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Characters / Wayside School

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Characters from the Wayside School series by Louis Sachar.

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Mrs. Jewls' class

    Mrs. Jewls 
Debut: "Mrs. Jewls"

The teacher of Wayside School's thirtieth story. She is an incredibly nice teacher, despite occasionally having some... questionable teaching methods.

  • Berserk Button: Losing, or even worse, bending a paper clip is shown to be a serious offense in Mrs. Jewls' class. She gives each student a paper clip at the start of the year, and makes it their goal to keep it.
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Although not "normal" by any stretch of the imagination, Mrs. Jewls often serves as this to the students in her class.
  • Cool Teacher: She's stated to be the nicest teacher at Wayside School, and for the most part, she is, showing great care for her students, and occasionally adapting to whatever methods of teaching help them learn best.
  • Given Name Reveal: A true/false test in Sideways Arithmetic asks whether her name is Shirley. Working out the test in full will show that it isn't.
  • Put on a Bus: Goes on maternity leave in the latter half of book three.
  • Split Personality: In "The Mean Mrs. Jewls," it is revealed that as nice as she is, there is a side of her that constantly wishes to act the other way and lashes out sometimes. Mrs. Jewls, however, punishes herself by sending herself home on the kindergarten bus.

    Joe 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"

A student with many talents, most notably his strange mathematical methods, which always return the right answers no matter how strange the process.

  • Break the Cutie: Is humiliated when Mr. Gorf calls his mom impersonating him on the phone, to tell her that he hates her and wishes his dad will marry someone good this time. The rest of the class, who already listened in on a similar phone conversation involving Rondi, tried hard not to look at him when it was announced he would be going next, feeling VERY sorry for him.
  • Genius Ditz: Despite never figuring out math problems in the right way, he always manages to get the right answer.
  • Girls Have Cooties: When asked what his suggestion for Mrs. Jewls' new baby name if it was a girl, he suggested "cootie-face".
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He may be rude at times, but he means well.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: He and John can be this at times, considering their polar opposite mindsets.

    Sharie 
Debut: "Sharie"
A Heavy Sleeper who sits by the window in Mrs. Jewls' class. Acts strange when awake, even by the standards of Wayside.
  • Asleep in Class: One of her defining traits.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: By Wayside's already strange standards. She wears a giant winter coat all year long, and it's not just any student who does something like bringing a hobo to school for show-and-tell.
  • Heavy Sleeper: Even after falling out a window, Sharie only briefly wakes, realizes she isn't in class or in bed, and falls back asleep.
  • Made of Iron: Is able to survive a fall from over 300 feet. Justified, as her big coat might have cushioned her fall.
  • Sleep Deprivation: Due to sleeping in class, she often cannot fall asleep in bed at night. This is implied to keep the cycle going for sleeping in class and staying awake at home.
  • Sleep Learning: Sharie can get away with sleeping in Mrs. Jewls' class all the time, because Mrs. Jewls assumes she learns better that way.
  • We Need a Distraction: When the classmates need to dig up some dirt on their new substitute teacher, Shari decides to announce that she saw a UFO flying by the window while Dee Dee grabs the special blue book.

    Todd 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
He's a well-behaved student, but also the first student to break a rule in Mrs. Jewls' class, so she keeps a special eye on him. Despite this, however, he is usually seen to remain optimistic.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Todd may be a Cheerful Child who lets little phase him, but he DOES have his limits at times.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • When Mrs. Gorf is about to leave the students as apples, Todd has other plans and hits Mrs. Gorf in the head. This inspires the rest of the class to follow suit, making Mrs. Gorf change them back to humans. If it wasn’t for his quick actions, the whole class would have stayed as fruit forever.
    • Also, in his spotlight episode in the 1st book, When two bank robbers come into the classroom with GUNS, intending to rob them, Todd teaches them the importance of learning. This convinces the two criminals to give up a life of crime, and pursue a more lawful career. And when Todd gets sent home that day, the whole class applauds at him for being such a hero.
  • Butt-Monkey: He's a good kid, but Mrs. Jewls keeps a special eye on him, so he always gets caught doing slight offenses, and gets sent home early almost every single day.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: He has shown to be bright at times, but tends to be out there. He even says at one point that he thinks he's stupid.
  • Can't Get Away with Nuthin': To an absurd degree.
  • Cheerful Child: Remains this, in spite of everything.
  • The Dog Bites Back: A literal example of this trope. When he brings in a toy puppy from home for show and tell, Joy wants to steal it because it got him out of trouble. Unfortunately, the moment she tries to get it is when it is in attack mode, and it bites Joy on the hand when she grabs it, and won't come off. Because she is almost always picking on Todd, it is strongly implied that Todd knew she would steal it, and put it in his desk with the dog set this way to give her what she deserved.
  • Easy Amnesia: In the 3rd book, he is distracted by Deedee and gets conked in the head by a tetherball that he was playing with. When Dee Dee asks him if he remembers Louis' teacher's name, he shook his head, and the narration points out that at the moment, he couldn't even remember his OWN name.
  • Nice Guy: He is shown to be very friendly and is respectful most of the time.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone:
    • In "The Bells of Wayside," Mrs. Jewls is forced to erase the blackboard, including the discipline list, allowing Todd to stay in class.
    • In "Blame It on the Cloud," Mrs. Jewls realizes he has been good, and so he's the only kid who doesn't have to write his name under the discipline list.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: In "A Bad Word," Mrs. Jewls is happy to see he's okay even after he shows up late, but then punishes him, since he wasn't in class to hear that "door" was declared a swear word.

