4A2 Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Characters:
Ramona Quimby= a smart girl in the third grade; she’s eight years old
Beatrice= Ramona’s older sister who is also known as Beezus; she’s in Junior
HighSchool
Mr. and Mrs. Quimby= Ramona’s parents; the father works as a part time helper in a Frozen- Food Warehouse and the mother works as a receptionist in a doctor’s office.
Danny= the boy in the baseball cap who used to tease Ramona
Mrs. Whaley = the 3rd grade teacher/ adviser
Howie= Ramona’s friend, whose grandma takes care of Ramona while parents are still at work
Willa Jean= a 4-year old girl whom Ramona dreaded to play with after school

Ramona likes being big enough to be counted on. She hoped her parents would stop giving her a little talking-to. It was first day of school and she’s so excited to ride the bus to school all by herself. That morning, everyone in her family was so busy preparing to school, Ramona, her older sister Beatrice and her father who is returning to school to be a teacher.
In school, she met her teacher Mrs. Whaley. She was asked to pass name tags to her classmates. As she walked around, her new sandals squeaked. She giggled and so did the rest of the class. The last person she gave a slip to was the boy in a baseball cap. He was Danny who kicked the back of her seat in the bus and who also took her new pink eraser. She demanded for her eraser but Danny refused and called her Bigfoot. Ramona wasn’t going to let him get away with this insult. Saying it loudly, she corrected him with Superfoot, not Bigfoot and gave him a nickname “Yard Ape“. To her astonishment, Danny handed her eraser to her with a grin. She felt so triumphant that she squeaked loudly back to her seat. Mrs. Whaley told her that she has musical shoes. Ramona thought she is a non-fussy teacher.
The first day of school was really exciting. Then another good part of the 3rd grade began during the 2nd week of school. Ramona loves to read and everyday after lunch, they have Sustained Silent Reading. She could read without hiding her book under her desk or behind bigger book. After school, she and her friend Howie from the other class would walk from the bus stop to Howie’s house. When they approached his house, she was greeted by Willa Jean who wanted to play with her. As things turned out, she was saved by being a dog by the arrival of a small boy named Bruce. But still Willa Jean insisted she will play with them. Ramona kept in looking at her book of fairy tales. Then with her politest voice she excused herself to Willa Jean. Ramona picked her book up and settled herself in the corner blissfully reading.
At school after learning about insects, the students were very eager for lunch. Each student has a boiled egg for lunch. This became a fad that even if Ramona really preferred deviled eggs than half-boiled and soft-boiled egg, she asked her mom to prepare boiled egg for her. The students all ran to the cafeteria. Ramona cracked the egg in her head but unknowingly, the egg was raw. It dripped over her face and stuck into her head. She was so ashamed that she ran to the teacher’s office alone, ignoring the concern or help from one of her classmates. There, Mrs. Larson washed her hair and as she was drying her hair, she heard Mrs. Whaley talking about a show-off and a nuisance girl in her office. Ramona was so stunned that she didn’t try to hear Mrs. Larson’s answer. Lunch period came to an end but she sat still. Then he heard Danny’s voice. Mrs. Larson totally forgot her in the toilet. Ramona hesitated to enter her class because she doesn’t want to see her teacher, Mrs. Whaley. For once, Danny didn’t tease her. He sympathized with her and told her not to let Mrs. Whaley get her down. She began to like Danny. When Ramona arrived home, she quarreled with her mom about the raw egg. Though her mom explained that she took by mistake the raw egg from the fridge, she still couldn’t forget her. Dinner came and they ate tongue meat since it is cheaper and nutritious. However, Beezus and Ramona didn’t want the taste of tongue meat so they gave their food to their cat. Their parents got angry and gave them punishment. Their dad told them to cook dinner for the family.
The siblings then decided to be extra good hoping that their parents will forget the tasks that they should do. So, when Sunday came, they got up without being called, complimented their mom on her French toast and cleaned their rooms. When Ramona was about to ask permission to go out and skate, her father reminded her about their chores to cook for dinner. As a result, they had no choice but to do the chore. They opened the fridge and cooked chicken and corn bread. At last they were done. Their parents enjoyed their cooking. They were grateful to them for enjoying or pretending to enjoy the food they made. The whole family cheered up. As their mom and dad volunteered to wash the dishes and clear the table, Ramona and her older sister excused themselves and skipped to their rooms before their parents discover the mess in the kitchen.

T. Redge