Wormwood 1974

I still don't own these characters.

Author's note- ever wonder why Ms. Wormwood is so cranky? I have a theory she taught Rosalyn. Given Rosalyn is seventeen and Ms. Wormwood teaches six year olds, subtract eleven years from the strips' start (1985) and you get 1974 and a six-year old Rosalyn.

It was Geraldine Wormwood's first day as a teacher. She could hardly wait. She woke up extra early and got to school at six o'clock. She read her class roster as her class walked into her room. She began, "Good morning, class. I'm Ms. Wormwood." "Good morning Ms. Wormwood." Recited the class. "Today we're-" Ms. Wormwood got hit with a spitball. She wiped it off, smiled, then started over. "Today-" Another spitball hit. "Who spit these?" asked Ms. Wormwood. The whole class pointed at the girl known only as Rosalyn.

Five minutes later, Rosalyn was sitting on Principal John Spittle's bench awaiting punishment. Suddenly, she ducked away. She wasn't seen until recess, when she was taking another kid's lunch money. Suddenly, Mr. Spittle walked up behind her. "Detention." He said.

In detention, Rosalyn was not very happy. She finally decided to make a paper airplane. Then another and another and still another. The whole room was at it except Ms. Wormwood. She just hit her head. Nobody knows what happened next. She widened over the next few weeks, during which her hair grayed. She suddenly developed an irrational love of polka-dot dresses.

Ten years later, Ms. Wormwood had Calvin, who we all know and write about (if you're the author of one of the forty-some stories at the release of this.) Rosalyn came back that year and apologized to Ms. Wormwood. "Go to the principals' office" was what she could have made a recording of. No matter what Calvin could do, he was always walking in the shadow of his predecessor. But one day, Calvin will return to thank his teacher. Calvin is not, however, to blame for Ms. Wormwood's fall.