    Bebe Gunn 
Debut: "Bebe"
A skilled artist who can draw pictures really fast, and seems to use her creativity as a means for mischief from time to time.
  • Artsy Beret: All of the illustrations of her depict her wearing a beret, to match her artistic ability.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In book 2, she forgets to hand in her homework, and when Mrs. Jewls confronts her about it, she lies and says that her brother Ray did it. She keeps using this to constantly get away with bad deeds, including reciting an insulting poem in class about how Mrs. Jewls has oatmeal in her ears, and blaming it on Ray. And even worse is that Bebe is strongly implied to have made Ray up - though whatever's happening on the 19th floor suggests maybe not.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be a brat a lot of the time, but she usually cares for her friends, especially towards Calvin.
  • Platonic Boy/Girl Heroes: She is best friends with Calvin, and there is nothing to suggest that the two have any romantic feelings for each other.
  • Punny Name: She's the fastest drawer in Mrs. Jewls' class, and her name is Bebe Gunn! She can draw a cat in less than forty-five seconds, a dog in less than thirty, and a flower in less than eight.

    Calvin 
Debut: "Mrs. Jewls"
Bebe's art assistant, usually seen helping out others at Wayside. He has a tattoo of a potato on his ankle.
  • The Generic Guy: Compared to the other students, Calvin doesn't have many quirks that make him stand out.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Bebe. He makes sure to always be on her side, helping her with art projects and other activities.

    Myron 
Debut: "Calvin"
The former class president of Mrs. Jewls' class, as well as one of the most thoughtful students. He has chosen freedom over safety, so he can do whatever he wants, though he still rarely gets himself into trouble since he's so well-behaved.
  • I Just Want to Be Free: What Myron's goal is during the second book.
  • Nice Guy: As shown below in No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.
  • No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He looked after another student's puppy after it got into an accident. Unfortunately, that meant he was late for class, and they wouldn't turn the lights on without him.
  • The Unfettered: Subverted. He has the opportunity to be one, having traded safety for freedom, but he's simply too nice a person to do anything more questionable than skip any tests or lessons he's not interested in.

    Maurecia 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A girl so sweet, she's everyone's favorite flavor of ice cream. She's usually kind and honest, even if she is best friends with the troublesome Joy.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Is sweet most of the time, but can be rude once in a while. When she first meets Sammy, she outright says that he smells bad despite trying to be nice to him.
  • Girly Bruiser: Is stated in her spotlight chapter that she can beat up any boy in the class. Indeed, Maurecia says to Joe that she can beat him up when he argues with her.
  • Odd Friendship: Despite being so unbelievably sweet, her best friend is well-known kleptomaniac troublemaker Joy.
  • Puppy Love: Is implied to have this with Todd of all people, liking his ice cream the best. She even tries to take a bite out of him every once in a while because she loves the taste so much.
  • Sweet Tooth: For ice cream. She regularly stashes it in her desk for a snack, and Mrs. Jewls helps invent new flavors so that she doesn't get bored of the ones that already exist.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: She loves ice cream.
  • True Companions: One of the "Unbreakables," alongside Deedee, Ron, and Joy.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: She is the Girly Girl to Joy's Tomboy.

    Paul 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
An inattentive student with a strange fixation on pulling Leslie's pigtails. He knows it's wrong, but he can't help himself.
  • Big Damn Heroes: When an unusually mean Mrs. Jewls is about to pour pickle juice all over Leslie for getting a question wrong, Paul saves Leslie from suffering this fate by grabbing the pickle jar and stopping it from spilling it on her, instead soaking Mrs. Jewls.
  • The Generic Guy: Aside from his obsession with pulling Leslie's pigtails, there isn't much known about Paul.
  • I Owe You My Life: Feels this towards Leslie after she saves him from falling out the window by letting him pull her pigtails.
  • Tempting Fate: The first two times he yanks Leslie's pigtails and makes her scream in pain, Paul is thinking that he can just do this every day without getting a strike three and being sent home. But then Leslie, who is implied to have faked it in order to get Paul sent to the bus, screams a third time. This so far makes Paul, as far as the reader knows, the ONLY other student besides Todd to be sent home early.

    Dana 
Debut: "Myron"
A very over-emotional student that wears glasses. She often gets teased by Joe and John for this, though she can get back at them with her funny faces.
  • Bespectacled Cutie: Many of the characters remark that she looks much better with her glasses on.
  • Boyish Short Hair: In the 3rd book, she gets a haircut that is way too short, and she fears that she will be mistaken for a boy because of it. Unfortunately for her, Ms. Nogard read her thoughts, and seized upon the opportunity to humiliate her in class with that.
  • Dirty Kid: When Calvin is wondering where to put his tattoo on his body, Dana replies that SHE knows where it should go. She giggled like mad, unable to say it, then whispered her idea to Jenny, who also reacted the same way.
  • Frozen Face: Suffers this in the fourth book.
  • Mood-Swinger: Can go from laughing loudly to sobbing in nearly an instant, especially during storytime, thanks to all the emotional beats in the books Mrs. Jewls reads.
  • What Beautiful Eyes!: It's stated that her eyes are her prettiest feature, hence why people think she looks better with glasses on.

