Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (Wayside School 3)

Todd shook his head. After being conked by the tetherball, he couldn’t remember anything.

“I remember,” said Jason, who was in line to play. “Whenever Louis got in trouble, the teacher used to put the wastepaper basket on his head!”

“That’s right!” said Jenny. “And then Louis would have to keep it there the rest of the day. And everyone would laugh at him. And then the teacher would call on him to answer questions from the blackboard, but he couldn’t see the questions, so she’d give him an F!”

“Do you remember the teacher’s name?” asked Deedee.

Her friends shook their heads. Todd couldn’t even remember his own name.

“I think it was Mrs. Drazil,” said Deedee.

They ran to Louis.

“Hey, Louis!” said Jason. “What was the name of that mean teacher you once had when you were a kid?”

“Which one?” asked Louis.

“The one that put the trash can on your head,” said Jenny.

Louis shuddered just thinking about her. “Mrs. Drazil,” he whispered.

The kids looked at each other.

“What color hair did she have?” asked Jason.

“Brown,” said Louis. “Why?”

“We have a substitute teacher,” explained Deedee. “She’s real nice.”

“Good,” said Louis.

“Her name is Mrs. Drazil,” said Deedee.

“Whoa, I’m getting out of here,” said Louis. He started to run, but the kids grabbed him.

“It’s okay,” said Jenny. “It can’t be the same teacher. Our teacher is nice.”

“And her hair isn’t brown,” said Jason. “It’s white.”

Louis relaxed a little bit.

“You want to come up and meet her?” asked Deedee.

“No way!” said Louis.

“Oh, you’re so silly, Louis,” said Deedee. “She’s not the same teacher. And besides, you’re a teacher now too.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” said Louis.

“C’mon, Louis,” said Deedee. She held his hand and led him up the stairs.

They entered the classroom.

Mrs. Drazil was putting some of the children’s work on the bulletin board.

“Mrs. Drazil,” said Deedee. “We brought our yard teacher up to meet you.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” said Mrs. Drazil as she pinned up Joe’s arithmetic test. “Exercise is so important for young minds and bodies.” She turned around.