Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great

The next day, Sheila meets 10-year-old Merle “Mouse” Ellis, the “Junior [Yo-Yo] Champion of Tarrytown” (26). Mouse shows Sheila her fancy yo-yo and brags about all the tricks she can do, but when Sheila tries to do a trick, she accidentally hits herself with the yo-yo; afterward, Sheila declares yo-yos are for “babies.” Mouse explains that she never got along with the Egran boys, and she is excited to have a female friend her own age. She says she likes the nickname Mouse much more than her real name, and she recommends Sheila get a nickname of her own. Mouse loves the dog Jennifer and is excited to spend the whole summer with her and Sheila, but Sheila lies that she is allergic to dogs and gets “awful hives” that make Mouse’s prominent leg scabs “look practically invisible” (29). Sheila comes to Mouse’s home and meets Mouse’s four-year-old sister Betsy, who is also allergic to dogs but has an imaginary dog named Ootch. Sheila decides to try out the nickname “Sunny,” but Betsy calls her “Sunny Sheila.”

That afternoon, Mouse and Sheila go with their mothers to sign up for the Cultural Arts day camp, where they both sign up for a pottery class.