    Jason 
Debut: "Mrs. Jewls"
A student with a big mouth, both figuratively and literally. He tries to be helpful, but usually gets himself into more trouble than it's worth.
  • The Chew Toy: Jason's big mouth often gets him into trouble. He's gotten stuck to his chairs, had his mouth taped shut, swallowed his goldfish, he has a Depraved Dentist, and he's even been overshadowed by his older brother. He also once ended up being forced to read the longest book in the world, but it turns out, he ended up liking it... until it turns out the paper clip in his backpack was bent from its weight.
  • Didn't Think This Through: He gets the biggest new book from the library and uses it for his book report, hoping to impress Allison with this. This comes back to bite him, when he has trouble reading the book and almost failing his grade.
  • Dirty Kid: When Calvin is wondering what his tattoo will be, Jason suggests that he get a naked lady.
  • Loving Bully: He sometimes picks on Allison mainly because he is in love with her. It’s downright stated in the narration in Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School that this is the case.

    Rondi 
Debut: "Dana"
A girl who seems to only get acknowledged for whatever she doesn't have. She doesn't appreciate everyone complimenting the front teeth she didn't have, though considered having them kicked out once she grew them back.
  • Berserk Button: She doesn't like it when people compliment her about things she doesn't have, especially her missing teeth. When Louis asks her to smile and show him her missing teeth, she gets so enraged that she socks him in the stomach and bites his arm.
  • Break the Cutie: When Mr. Gorf steals the kids' voices, he decides to use this by calling each of their parents and pretending to be them. He starts with Rondi, calling her mother and telling her that "she" hates her. After Mr. Gorf hangs up the phone, Rondi starts crying her eyes out. She manages to call her back after regaining her voice and tell her that message was faked, but the damage is probably done.
  • Childish Tooth Gap: Had this until the second book.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair, and is usually a sweetheart.
  • With Friends Like These...: Her best friend is Allison, who apparently knocked out her front teeth.

    Deedee 
Debut: "Maurecia"
A quick, athletic, and oftentimes competitive student, who seems to additionally have a knack for problem-solving.
  • "Eureka!" Moment: When her second substitute teacher arrives, Mrs. Drazil, and announces her name, Deedee wonders where she heard it before. A few chapters in, she just had class and calls Louis' name, and that's when she's realizes: after she heard Louis talk about his nasty teacher when he was a kid, and her substitute teacher WAS his former teacher.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Her plan to meet Louis with Mrs. Drazil is Gone Horribly Right when she really IS his former teacher, and now forced him to change his entire personality. She feels immediately guilty about this.
  • Precocious Crush: She has one on Louis, enjoying the way he holds her hand in comfort.
  • True Companions: One of the "Unbreakables," alongside Maurecia, Ron, and Joy.

    D.J. 
Debut: "Rondi"
A kid whose smile is so bright, he needs construction paper to cover it up. His smile seems to be infectious to every other kid at Wayside School.
  • Cheerful Child: His smile stretches across his entire face, and manages to get everyone, and everything in his class, laughing with him.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The one time he's seen not smiling in book two drives the entire class (sans Kathy) into a Heroic BSoD.
  • Perpetual Smiler: D.J. figures that while you need a reason to be sad, you don't need a reason to be happy.

    John 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
One of the smartest kids in Mrs. Jewls' class, and Joe's best friends. He could only read words written upside down before getting his brain flipped, and now is seen frequently teasing Dana.
  • Ditzy Genius: He is great at school, but unfortunately, he can only do it by reading upside down. And even when his problem is fixed, he immediately gets a new one on being unable to look for things.
  • Out of Focus: Doesn't have any chapters focused on him in the third and fourth books.

    Leslie 
Debut: "Todd"
A girl with long, brown pigtails that reach down to her waist, frequently pulled by Paul. Fortunately, she appears to be a pretty clever student, which seems to be good for keeping him out of her hair.
  • Brainy Brunette: She has brown hair, and is Good with Numbers, as seen when helping Louis out. She is also shown to actually know the answers to questions that Mrs. Jewls asks that were related to what she was supposed to be learning, while most of the class catcalled about it.
  • Distress Call: When Mr. Gorf steals all of the children's voices, Leslie tries to alert Louis down in the yard by writing a plea of help and setting the letter in a paper airplane out the window. Unfortunately, Mr. Gorf sees it and catches it before it could sail down to Louis. It probably wouldn't have helped them, anyway, considering it only reads "Help" and not what for what reason nor which class to help specifically.
  • Girlish Pigtails: Has long, brown pigtails that Paul can't resist pulling.
  • Prefers Going Barefoot: She never wears any shoes in Peter Allen's illustrations of the UK edition books.

