Imperfect Attendance

*Everyone take out your spelling books, it's time for arithmetic.*
This article contains disputed canon, like the *Sideways Arithmetic* books or the cartoon. While officially produced and part of the *Wayside School* series, facts displayed here may not correspond with the main book series.

## Imperfect Attendance

* Title card
* Screenshot
* Video

## General

### Airdate

October 17, 2007 (CAN)
August 26, 2008 (US, Nicktoons)

## Chronology

### Next

"Miss Fortune"

"**Imperfect Attendance**" is the second half of the twelfth episode of the second season of *Wayside*.

## Synopsis

Dana is focused on beating Wayside School's perfect attendance record, but all her friends are experiencing troubles as well.

## Plot

The episode begins with Dana late for class, rapidly running through the schoolyard. She hops over cows and students, zipping past Stephen and getting his newspaper stuck in a tree, and explains that she can't help because she's running late. She hops over Myron, whose arm is stuck in a tuba, but Myron calls for help, and she runs back. She explains that while she'd love to help, she's running late, and on the day she's about to beat the 1,447-day perfect attendance record as well. Myron states that she still has a few minutes to make it to the thirtieth floor, and states that she has time, which encourages her to get inside and start running, though Myron attempts clarifying that he meant time to get his arm out of the tuba.

Inside the school, Dana sneaks past, slithers through, and hops over a number of students, before finally reaching the second story, where Mr. Kidswatter is performing an impromptu square dancing routine. He, fortunately, tosses her up the stairs, leading her to a hallway with many floating balls. Louis shows up to explain that he got his air tank and helium tank mixed up during refills, causing them all to hover. A large ball ends up hitting him and carrying him away. Dana asks if he needs help, but when he says he thinks he'll be okay, Dana decides to continue running upstairs. However, the ball carries him outside the window on the way out.

In the principal's office, Mr. Kidswatter finishes his square dancing and checks the time, noticing it's almost time to ring the bell. He calls for Louis's help, but Louis can't answer, so he tries taking matters into his own hands. The panel, however, contains several buttons with different functions, and he tries to remember which is the bell. Dana, meanwhile, is continuing to run, when she trips over Shari, who is just too far from her pillow. Dana fears that she can't do her best learning if she is awake, but notices there isn't enough time. Maurecia, however, confronts her in the halls, saying she can't find Fluffy after he disappeared when she was combing his quills. Dana tries reassuring her before leaving, but Maurecia pulls her back for help. When Dana frames it as beating an all-time record, however, Maurecia becomes eager to support her, and Dana heads off.

In Kidswatter's office, he's hitting a number of buttons, which produce a number of different sounds. One ends up summoning a disco ball, and he boogies for a moment until it disappears, instead hitting buttons at random trying to get it back. Dana, on the twenty-seventh floor, makes it close, when she encounters a large cloud of dust. Behind the dust, we learn that Todd was forced to clean the chalk brushes after Dana was running late, and Dana suggests that Todd uses the super-vac to clean up the dust. Todd states he doesn't know how it works, but Dana is already sprinting off. Dana worries that she'll never make it as she runs up the stairs, while Kidswatter fiddles with various buttons, which turn out to change the shape of the staircase. Eventually, Dana makes it to the thirtieth story, but a few buttons Kidswatter presses continue to impede her progress, including one that makes books fly out of lockers and another that turns the lamps into showers, revealing Fluffy being carried away in the water. Dana, however, continues forwards, finally making it to Mrs. Jewls's class.

Dana stands at the doorway, and Mrs. Jewls invites her inside, staying that she doesn't want to be late. Dana hesitates walking inside, however, noting that none of her classmates are there to enjoy the moment with her. Mrs. Jewls laughs it off, saying that everyone will have the wildest excuses as to why they aren't there. Dana, however, asks Mrs. Jewls what would happen if they turned out to be true, and Mrs. Jewls states that if they were, Dana would've helped them. Dana, thinking back to all her friends in need, decides not to walk in, and to go back and help them instead. She sucks up the chalk dust through the vac, retrieves Fluffy with a net, lifts up Shari so she can sleep comfortably, plays a note into Myron's tuba to blow him out of it, and gets Louis out of the trees with a long stick.

Louis is surprised to see Dana come to his help, stating that he read in the newspaper that Dana was going to break the school attendance record. Dana states that the editor probably just had to fill space, but Louis notes that she's the editor, and Dana finally confesses that while she was excited, she decided her friends were still more important in the end. Louis, however, notes that since he rings the bell, and the bell hasn't rung, she still has time. However, he hears Kidswatter is still trying to hit the bell, and he is seen pressing buttons at random, eventually hitting a mushroom dispenser that brings Miss Mush into his office. Kidswatter states he'll find the bell soon enough, and while Dana thinks it's hopeless, Louis states that she can still make it if she floats up using one of the helium-filled balls. Dana floats up to the thirtieth story as Mrs. Jewls takes attendance, and makes it in before Mr. Kidswatter finally rings the bell. Everyone congratulates her on the record, and she hands Stephen back his newspaper. Myron decides to play a victory song on his tuba, which turns out to still have a kindergartener inside. Dana states that after making it 1,448 days in a row, she can't wait for 1,449, and the class cheers, ending the episode.

## Characters

* Dana
* Cows
* Joe
* Jenny
* Incidental 008 (final appearance)
* Stephen
* Mr. Pumpkin (final appearance)
* Myron
* Incidental 009 (final appearance)
* Incidental 003
* Incidental 006
* Incidental 044 (final appearance)
* Incidental 002
* Incidental 004
* Incidental 010 (final appearance)
* Incidental 016
* Incidental 012 (final appearance)
* Incidental 005 (final appearance)
* Incidental 013
* Incidental 050
* Incidental 001
* Elizabeth
* Incidental 007 (final appearance)
* Mr. Kidswatter
* Louis
* Shari
* Maurecia
* Fluffy
* Incidental 040 (final appearance)
* Incidental 042 (final appearance)
* Incidental 038 (final appearance)
* Incidental 043 (final appearance)
* Todd
* Mrs. Jewls
* Miss Mush
* Rondi
* Leslie
* Eric Fry
* Bebe
* Incidental 124 (final appearance)
* Eric Bacon
* Eric Ovens
* John

## Transcript

Read a transcript for "Imperfect Attendance" here.

## Trivia

* This is the only episode where Rondi's name is stated.
* Stephen asks if Mr. Pumpkin is a Libra or a Scorpio. These two horoscope signs stretch over the month of October, the month in which Halloween takes place.
* Assuming Wayside School follows the average school year of 180 days, and subsequently removing 360 days for preschool and pre-preschool, the perfect attendance record would put Dana in roughly fifth or sixth grade.

## Gallery

See a gallery for "Imperfect Attendance" here.