The Name Game

{{#arraydefine: episodeLinks|The Name Game;"Hungry for Joy";"Stephen and Mrs. Gorf"|;}}

## The Name Game

**The Name Game** is the twenty-seventh episode of the Season 1 of *Wayside School*.

## Synopsis

Nancy doesn't like his name, so he trades it with a girl on the twenty-third floor.

## Plot

This chapter introduces Nancy, a boy in Mrs. Jewls's class who hates his name, thinking it's a girl's name. It's mentioned that none of the other kids in class think Nancy's name is strange, and they just think it's the name of the kid who sat in the corner by John. But Nancy is really self-conscious about his name - so he's shy and quiet, and never says anything. His only friend is a girl on the twenty-third story. Nancy doesn't know his friend's name, and the friend doesn't know his name either. They only introduce themselves by saying "Hey, you," or just plain "You." Nancy never asks for her name, because he's worried that then she'll ask for his name. He is confused as to why she never asked, but is glad anyway. Both Nancy and his friend are perfectly okay with not knowing each other's names.

One morning, Nancy and his friend are late for class, when Nancy overhears his friend's teacher call her name, which is Mac. Mac is embarrassed that Nancy has found out about her name and runs into the room, but Nancy calls after her and reveals his name. Coming out, Mac admits she was too embarrassed to tell Nancy her name, but Nancy likes Mac's name and Mac likes Nancy's name. They bond over their mutual hatred of their names and where they got them. Nancy was named after a beloved relative in his family, and Mac was named after a dog her mother once had. They decide that they should trade their names with each other, which they do by spinning around in opposite directions until they fall over. When they stand up again, Mac is Nancy and Nancy is Mac.

When Nancy - now Mac - runs back up to class, he doesn't feel so shy anymore, and he re-introduces himself to his classmates as Mac. Everyone is glad to talk to him, but Jason is amazed that he was able to trade names with someone else, because he didn't like his name either and wants to trade it as well. Jason tries to trade with Terrence, but Maurecia wants Terrence's name, neither like their names either. It's revealed that no one in Mrs. Jewls's class likes Stephen's name, and they all decide that trading names seems like a fun idea, so they try it themselves. They all trade names with each other, spin around, and fall over, but after they trade names, nobody knows whose name belongs to who anymore. They argue about whose names are whose for an hour until they finally figure out who Rondi is, because she's missing her front teeth. From there, they start to figure out the other students, like Allison, D.J., and Dameon, and also Mrs. Jewls, who's the oldest in the class. The only ones they're unsure with are the three Erics, who all have the same name. To avoid further confusion, everyone decides to keep their own names, except for Mac and Nancy, who keep their new names. However, since old habits are hard to break, whenever they meet up in the halls, they still introduce themselves by saying "Hey, you," or just plain "You."

## Cast

* Vincent Tong as Mac/Nancy Manson
* Ashleigh Ball as Nancy/Mac Millers