"Hey Ralphie, what was the big idea, yesterday?" Schwartz whispered as Miss Shields called the roll.

"Nothin." Ralphie said with a shrug.

"Then why didn't you want to play shoot 'em up?"

Ralphie felt his stomach tie up in knots. Just when he'd all but forgotten that his beloved Red Ryder was gone, Schwartz had to go and bring it up again.

"Come on... Out with it!" Schwartz demanded.

"Shhh!" Miss Shields shushed.

"Ralph Parker?"

When Ralph didn't answer, a few snickers could be heard around the room.

"RALPH!" Miss Shields finally yelled, causing the class to erupt in laughter.

"Here." He said meekly.

Miss Shields smiled. "Okay Class. Please get out your notebooks and pencils. We are going to have a test."

"Aww!" the protests and groans echoed throughout the classroom.

"Now Class, I warned you about this yesterday, so I hope you are prepared. Number your paper from 1-48 and don't forget to put your name on the top. This test will be on the State capitols that we went over yesterday."

Oh no! Ralphie was doomed! In his agony over the disappearance of his Red Ryder, he'd completely forgotten to study! He slumped in his seat and began to number his paper.

The first state is Texas." Miss Shields said. "Write down the name of the capitol next to number one."
Ralphie stared at the paper.

Texas... Texas...

Oh why couldn't he think of the capitol?

Texas was big. Really big with lots and lots of cities. He'd never be able to remember which one was the capitol. He'd never been to Texas but he'd heard plenty about it.

Texas was the land of cowboys and Indians, gunfights...

"Howdy, Pardner." Ralphie said as he politely tipped his ten-gallon hat. "Ready for a showdown?"

"You? Ha! You ain't got a chance against me!" Black Bart sneered.

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!" Ralphie said. "Them injuns over there are on the warpath, you know. But I'll have them taken care of in no time. And I sure as heck ain't scared of you, so-."

"Ralph!"

Startled, Ralphie looked up to find Miss Shields standing in front of him with her hand extended.

"I need your test paper."

He glanced at his test, horrified when he saw what he'd done. Next to every number were the words "Red Ryder"!

Quickly he turned the paper over and handed it to Miss Shields, praying that she wouldn't bother to look at it until after school.

When the bell rang for recess, his classmates jumped out of their seats and scrambled to put on their winter coats.

Excitedly Ralphie stood and began to run for the door. He, Flick and Schwartz were going to play marbles and Ralphie was determined to win!

"Ralph, may I have a word with you?" Miss Shields asked mere seconds before he pushed the door open.

"Yes ma'am?" Ralph asked timidly.

"I gave you an assignment yesterday and a note for your parents."

He swallowed hard. Not only had he forgotten to study for his test, but he'd also forgotten to give the note to his parents! And if that wasn't bad enough, he hadn't done the assignment from Miss Shields!

He was a goner for sure!

"Um... Yes ma'am."
"May I see them, please?"
"Well, I..."

Miss Shields put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"You didn't show the note to your parents, did you?"
Ralphie looked down at his feet.

"How about the assignment?"
He shook his head.

"Oh Ralphie, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you!"
Ralphie sighed and looked out the window, longing to be outside playing football with the other kids in the snow.

"Well, Ralphie, because you didn't do as I asked, I have no choice but to keep you inside for recess every day for the rest of the month. I'll have a special assignment for you to work on while the others are out at recess. Perhaps then you'll understand how important it is to not only pay attention in class but to do the assignments as they are given to you and turn them in on time."

Ralphie opened his mouth to protest, but Miss Shields held up her hand.
"Now go to your desk and get out your notebook and paper. I want you to write I will not daydream in class fifty times and when you are finished, you will sit here quietly and think about what you have done until the others have returned from recess."

"Yes ma'am." Ralphie said, walking to his seat as though he were headed for the guillotine.

He began to write carefully on the paper, making sure his handwriting was as neat as possible and within the margins.

As he wrote, it was almost impossible not to think about the tragedy that had occurred at home:

His Red Ryder was gone... the best Christmas gift he'd ever received. And when his old man finds out...

Oh no...

Suddenly, going to Texas didn't seem like a bad idea.