Kathy and D.J.

Illustrated by Tim Heitz

"**Kathy and D.J.**" is the eleventh chapter of *Wayside School Is Falling Down*.

## Synopsis

When Kathy notices D.J. is feeling upset, she takes the opportunity to make him feel even more miserable.

## Plot

This chapter opens with Kathy skipping around on the playground, singing a song called "Wayside School is Falling Down". D.J. is also walking across the playground, but for some reason, he is holding his head down, which is rather unusual since he's almost always happy. Louis asks him what's wrong, but D.J. says nothing, just continuing to walk away. Ron and Deedee ask Louis what's wrong, but Louis isn't able to answer them. He offers to play kickball with them, but they aren't in the mood to play when D.J. is upset. Since they're so used to seeing him happy most of the time, D.J. being sad makes the other students sad as well, except for Kathy, who continues to sing her song as she walks around the playground. The bell rings for recess, and D.J. sighs as he looks up at Wayside School. His best friends, Myron and Dameon, try to help him out, but D.J. says he needs alone time. D.J. starts walking upstairs, but sits down between the ninth and tenth stories and cries to himself, when Kathy interrupts.

Kathy laughs at D.J., saying he shouldn't sit like that or he could get kicked in the head. She typically doesn't like D.J. because he's always smiling, but was overjoyed to see him so upset. She decides to ask him why he's upset in order to make him feel more miserable. She sits on the stair next to him and asks if his dog died, but D.J. shakes his head. She tries to imagine other terrible situations, like his house burning down or his parents getting divorced, but D.J. denies those as well. He notes that his great-grandfather let him bring a golden watch to school, when Kathy realizes that he lost it. She laughs, remarking that D.J.'s going to get in trouble. She figures his parents will ground him forever, but D.J. notes that his parents never ground him, because he learns from his mistakes. Kathy tries again, saying his great-grandfather will hate him and never give him another present, but D.J. states he'll be forgiven, because his grandfather likes people more than things. Kathy then tries to tell D.J. he'll never get another allowance, but D.J. remarks he doesn't get an allowance anyway because he doesn't like money. Kathy, in desperation, just tells him he'll never be able to tell the time anymore, but D.J. notes that time isn't real anyway, so he's not that concerned. Kathy notes that if he can't tell the time, he'll miss his favorite television shows, but D.J. notes he doesn't even watch television. Kathy asks him why he's so sad to lose the watch, and D.J. states that he's worried that a bird might mistake it for food and choke on it. Kathy is underwhelmed, wondering if that is really all it is, and D.J. realizes Kathy is right, and that the bird could probably use it to build a nest. Smiling, he hops to his feet, thanking Kathy for the help, having mistaken her taunts for comfort, and walks back up to class. As D.J. gets happier, Kathy gets more upset, wondering how he's happy without having any money, worrying about time, or watching television.

When D.J. returns to Mrs. Jewls's class, everyone is happy to see him feeling better. Mrs. Jewls prepares to show a movie, when Myron's bird friend Oddly comes in with the watch. D.J. decides to reward it to Kathy for being a good friend, and Kathy reluctantly accepts. Mrs. Jewls starts up the movie projector, Stephen turns off the lights, Dameon shuts the blinds, and D.J. holds a sheet of black construction paper in front of his smile because it's just so bright.

## Characters

* Kathy
* D.J.
* Louis
* Ron
* Deedee
* Myron
* Dameon
* D.J.'s parents (debut, mentioned)
* D.J.'s great-grandfather (debut, mentioned)
* Mrs. Jewls
* Oddly (final appearance)

## Trivia

* By all technical means, "Wayside School Is Falling Down" is the first song with lyrics written in the *Wayside School* series.
* Since he turned off the lights, Stephen is still class president, following the events of "Myron."
* This marks the second and final appearance of Oddly.

## Gallery

Joel Schick illustrationAdam McCauley illustration
### Foreign editions

Peter Allen illustration (UK)Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan)