Mrs. Jewls asked Dameon to pass back the homework.
Bebe Gunn waited nervously. Except for art, her grades had not been very good lately. If she didn't start bringing home better grades, her parents said they wouldn't let her stay up past midnight. She did her best artwork after midnight.
Dameon handed Calvin his homework, then Todd, then Joy.
"Where's yours?" asked Calvin.
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"I don't know," said Bebe.
"Did you do it?" asked Calvin.
"Yes, I did it," said Bebe. "I worked extra hard on it! I hope Mrs. Jewls didn't lose it."
Dameon finished passing out the homework. Bebe never got hers.
"Bebe, will you come here, please," said Mrs. Jewls.
She pushed out of her seat, stood up, and nervously walked to Mrs. Jewls's desk. "I did my homework, Mrs. Jewls," she said. "Really!"
"Yes, I know," said Mrs. Jewls. She held Bebe's homework in her hand.
"Whew!" Bebe sighed with relief. "I was afraid you lost it!"
"No, I didn't lose it," Mrs. Jewls said sternly. She showed the back of the paper to Bebe. Someone had written:
MRS. JEWLS IS AS FAT AS A HIPPOPOTAMUS!
(AND SHE SMELLS LIKE ONE, TOO.)
"I didn't write that!" exclaimed Bebe. "I love the way you smell."
Mrs. Jewls smiled. "But if you didn't write it, who did?"
"Ray!" Bebe instantly replied.
"Who's Ray?"
"He's my little brother. Ray Gunn. He must have snuck into my room after I was asleep. He's always
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playing mean tricks on me. He knew how hard I worked on my homework."
"Well, we'll show Ray," said Mrs. Jewls. She gave Bebe an A plus. "There. I don't think he'll try that again."
"Thanks!" said Bebe.
"You may have a Tootsie Roll Pop, too," said Mrs. Jewls.
Bebe took a Tootsie Roll Pop out of the coffee can on Mrs. Jewls s desk, then returned to her seat. She proudly showed Calvin her A +.
The next day Mrs. Jewls asked Dameon to hand back another batch of homework.
"How come Dameon always gets to do everything?" griped Kathy.
"I'm sorry, Kathy," said Mrs. Jewls. "Would you like to pass back the homework?"
"No!" grumped Kathy. "I'm not your slave."
Dameon passed out the homework. Again Bebe didn't get hers.
Mrs. Jewls called her to her desk. On the back of her homework someone had written:
MRS. JEWLS HAS A HEAD FULL OF OATMEAL! (AND IT LEAKS OUT HER EARS.)
"I didn't write it," said Bebe. "Ray?" asked Mrs. Jewls.
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Bebe nodded.
"Why don't you start checking the back of your homework?" suggested Mrs. Jewls.
"I did when I woke up!" said Bebe. "He must have done it after breakfast, while I was brushing my teeth. We had oatmeal for breakfast." She shook her head. "I won't brush my teeth anymore!"
"You have to brush your teeth," said Mrs. Jewls.
"My parents think he's such a little angel!" Bebe complained. "He's always wrecking things, and then I'm always the one who gets in trouble. 'Why can't you be more like Ray?' they say. Yesterday he threw all my underwear out the window. Then my mother yelled at me for it. She wouldn't believe that her little darling son would do something like that!"
Mrs. Jewls gave Bebe another A+ and another Tootsie Roll Pop.
For Friday everyone had to write a report and read it to the class. Bebe wrote her report about George Washington. She stood at the front of the room and read it out loud.
"... George Washington never told a lie. Not like Mrs. Jewls. She lies all the time. That's why her nose is so big. And she snores when she sleeps, so Mister Jewls has to wear ear plugs."
Everyone was laughing.
Bebe stopped reading. "What's so funny?" she asked.
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"Come here," said Mrs. Jewls.
Bebe shrugged, then walked to Mrs. Jewls's desk.
Mrs. Jewls showed her what she had just read.
"Did I just read that out loud?" Bebe asked.
Mrs. Jewls nodded.
"I was just reading it," Bebe explained. "I wasn't listening."
"It was Ray again, wasn't it?" asked Mrs. Jewls.
"Had to be," said Bebe. "Yesterday he put toothpaste in my socks. Then my mother got mad at me for making a mess and wasting toothpaste."
Bebe got an A 4- on her report and another Tootsie Roll Pop.
After school Mrs. Jewls called Bebe's mother on the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Gunn. This is Mrs. Jewls from Wayside School."
"What's Bebe done now?" asked Mrs. Gunn.
"Bebe hasn't done anything wrong," said Mrs. Jewls. "She's a wonderful girl."
"Well, that's a surprise!" said Mrs. Gunn. "She's always causing trouble at home."
"I wanted to talk to you about that," said Mrs. Jewls. "I think you're being unfair to Bebe. I think she often gets into trouble when really Ray is to blame."
"Ray?" asked Mrs. Gunn.
"Yes. I know you think he's a perfect angel," said Mrs. Jewls, "but some children can be angels on the outside and devils underneath."
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"Yes, that sounds like Bebe," said Mrs. Gunn. "I'm not talking about Bebe. I'm talking about Ray." "Ray?" asked Bebe's mother. "Who's Ray?"