    Kathy 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
Originally a complete and total Jerkass who hated everyone else in the class, her personality reversed after an appointment with the school counselor Dr. Pickell. Nowadays, she's one of the nicest kids in the class, and appears to be friends with everyone.
  • Cheerful Child: As of Beneath the Cloud of Doom.
  • Conforming OOC Moment: Despite claiming to hate D.J. for smiling too much, she smiles (and later laughs) with the rest of the class when she sees D.J.'s contagious smile in his chapter. According to the narration, she otherwise only laughs whenever someone hurts themself.
  • Good Feels Good: Dr. Pickell had Kathy become nicer by having her imagine walking into a mirror in her dream. Many chapters later, he shatters the mirror, which causes his cure to be reversed, but Kathy remains nice, because as it turns out, she likes being nice and having friends.
  • Jerkass: Prior to the end of "Up and Down." She got great enjoyment out of seeing D.J.'s misery, told the rest of the class Santa isn't real, and even got into arguments with another student's hiccups.
  • Never My Fault: Kathy's chapter in the first book is largely about this. Kathy is a pessimist who always assumes the worst will happen, and she assumes everyone else is giving her bad advice. She refuses to follow the advice she's given, and when faced with the consequences, simply tells them that she was right in the first place.
  • Out-of-Character Alert: In the third book, Miss Mush realizes something is wrong when she hears Kathy wishing her a nice day.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Her subplot in Beneath the Cloud of Doom focuses on this; it's revealed that she has been suffering from a condition known as "oppositosis," which Dr. Pickell subsequently reverses. Needless to say, it dramatically changes her personality.

    Ron 
Debut: "Maurecia"
A bad athlete, but a good sport. He loves to play kickball, but isn't very good at it, but he doesn't mind, because he always enjoys it, anyway.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: He may be respectful most of the time, but when Louis annoyed him too much, Ron punched him. And it is stated that he punched harder than he kicked.
  • Butt-Monkey: Because Miss Nogard knows that Ron didn't do his assignment one day, she keeps calling on him, making him get the answers wrong. And when she gives the class extra homework and everyone starts hating each other, it is specifically said that everyone hated Ron.
  • Foil: To Terrence. While Terrence is a good athlete but a bad sport, Ron is a bad athlete but a good sport. Get it?
  • True Companions: One of the "Unbreakables," alongside Maurecia, Deedee, and Joy.

    Eric Fry 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A tall, fat student, and a brilliant athlete. For a long time though, no one acknowledged him for it due to the other two Erics being inathletic, settling him with the nickname "Butterfingers". Appropriately grumpy because of it.
  • Ironic Nickname: "Butterfingers." Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens aren't skilled athletes, so everyone assumes that must be true of all Erics. He got this nickname because the students thought he was clumsy when a ball slipped out of his hands during a catch.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: The In-Between to Eric Ovens' Nice and Eric Bacon's Mean.
  • Once Done, Never Forgotten: One time during recess, he dropped the ball, and the other students use that as evidence he's actually inathletic. Possibly averted by the fourth book, where it's revealed his athletic ability is now admired by the rest of the class.
  • Stout Strength: While Fry is one of the huskier children in Mrs. Jewel's class, his body is solid muscle and he's more fit than the other Erics.

    Eric Bacon 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A short, skinny student, though everyone calls him "Fatso" because the other two Erics are fat. He's described as being funny, clever, and a little bit sneaky, and that everyone likes him, even if they can't trust him.
  • Blatant Lies: When Mr. Kidswatter asks him if he has gotten a haircut recently, Eric replies that he NEVER gets a haircut because he is bald and is wearing a wig. He said that after he brushed his hair right in front of the principal.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He even snarks at Principal Kidswatter when called into his office.
  • Ironic Nickname: "Fatso." Eric Fry and Eric Ovens are both fat. He's the skinniest kid in class, but everyone just assumes that all Erics must be fat, due to the other two.
  • Lean and Mean: Is the skinniest person in the class, and he is very sneaky and once dropped a very mean note about Mr. Kidswatter near him so he can read it.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: The Mean to Eric Fry's In-Between and Eric Ovens' Nice.

    Eric Ovens 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A short, fat student, as well as one who is oftentimes kind and trustworthy. Unfortunately, that kind of person often gets overlooked, and it doesn't help that the other two Erics are mean, earning him the nickname "Crabapple".
  • The Generic Guy: Compared to the other Erics, Ovens doesn't have much in terms of personality that make him stand out. Becomes a plot point in the fourth book where he feels ignored by his peers and doesn't want to feel like a nobody.
  • Ironic Nickname: "Crabapple." Eric Fry and Eric Bacon both became mean as a result of their terrible nicknames, so the other students assume that all Erics must be mean as well. Eric Ovens, however, is one of the nicest kids in the class.
  • Nice Guy: Is said to be the nicest person in class. However, since the other Erics tend to be mean, he is assumed to be mean, too.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: The Nice to Eric Bacon's Mean and Eric Fry's In-Between.

