Wanda Petronski, a reclusive student who sits in the back corner of her classroom, is absent from school. On Wednesday morning, Peggie and Maddie, two girls who are in the same class as Wanda, are late for school; they waited for Wanda on the road that she usually arrives from, but Wanda never arrived. They were waiting to make fun of her. They slip into their seats as the class is reciting the Gettysburg Address; this is the way their class always begins.

Peggie and Maddy note that Wanda’s desk is dusty; they realize that she was also absent on Monday and Tuesday. Wanda lives in Boggins Heights, an undesirable part of town that is characterized by run-down houses and muddy roads. She lives in a small house with her father and her brother, Jake.

Wanda is mocked by her classmates for her unusual name. She doesn’t have any friends and has only one dress, a faded blue dress that doesn’t fit her well. Children in Wanda’s class mockingly ask her how many dresses she owns. Wanda tells them that she has 100 dresses; the children laugh, knowing she only has one dress. The children accost her during breaks at school as well as on her walk to and from school to make fun of her.