An Elephant in Wayside School

Illustrated by Tim Heitz

"**An Elephant in Wayside School**" is the fifteenth chapter of *Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger*.

## Synopsis

Deedee takes Louis to meet his old teacher, causing an old feud between them to re-emerge.

## Plot

This chapter opens at recess on the playground, with Louis tossing some red and green balls to the students. Deedee rushes out, knocking over a tenth story student to steal the only red ball left, when she remembers where she heard about Mrs. Drazil. She was Louis's former teacher whom he hated. She realizes her suspicion and rushes over to Todd and Ron, who are playing tetherball, to ask if they remember the time Louis told them about the meanest teacher he ever had. The ball hits Todd in the face, so he can't remember anything, but Jason and Jenny peep in, remembering Louis talking about getting the wastepaper basket stuck on his head and being called to answer questions when he couldn't see the board. Deedee thinks the teacher in question was named Mrs. Drazil, so they go to Louis to ask.

Jason asks Louis the name of the mean teacher he had when he was a kid, and Louis asks which one. Jenny tells him it's the one that put a wastepaper basket on his head, and Louis shuddered remembering, whispering her name in the process. Jason asks what color hair she had, and Louis claims it was brown, but is confused why Jason is asking that. Deedee explains that they have a nice substitute teacher named Mrs. Drazil, which initially scares Louis, but Deedee and the others infer they can't be the same person, since the substitute is nice and has white hair. She invites Louis to meet her, and Louis is initially hesitant, but decides to join them when Deedee explains everything should be okay, because Louis is a teacher too.

Mrs. Drazil is pinning homework on the bulletin board when Deedee introduces Louis to her. Mrs. Drazil is initially happy, saying that exercise is important for young minds and bodies, but when she turns around, Louis recognizes her, and she recognizes Louis. She has Louis freeze in place, grabs her notebook, and grabs an old, single-paged, and unfinished homework assignment of his, asking him to redo it. Louis claims he can't finish it because it was fifteen years ago and he couldn't remember what to do, but by the time he does remember why he couldn't finish it, Mrs. Drazil gets fed up with his excuses and has him share Deedee's desk. Deedee apologizes, but Mrs. Drazil told her it's for Louis's own good. Mrs. Drazil then checks Louis's fingernails and gets mad at how filthy they are, while Louis tries to explain that because he's out in the grass so often, they'd be filthy anyway. Mrs. Drazil again says she doesn't want excuses, and tells Louis he should also shave his mustache, threatening to rip it off if he doesn't. Deedee feels terrible for what she did, and is surprised that Mrs. Drazil remembers Louis after so long. Louis snarks that "An elephant never forgets" under his breath. Mrs. Drazil hears that and punishes Louis for insulting her by putting the wastepaper basket on his head.

## Characters

* Louis
* Deedee
* Tenth story student (debut)
* Mrs. Drazil
* Todd
* Ron
* Jason
* Jenny
* Joe (mentioned)

## Trivia

* The title of this chapter harkens back to Benjamin Nushmutt's dialogue in "A Light Bulb, a Pencil Sharpener, a Coffeepot, and a Sack of Potatoes."
* Louis previously told the other students about Mrs. Drazil in "She's Back!" Many of her actions mentioned in that chapter are reflected here.
	+ Both are the fifteenth chapters of their respective books.
* With Mrs. Drazil watching him, Louis becomes a serious and strict yard teacher until a few chapters later.

## Gallery

Joel Schick illustrationAdam McCauley illustrationPeter Allen illustrationPeter Allen second illustration