    Allison 
Debut: "Mrs. Jewls"
Seems to be the most rationally-minded of all the kids in Mrs. Jewls' class, considering all her classmates silly, even her best friend Rondi. She can occasionally be aggressive, and apparently knocked out Rondi's front teeth.
  • Alice Allusion: Her name is Allison, which is similar to Alice. She also has blonde hair, and she gets to a world similar to a rabbit hole and she desperately wants to go home.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She is normally very sweet, but when she gets angry, she is nasty about it.
  • Boys Have Cooties: In the 3rd book, it is mentioned she doesn't particularly like boys compared to girls, suggesting to Mrs. Jewls that she should name her baby "bucket head" if it turns out to be a boy. Also, she invited all the girls in her class to her birthday party but only invited two boys, Jason and Stephen, because she was convinced that too many boys would act silly. But when Mrs. Jewls convinced her that girls are silly too, she changes her mind and invites them all.
  • Break the Cutie: Also might count as Break the Haughty, considering her sweet and sour personality. When she suddenly remembers her classmates from the 30th floor after forgetting about them while trapped on the 19th floor under the teaching of Ms. Zarves, she bursts into tears, having missed all of them and their unique personalities and knowing that she may never see them again. This convinces her to decide that enough was enough and to escape the 19th floor once and for all.
  • Everybody Loves Blondes: She is blonde and very pretty, too the point where the boys in class would start teasing them. When she threatens to knock their teeth out if they don't stop, they promptly do so.
  • Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She may be very feminine, but she usually wears a windbreaker which is not considered a girly thing to wear, and she might have knocked Rondi's teeth out intentionally.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair, and when she acts sweet, she is very genuine about it.
  • Innocent Blue Eyes: Has sky blue eyes, and is Innocently Insensitive when it comes to being rude.
  • Nice Girl: Allison is friendly and helpful.
  • Only Sane Man: She thinks everyone else in her class is silly, even her best friend Rondi.
    • Not So Above It All: Realizes that she still loves her classmates, regardless of their silliness.
  • True Blue Femininity: She is a very girly girl, and wears a sky blue windbreaker that matches her eyes.
  • With Friends Like These...: She and Rondi are best friends, and while Allison is usually nice, she has her moments of selfishness. She claims that she knocked Rondi's two front teeth out which is probably true, and she gets her way when she wants to do a poem on the color purple, even though that’s Rondi’s favorite color.

    Dameon 
Debut: "Todd"
A student who always does nice things for Mrs. Jewls, partially because he has a crush on her. He frequently is sent running up and down the many stairs of Wayside.
  • Out of Focus: Doesn't have any chapters focused on him in the third and fourth books.
  • Precocious Crush: He has one on Mrs. Jewls, as is seen in "Love and a Dead Rat." Mrs. Jewls explains to him that since love is an emotion, not a thing, she can still love him back (albeit platonically) and have more love than she started with.

    Jenny 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A student that often arrives late to class, riding on the back of her father's motorcycle. She seems to be extroverted, and is friends with most of the students in her class.
  • All Girls Like Ponies: She was really excited at the chance to go horseback riding for the first time. However, Miss Nogard then told her a tale of how her nephew got injured while horseback riding, and Jenny lost hope.
  • Cannot Keep a Secret: When the whole 30th story class finds out about Louis' crush on Ms. Nogard, they at least keep it a secret from her. Except for Jenny, who straight up tells the substitute teacher to her face that he likes her.
  • Daddy's Girl: Her father drives her to school on his motorcycle, and she kisses him on the cheek every time she leaves.
  • Dirty Kid: She giggled like crazy when Dana whispered to her a special place on Calvin’s body where he can have his tattoo.
  • Does Not Like Spam: She hates prune juice, and once shows up to school late because she doesn't want to drink it.
  • The Dog Bites Back: After Mrs. Gorf is forced to turn the children back into humans, she attempts to turn them back into apples. But Jenny grabs a mirror and presents it face to face with Mrs. Gorf, giving her comeuppance. Also counts as Big Damn Heroes, because while Todd was the one who led the attack, Jenny also shares the credit for saving them.
  • Never Bare Headed: She almost never takes off the motorcycle helmet that she uses to ride to school with her dad. In the 2nd book, however, she begins to feel easier to take it off in order to hear better in class.
  • Out of Focus: Doesn't have a chapter focus on books 3 and 4.

    Terrence 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A good athlete, but a bad sport. He's your typical schoolyard bully, and frequently terrorizes the other kids while insulting them in rhyme. Really enjoys kicking things.
  • Jerk Jock: He's a good athlete, but it doesn't matter because every day at recess, he just enjoys kicking all the balls over the fence.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: On the receiving end; after kicking every ball over the fence for no good reason (and being a total jackass about it), Terrence gets kicked over the fence by Louis in retribution.
  • Rhymes on a Dime: He tends to insult people in rhyme: e.g. "Take a train, peanut brain!" or "Eat a frog, warthog!"
  • Sore Loser: Whenever he loses, he insults the player who beat him.
  • Would Hit a Girl: When Rondi stands up to him, he eventually throws a punch at her face, but she ducks.

    Joy 
Debut: "Joe"
A mischievous student with Sticky Fingers, who often seems to be the reason other kids wind up in trouble.
  • Aesop Amnesia: In her spotlight chapter in the 1st book, she learns her lesson about stealing when she feels guilty and gets a stomach ache from all the food she took. By the 2nd book, she apparently forgot about that lesson.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Shows signs of this at times, particularly in "Poetry," where she gets out of work by stealing Mrs. Jewls' example poem.
  • Ironic Name: She doesn't bring much Joy to her classmates.
  • Jerkass to One: She is pretty rude in general, but she is especially bad with Todd. She spits on him, tugs on his hair, likes to shout at him, and tries to steal something of his.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite being a mischief-maker and often acting like a Jerkass, she does have a conscience, and gets the occasional Pet the Dog moments.
  • Odd Friendship: Despite being a beacon of mischief, her best friend is the unbelievably sweet Maurecia.
  • Sticky Fingers: Has stolen Dameon and Maurecia's lunches, Todd's toy dog, and even Mrs. Jewls' example poem.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Maurecia's Girly Girl.
  • True Companions: One of the "Unbreakables," alongside Maurecia, Deedee, and Ron.

