This code works, can you compare it with yours?
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<title>HTML Tutorial</title>
<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<meta charset="windows-1252">
<script>
$(document).ready(function(){
var a = $("#a").val();
var b = $("#b").val();
$("#submit").on("click", function(){
var sum = a + b;
alert(sum);
})
})
</script>
</head>
<body>
<input type="text" id="a" name="option">
<input type="text" id="b" name="task">
<input id="submit" type="button" value="press me">
</body>
</html>