Eric Ovens

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

 — Narration in "The Three Erics"

* Heitz
* McCauley
* Schick
* Brinckloe
* Hockerman

**Eric Ovens** is a character in the *Wayside School* books and cartoon. He is a member of the Three Erics alongside Eric Fry and Eric Bacon. He is one of the many students in Mrs. Jewls's class. His nickname is "Crabapple," due to the other Erics being mean.

## Appearance

In the books, Eric Ovens is described as being "short and fat." Little else is known about Eric Ovens's appearance, otherwise.

## Personality

Eric Ovens is a kind and trustworthy student who is stated to always have something nice to say. Despite this, however, he rarely gets acknowledgement from his classmates, who occasionally believe him to be as rude as the other two Erics, Eric Fry and Eric Bacon. Even after the other students' attitudes towards the other Erics seemingly improves, Eric Ovens continues to go unnoticed, likely because he is usually quiet. This does not stop him from trying to keep a positive outlook, as he is seen smiling in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," at least until he gets sent to the principal's office himself, and he compliments Louis's talents in "Way-High-Up Ball." In "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*," he is shown to be excited to get a moment in the spotlight, at least until his moment gets overshadowed by Eric Bacon later on.

Despite his kind behavior, however, Eric Ovens does appear to lack a degree of self-confidence, as a result of being "the other Eric." as in "Eric, Eric, and What's-His-Name?," he considers giving up showing his collection of nail clippings to Mrs. Jewls until Kathy intervenes. Additionally, in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he is shown to be extremely worried during his walk down to Mr. Kidswatter's office, and panics when inside, screaming after Mr. Kidswatter asks him what a Mugworm Griblick is. From this, it can be inferred that Eric Ovens is likely somewhat of a worrywart. He may additionally be somewhat naive, as he doesn't know who Albert Einstein is in "Another Story About Socks," and doesn't know what a brassiere is in "The New Teacher," but in "The Best Principal Ever!!!," it is shown he does well on his homework, despite a brief mix-up with Eric Bacon.

## Relationships

### Eric Fry and Eric Bacon

    Eric Ovens is often grouped in a trio with the other two Erics, Eric Fry and Eric Bacon, who appear to be his closest friends. Eric Ovens seems to worry about what happened to Eric Fry when he's nowhere to be seen in the principal's office in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," and Eric Bacon seems to greet him casually when the three leave the office. Despite this, however, he smiles when Eric Fry was chosen, possibly because he was glad it wasn't him, possibly because he was just oblivious. In "Explanation," Eric Ovens happily greets the other two Erics after a long break away from school, and in "Way-High-Up Ball," it's revealed he invented and plays a game called Way-High-Up Ball with the other Erics. The three are occasionally seen reacting together, such as when they all laugh at Mrs. Gorf falling over a piece of chalk in "Mrs. Gorf," or when they are all impressed by Mac's story in "Never Laugh at a Shoelace."

Despite being their friends, however, Eric Ovens does occasionally feel upset about others regarding him as "the other Eric," as is seen in "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*" He is happy to see Eric Fry having brought in fewer nail clippings than he did, but is disappointed to be completely overshadowed by Eric Bacon when he brings in more.

### Kathy

In "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*," it's shown that initially, Eric Ovens didn't trust Kathy, due to how mean she used to be, worrying that she would mock him if he told her how many nail clippings he brought in. Unaware of Kathy's appointment with Dr. Pickell in "Up and Down," he turns out to be surprised when Kathy is impressed by the number of nail clippings he brought in. Kathy celebrates Eric Ovens turning in the second-most nail clippings of every student ever, and gets the rest of the class to cheer alongside her, making Eric Ovens feel better after being overshadowed by Eric Bacon.

## Appearances

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

## Trivia

* In "Science, Geography, Etc." his name is misspelled as "Eric Oven."
* Eric Ovens is right-handed.
* Eric Ovens has never been to Charley's Barber Shop, as of "Eric, Eric, and Eric."
* Of the students that have appeared in all six books, Eric Ovens is tied with Eric Fry and Eric Bacon for the fewest appearances, at a total of 27 appearances, including mentions.
	+ Of the three, Eric Ovens physically appears the least, as in four of those appearances, he is only mentioned, as opposed to the other two, who appear only as mentions a total of three times each.

### Other designs

Peter Allen design (British edition, 2004)Eric Ovens as he appears in the cartoon. (2005)Satoshi Kitamura design (Japanese edition, 2010)
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Eric, Eric, and Eric"
2. ↑ "The Three Erics"
3. ↑ "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*"