    Mac 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
Originally named Nancy, he was shy before trading his name with a girl from the twenty-third floor. Now, he always has something to talk about, occasionally heavily derailing the class.
  • Gender-Blender Name: Was originally "Nancy," before he traded with a girl on the twenty-third floor.
  • Motor Mouth: After trading his name, he went from being incredibly shy to this.

    Stephen 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
A student that often shows up to class wearing strange and silly outfits. He likes to feel important, though has been seen struggling with handling the actually important task of ringing the gong at the end of the day. The current class president of Mrs. Jewls' class.
  • Fashion Hurts: You need to wear uncomfortable clothes to feel important.

    Benjamin Nushmutt 
Debut: "Mark Miller"
A new student introduced in the second book, everyone believes he is named Mark Miller, and for a long time, he is too timid to correct them, partially because he struggles to say his own name.
  • Accidental Misnaming: Benjamin's entire arc in the second book is based around everyone else thinking he's named Mark Miller.
  • Chick Magnet: A passing mention in the 2nd book mentions that all the girls in class really liked Benjamin, and that Benjamin is good looking. Granted, it was referring to how they thought he was Mark Miller, but still.
  • Demoted to Extra: Isn't mentioned much after the second book.
  • New Transfer Student: Introduced in the second book as this.

    Sue 
Debut: "Spelling"
A new student that only appears in the Sideways Arithmetic spin-offs. She transfers to Wayside School after reading the first book, but learns that the work is much harder—and stranger—than she expected.
  • Audience Surrogate: Sue is meant to represent kids that sent letters to Louis Sachar saying they want to attend Wayside School, without realizing what it would actually be like there.
  • New Transfer Student: Her role in the spin-off series.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: After Sideways Arithmetic ends, she is never mentioned again. Even Under the Cloud of Doom doesn't mention her at all.

    Sammy 
Debut: "Sammy"
A new student that shows up bundled up in many, many raincoats. No one else likes him, partially because he's rude, but partially because he turns out to be a dead rat, Mrs. Jewls' least favorite thing in the world.
  • Annoying Laugh: Among his many unflattering traits, he has a rather loud laugh that's even worse than his smell. It only grows louder the more he shrinks, causing the kids to try and block it out by covering their ears (when they're not trying to cover their noses because of the smell).
  • Dead All Along: Somehow turns out to be a dead rat.
  • Dressed in Layers: Wears dozens of raincoats to hide the fact he's actually a dead rat.
  • Evil Smells Bad: One of the biggest jerks in the series, and noted to have a funny stench about him that only grows worse the more jackets are taken off him.
  • Incredible Shrinking Man: When Sammy first arrives in the class, he's about four feet tall. He gets shorter every time Mrs. Jewls takes off one of his coats, until he's only a few inches tall (and outed as a dead rat).
  • Hate Sink: Has zero redeeming qualities whatsoever, and even insults Mrs. Jewls to her face (something that not even resident jerks Kathy or Terrence will do).
  • Not Even Human: Actually a dead rat.
  • Oh, No... Not Again!: Apparently, Sammy is the third dead rat that tried to get into Mrs. Jewls' classroom since she arrived at Wayside.
  • Walking Spoiler: Knowing his true identity kinda ruins the surprise of his chapter.

    Mavis Jewls 
Debut: "The Little Stranger"
Mrs. Jewls' daughter, born toward the end of the third book.
  • Babies Make Everything Better: And how! Mavis's arrival turns the class from being angry and hateful (thanks to Ms. Nogard's manipulations) to being sweet and caring. Listening to her thoughts of pure love and trust is also what inspires Ms. Nogard to have a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Babies don't think in words.
  • The Power of Love: Mavis's pure thoughts of love and trust trigger Ms. Nogard to have a genuine Heel–Face Turn instead of crossing the Moral Event Horizon and "accidentally" throwing the baby out the window.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Mavis doesn't show up until the final chapter of the third book but her presence alone completely undoes all the damage from Ms. Nogard's manipulations and inspires Ms. Nogard's Heel–Face Turn. Not bad for a baby who isn't a week old yet.

Faculty staff

    Mrs. Gorf 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
The wicked teacher that originally taught the thirtieth story, with the ability to turn students into apples by wiggling her ears and sticking out her tongue. Although hoist by her own petard, her spirit haunts the school to this day.

    Mr. Gorf 
Debut: "Mr. Gorf"
A substitute teacher who takes the place of Mrs. Jewls. The son of Mrs. Gorf. He possesses the ability to steal voices from students by flaring his nose, sucking the voice he steals into a third nostril. He's ultimately defeated by Miss Mush forcing him to sneeze with a pepper pie.
  • Avenging the Villain: His goal is to get revenge on the students for his mother's death, even though she brought it on herself.
  • Exact Words: He reassures the class that he wasn't married to Mrs. Gorf, but he never says he isn't related to her.
  • Faux Affably Evil: At first, he presents himself as a nice man... but then he starts stealing voices.
  • Imposter Forgot One Detail: He accidentally exposes himself when he wishes Miss Mush a nice day using Kathy's voice.
  • Logical Weakness: His ability stores voices in his nose. So, if he sneezes, he loses all of his stored voices.
  • Momma's Boy: An Implied Trope - not only does he call Mrs. Gorf "[his] mommy" in the Wham Line, but he tries to destroy the children's relationships with their own mothers in revenge.
  • No Ontological Inertia: Once he starts sneezing, he lets go of all of the voices he had stored, including those he stole before he became a substitute.
  • Red Right Hand: He looks like a normal enough man... aside from the third nostril he uses to steal people's voices.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Like his mom, his name is "frog" spelled backwards.
  • Vocal Dissonance: He looks like a handsome young man, but his natural voice is described as sounding like a donkey with a tonsil infection.
  • Voice Changeling: He's able to speak in the voices he's stolen. The one he uses for most of his time at Wayside was stolen from a Scotsman about twenty years prior. Later, he calls the kids' parents and insults them in the voices of their own children.
  • Wham Line: "Mrs. Gorf was my mommy!"
  • You Killed My Father: He's Mrs. Gorf's son, and wants revenge on the kids for offing her.

    Louis 
Debut: "Mrs. Gorf"
Wayside School's recess monitor. Louis is one of the more popular adults at Wayside and maintains a good relationship with the kids, even if their antics might cause some issues for him while on the clock.

    Miss Mush 
Debut:"Jason"
The lunch lady of Wayside School. Notorious for her rather dubious cooking skills, producing concoctions and dishes that are usually a uniform shade of grey and have rather... interesting flavors therein.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She's a sweet, kindly lunch lady who loves to cook food for hungry children. But if she senses that those children are in trouble, she'll find a way to protect them no matter what.
  • Big Damn Heroes: In Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, she correctly deduces what's happening with Mr. Gorf after hearing Kathy's voice telling her to "have a nice day," which the real Kathy would never do. She whips up a pie full of pepper, carries it up the stairs, and smacks Mr. Gorf in the face with it, forcing him to sneeze out the kids' voices and sending him running.
  • Bond One-Liner: During the aforementioned Big Damn Heroes moment, she snaps "I hope you like pepper pie" right before smashing the dish into Mr. Gorf's face.
  • Chubby Chef: Most illustrations show her as rather plump and matronly.
  • Cordon Bleugh Chef: She's noted for being able to somehow overcook and undercook a dish at the same time, and her food almost always turns out as a grey, unidentifiable mass of... something.
    • Supreme Chef: That being said, the few times the readers get to see someone eat Miss Mush's food it turns out to be palatable if not outright tasty (weird side effects notwithstanding). The Sideways Arithmetic books reveal that the problem is that she's actually a great cook if she's preparing food for a small crowd—the more she has to make, the worse her dishes become. Since she's the sole lunch lady for an entire school, this naturally leads to less-than-desirable meals.
  • Hidden Depths: She's able to figure out the entirety of Mr. Gorf's plan after spending only two minutes in his classroom, then calmly tells the students what's going on as their voices start bouncing from one person to another. Her food also has near-magical abilities, given that the Mushroom Surprise is an incredibly powerful aphrodisiac.
  • Nice Guy: Probably one of the nicest teachers at Wayside after Mrs. Jewls and Louis; Miss Mush always treats the kids well even if they don't appreciate her food, and saved them all from Mr. Gorf's revenge scheme after catching on that something was up.

    Mrs. Drazil 
Debut:"The New Teacher"
The second substitute for the class while Mrs. Jewls is on maternity leave in the third book. On the outside there's nothing really wrong with her: her teaching style is solid, she's patient with her students, and she'll even bake cookies for them if it can be worked into a lesson. Get on her bad side, however, and she's a vindictive rules lawyer who will continue to hound problem students long after they've left her class.
  • Berserk Button:
    • Do not touch her blue binder; Sharie touching it during a lesson on gravity is enough to send her into a brief moment of frothing rage.
    • Don't make excuses and/or fail to turn in assignments. While she claims she's gotten better with this, the fact that she punishes Louis and continues to pursue Jane Smith (despite both being adults who haven't had her class in years) points to the opposite being true.
  • Best Served Cold: It doesn't matter how many years it's been since someone was one of her students; if she has a chance to settle some score with them, she will take it.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Outwardly she's nice and understanding, but she has a stated issue with holding grudges and will continue to hound students long after they've left her class.
  • Cool Old Lady: Subverted. While she comes off as a friendly old woman at first, to the point of being willing to answer some very intrusive questions, she's a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing with a frightening capacity to hold a grudge.
  • Determinator: Doesn't matter if it takes twenty six years, she will find you and force you to do your homework.
  • Jerkass to One: Occasional mask slips aside, she generally comes off as nice to everyone at Wayside... except for Louis, whom she still holds a grudge against from when he was one of her students decades ago.
  • Sadist Teacher: She'd be a Cool Teacher if it weren't for her tendency to hold grudges and humiliate her past problem students.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Her last name is "lizard" spelled backwards. Her worst problem student, Jane Smith, used it as an insult.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: On the receiving end. What is it that makes the kids start looking for a way to get rid of her? She makes Louis shave his mustache.
  • Uncertain Doom. It's never explicitly stated that she died pursuing Jane Smith in her last appearance, but being that neither were seen again it's a fair bet.

