Eric Fry

*For information on this character in the cartoon, see Eric Fry (cartoon).*

 — Narration in "The Three Erics"

* Heitz
* McCauley
* Schick
* Brinckloe
* Hockerman

**Eric Fry** is a student in the *Wayside School* books. He is a member of the Three Erics, alongside Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens. He is one of the many students in Mrs. Jewls's class. His nickname is "Butterfingers," due to the other Erics not being very good athletes.

## Appearance

Eric Fry is described as being "fat, but not short" and "The Three Erics" states his body is made from solid muscle. Little else is known about Eric Fry's appearance, otherwise.

## Personality

Eric Fry is described as being the most athletic of the Three Erics, mentioned as having home runs and fabulous catches on the regular. In one instance, when Terrence threw a ball far to the left, Eric Fry was able to run all the way there from the right field and only barely miss it. Eric Fry is described as being mean in "The Three Erics", primarily due to the fact he always has to play right field, as everyone else assumes he is inathletic, due to Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens's lack of athletic ability. As such, his only known friends are the other Erics, who he is seen interacting with in "Explanation" and "Way-High-Up Ball." Despite this, he is shown to be generous enough to offer Leslie a pencil in "A Story with a Disappointing Ending," and helps the class get the pencil sharpener in "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes."

Eric Fry seems to have a grumpy and upset approach to being sent to the principal's office in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," though the same chapter seems to confirm he fears Mr. Kidswatter, and will become immensely unnerved if put in a high-stress situation. However, when compared to Eric Ovens, he appears to have more confidence. Eric Fry seems to be an honest person, as when confronted by Kidswatter, he appears to tell nothing but the truth. In "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*," it is shown that the other students assume Eric Fry is trying to be tough when he keeps his hand in a clenched fist all morning to hold nail clippings.

## Relationships

### Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens

    Eric Fry is only seen frequently interacting with the other two Erics, Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens. In "Eric, Eric, and Eric," Eric Fry seems upset that he always gets in trouble for the problems the other two Erics cause, though it is shown that Eric Ovens still looks out for him when he goes missing, and he heads back up to class alongside Eric Bacon at the end of the chapter. In "Explanation," he happily greets the other two Erics when they all return to school after a long break, and it is shown that in "Way-High-Up Ball" that there is a game they invented, called Way-High-Up Ball that they typically play at recess. The three occasionally react together, such as when they laugh together at Mrs. Gorf slipping on a piece of chalk in "Mrs. Gorf," or when they are all impressed by Mac's story in "Never Laugh at a Shoelace."

## Appearances

For a list of every chapter Eric Fry is seen in, see here.

## Trivia

* Eric Fry's seat in Mrs. Jewls's class appears to change between *Wayside School Is Falling Down* and *Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger*. In "A Bad Case of the Sillies," he sits in front of Allison, but in A Story with a Disappointing Ending, he sits next to Paul, who is confirmed to sit in the back row in "Paul." When Louis Sachar was asked about this in an e-mail from one of the wiki's administrators, he suggested that he and Eric Ovens may have traded seats at one point, perhaps without Mrs. Jewls's permission.
* Eric Fry is right-footed.
* Eric Fry makes his final appearance in "The Best Principal Ever!!!," meaning that he is tied with Eric Bacon as the first of the main twenty-eight students in Mrs. Jewls's class to stop appearing.
	+ Additionally, of the twenty-seven main students introduced in *Sideways Stories from Wayside School*, he appears the least frequently, tied with Eric Bacon and Eric Ovens. However, of the twenty-eight main students, he appears more frequently than Benjamin, who debuted in *Wayside School Is Falling Down*, and he additionally appears more frequently than Sammy, a one-off character, and Sue, who only appeared in the *Sideways Arithmetic* series.

### Other designs

Peter Allen design (British edition, 2004)Eric Fry as he appears in the cartoon. (2005)Satoshi Kitamura design (Japanese edition, 2010)Unknown illustrator (Simplified Chinese edition, 2012)
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Eric, Eric, and Eric"