the way reveal who the D Squad truly are. Early moments — Judy choosing not to report Brenton, Snik manipulating Judy into joining the scheme — establish the moral gray zone the group inhabits all year. As the months pass, shared vulnerabilities emerge: Judy softens her judgment of Kelsey, Kelsey opens up about her father's death, and the bonds between the four deepen despite their insistence they are not friends. A mysterious stranger's escalating intrusions and Brenton's secret call to the police signal the beginning of the end for Belch. By the time the D Squad sits in the sheriff's office, each member fighting to take the blame, and Judy reaches out to Brenton afterward, it is clear the machine brought them something far more valuable than completed homework.