    Wendy Nogard 
Debut: "Ears"
The third substitute for the class while Mrs. Jewls is on maternity leave in the third book. Miss Nogard has a third ear on the top of her head, which allows her to hear the thoughts of those she's near. She uses this information to make everyone around her hate each other, as she's a Woman Scorned who wants to project her misery onto others.
  • Beware the Mind Reader: Wendy has a third ear on the top of her head, which allows her to read other people's thoughts. She uses this to manipulate others and hit the class' collective Berserk Button, turning them all against one another.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She appears to be a nice, pretty young woman, and by and large the kids like her. She's also a Manipulative Bastard Woman Scorned who uses telepathy to make the kids miserable and turn against one another.
  • Cool Teacher: Post-Heel–Face Turn, she is a genuinely nice and active substitute, and in book four she is described as the kids' (and Louis') favorite substitute.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Just when she's about to cross the Moral Event Horizon and drop Mrs. Jewls' newborn daughter Mavis out a window, Wendy is struck by a moment of curiosity and reads Mavis' mind because she's never read a baby's thoughts before. The pure love and trust Mavis radiates is enough to overcome the wickedness in Wendy's heart and she doesn't go through with it (on purpose, anyway; she trips and falls but Louis is able to make a Diving Save to keep her and the baby from harm).
  • Love Interest: Louis is infatuated with her when he meets her for the first time, and spends the rest of her tenure at Wayside trying to get her attention. They hook up at the end of the third book after her Heel–Face Turn.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Thanks to her mind reading powers, she's able to learn everything that sets the kids off and gleefully exploits it to make them all miserable.
  • Red Right Hand: She has a third ear on the top of her head that enables her to read minds. Deconstructed in that a man she loved dumping her because he thought her third ear was freakish was what caused her to go bad, and eventually subverted after her Heel–Face Turn.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Her last name is "dragon" spelled backwards.
  • The Power of Love: It's thanks to baby Mavis's pure thoughts of love and trust that lead her to truly becoming the nice person that she always was.
  • Woman Scorned: Wendy used to be a nice, caring person, until she was cruelly dumped by a guy she liked because of her extra ear. Now she uses her mind reading to manipulate others and make them all turn against one another.

    Miss Zarves 
Debut: "Calvin"
Miss Zarves is the classroom teacher on the 19th story of Wayside School. There is no 19th story, and therefore Miss Zarves doesn't exist... except when there is, and she does.
  • Cool Teacher: At least as far as her students are concerned, though that might have something to do with the mind numbing effects of the 19th floor.
  • Humanoid Abomination: One possibility of who she is, with Allison speculating if maybe she's the devil.
  • Invisible to Normals: Since the 19th story doesn't exist, Miss Zarves doesn't either. Chapters showing that yes, she does exist, leave the question open to what she is and why she only appears to a certain few (Allison and the Men in Black can see her and her students, and in book four the entire class takes refuge in her room on account of the storm despite there not being a room there).
  • Once an Episode: Miss Zarves gets a chapter dedicated to her and the goings-on in her classroom in every book, usually the nineteenth.

    Mr. Kidswatter 
Debut: "Music"
Mr. Kidswatter is the principal of Wayside School... who doesn't like kids much.

    Dr. Pickell 
Debut: "Doctor Pickle"
A psychiatrist with a tendency to play pranks on his patients via hypnosis. This eventually got him fired, but he found a second line of work as Wayside's school counselor.
  • Ascended Extra: When introduced in the third book, his story is amusing but doesn't really add much to the overall makeup to the school. In the fourth book, he plays a significant role in Kathy's subplot.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a pretty good psychiatrist and hypnotist, and his first appearance has him cure a woman's smoking addiction by making her think every cigarette she puts to her lips is a worm. However he also likes to prank his patients in a variety of odd ways while they're under his suggestion (the aforementioned woman was conditioned to slap her husband every time he said "potato"). Deconstructed in that this eventually gets him fired, forcing him to take a new job as a school counselor.
  • Hypno Pendulum: A green stone on a chain that kind of looks like a pickle (hence his nickname "Doctor Pickle").
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Dr. Pickell, but most people call him Dr. Pickle because of his pickle-shaped Hypno Pendulum.

    Mrs. Surlaw 
Debut: "Allison" (unnamed)
Mrs. Surlaw is the librarian on the seventh floor of Wayside School.
  • Ascended Extra: Only appeared briefly in one chapter in the first book and was unnamed. Come the fourth book, she has a expanded, though minor, role and her name is revealed.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Her last name is "walrus" spelled backwards
  • Warm-Hearted Walrus: Seems to evoke this. She has a giant plush walrus next to her desk.

Other Characters

    Dr. Jane Payne 
Debut: "The Blue Notebook"

Jason's dentist, who lives a life of luxury and is rotten to the core.

  • Depraved Dentist: She isn't called "Payne" for nothing. She really likes to pull more teeth than she's supposed to solely so she can charge more.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Not only is she a psychotic dentist, but her favorite response to people calling her out is to tell them to "rub a monkey's tummy with [your] head", an insult you most certainly would not hear from a mature or professional dentist.

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